According to data, every year about 500,000 women in Indonesia are diagnosed with cervical cancer, and 270,000 of them eventually die,"Jakarta (ANTARA News) - First Lady Ani Yudhoyono on Thursday showed her interest in efforts to improve Indonesian women`s health by attending the launching of a movement against cervical cancer in Jakarta.
Around 200,000 cases of cervical cancer are recorded in Indonesia annually, according to data released by by the health ministry.
The incidence of cervical cancer in Indonesia is 100 cases per 100,000 women per year. In more than 70 percent of the cases, patients only seek medical help after the disease has reached an advanced stage and about 270 thousand women die of the ailment annually.
"According to data, every year about 500,000 women in Indonesia are diagnosed with cervical cancer, and 270,000 of them eventually die," Titik Kuntari, deputy dean of the medical faculty of the Indonesian Islamic University of Yogyakarta, said early this year.
The human papilloma virus (HPV) is the major cause of cervical cancer. It is passed on from one person to another through sexual contact. Women who have cervical cancer were once infected with HPV.
Because the virus is passed on through sexual contact, men also have to be involved in efforts to prevent women from being infected with HPV.
HPV enters the human body through the skin, particularly the soft tissue inside the body. It may change and affect many organs, from cervical cancer to malfunction of kidneys or brain. (*)
Editor: Aditia Maruli Radja
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