Bandar Seri Begawan - The Ministry of Health is now holding training courses for nurses to equip them with the skills and knowledge to carry out pap smear examinations.

Director of Health Services Dr Hjh Maslina Hj Mohsin said the initiative will help increase manpower, particularly from the Department of Laboratory Services and Department of Health Services, to ensure the Sultanate's plan and programme to control and prevent cervical cancer among the female population in Brunei.

As many as 13 nurses received their certification for completing the course yesterday, while the second group of trainees is expected to begin the three-month course in the near future.

"Before June this year, pap smear exams can only be done by doctors," she said during yesterday's launching of the Ministry of Health's Cervical Cancer 2009 Awareness Campaign at the Health Promotion Centre in Berakas.

"With cooperation and negotiation with Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD), pap smear taking classes have also been included in the new Advanced Diploma Community Health Nursing curriculum since last August," she added.

Dr Hjh Maslina also spoke of how the Department of Health Service? Efforts of organising "continuing medical education" (CME) for all medical officers from the Basic Healthcare Services to increase their awareness on the importance of their roles in preventing cervical cancer.

"Medical officers are also advised to be more proactive in suggesting their female patients to undergo pap smear exams even if they were visiting health centres for other diseases or illnesses," she said.

"The committee has also taken the initiative to facilitate and improve the quality of pap smear taking techniques among health professional services to produce results that are more accurate with less false-negative results," added the director.

According to information provided, pap smear is an effective method for detecting cervical cancer which is a life-threatening disease that is preventable.

More than 80 out of 100 women suffering from cervical cancer could have been cured if the cancer had been detected at an early stage.

Cervical cancer could be brought on by human papillomavirus (HPV) or by leading an unhealthy lifestyle, including consumption of an unbalanced diet, lack of exercise, as well as having multiple sexual partners.

Its symptoms include abnormal bleeding between periods and sexual intercourse; post-menopausal women might experience new bleeding, smelly vaginal discharge and discomfort when having sex.

Some 93 newly reported cases of cervical cancer have been reported in Brunei from 2002 to 2004. -- Courtesy of The Brunei Times

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