BBC World Service Europe and the Middle East

The Truth About ...

The Truth About...

Documentaries

News

A crucial guide to the things that affect us all. Hear from those with first-hand experience, and experts in the field.

The Truth About...: The Truth About Cancer: Screening and Treating Cervical Cancer in Tanzania

Factual: Science & Nature

Screen and Treat in Tanzania

26/06/2017 GMT

Screening and Treating Cervical Cancer in Tanzania

The Truth About Cancer

BBC World Service - The Truth About..., The Truth About Cancer, Screening and Treating Cervical Cancer in Tanzania

Anu Anand on how vinegar and a head torch are used to tackle cervical cancer in Tanzania.

Anu Anand finds out how vinegar and a head torch are being used to tackle cervical cancer in Tanzania.

The ‘Pap’ smear, to identify those at risk of cervical cancer, is one of the most successful cancer screening tests ever invented.  Vaccines to protect against the human papillomavirus, which causes cervical cancer, have also been developed.  

Yet in Tanzania, cervical cancer is devastating the country.  It strikes more women than any other cancer and most women die within five years of diagnosis.  
 
Anu Anand asks why the disease is so rife here and finds out how Tanzanians are tackling it with a cheap and low-tech alternative to the Pap smear.

No lab equipment, microscopes or electricity are needed.  Instead, health workers stain the cervix with shop-bought vinegar to reveal any pre-cancerous lesions.  With the help of a head torch, the lesions are visible to the naked eye.  

The treatment for these pre-cancerous lesions is just as low-tech.  A cryotherapy ‘gun’ shoots out carbon dioxide to freeze and destroy the pre-cancerous cells before they turn to cancer. 

The treatment is so simple that Anu was even allowed to give it a try – not on a real cervix but on the butchered meat that nurses train on to hone their skills.
 
These simple, low-cost techniques are now providing countries like Tanzania with the tools they need to catch and treat women with cell changes on their cervix before cancer develops. 

Producer: Beth Eastwood

Photo credit: Anu Anand ©

The Truth About...: The Truth About Cancer

BBC World Service

Magazines & Reviews

Anu Anand examines the strategies taken by health professionals and cancer sufferers in different parts of the world.

BBC World Service Online

BBC World Service schedule for American satellite radio and the Caribbean

BBC World Service Americas and the Caribbean

BBC World Service Australasia

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa Schedule

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa

BBC World Service East Asia

BBC World Service South Asia

BBC World Service West and Central Africa Schedule

Accessibility links

Programme Index

The Truth About...

The Truth About Cancer

Screening and Treating Cervical Cancer in Tanzania

Genres

Brand

Series

BBC World Service Europe and the Middle East

About BBC World Service