Prophylaxis of cervical cancer in women and men perception

Introduction: It is estimated that cervical cancer kills 5 women per day.

Purpose: To assess the level of knowledge of men and women about the importance of cytology in cervical cancer.

Material and methods: The study comprised patients 100 women and 100 men. We used the questionnaire survey.

Results: 18% of women and 25% of men were convinced that the awareness of women about cervical cancer is bad. 44% of women and 38% of men, cytological examination should be done yearlly. 64% woman considered a chronic infection with HPV, and a large number of sexual partners are main risk factors of cervical cancer. Men reported a large number of sexual partners and untreated vaginitis (38%) as a cause of cervical cancer. 71% of women and 58% of men reported that bloody vaginal discharge is main symptom of cervical cancer. Only 16% of women and 12% of men knew that the first stage of the cancer often develops without symptoms. Most known programs for prevention of cervical cancer were cytology (80% women, 42% men) and vaccination (66% women, 26% men). 46% received an invitation to the cytology and 67% has benefited from it.

Conclusions: Knowledge of men and women about cervical cancer is varied. Most respondents did not benefit from received invitations to perform cytology. The main sources of women’s knowledge about cervical cancer are: the Internet, television, and doctor, for male – TV. Education on cancer should begin in school.