Nurse sends warning to rough riders

With popular dancehall songs like ‘Hot Wuk’, ‘Bawl and Beg’, ‘Force it Up’ ‘Wine Pon It’, and a host of others which promote more vigorous and aggressive sexual intercourse, the risk of women developing cervical cancer may have increased.{{more}}

Staff Nurse of the Stubbs Medical Centre Beverly McNichols speaking to Searchlight said that the rough sex encouraged by these songs may cause bruising of the cervix, which may predispose women to problems in the long run.

“The bruises make it easier for the woman to get infections, and unless these infections are discovered early, cervical change can take place.”

McNichols, who has been a nurse for the past 18 years, was also a speaker at last Sunday’s “Save Our Sisters Project”, a rally organized by Searchlight senior reporter Hawkins Nanton to bring further awareness to the detection, prevention and treatment of Cervical Cancer, the number one cancer affecting women in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

She indicated that a lot of women do not turn up to clinics to get themselves screened (also called pap test or pap smear), because they do not fully understand the subject matter and the procedure.

“The pap test is a simple, painless, quick test in which cells are gently scraped from the inside or entrance of the cervix (womb mouth) and sent to a laboratory for examination under the microscope.

“The pap smear picks up early changes in the cells of the cervix which can develop into cancer. If the test is done and these changes are seen, you can be treated to prevent cancer from developing.”

The staff nurse said that the pap test is very reliable if done properly, and women should not panic if the results show changes; they should seek treatment immediately, which is more successful if done at an early stage.

She encouraged getting screened at least once a year, and after three successful tests, less frequently.

“Getting a pap test can save your life. It can find early signs and if caught early, the chance of cure is very high.

According to McNichols, some women have a higher risk of developing cervical cancer. These include those who started having sex at an early age, women with multiple sex partners, or have partners who have multiple sex partners.

Also at high risk are women with Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), women who are HIV positive or have a weakened immune system or are cigarette smokers.

McNichol has been based at a number of clinics in the Calliaqua District, and hopes that as many women as possible attend the March 19th screening drive that takes place at the Stubbs Clinic.

The nurse indicated that she is not familiar with the tunes that promote aggressive sex, but believes that both men and women should be gentler when performing.