Exploring the capacity of early Cancer screening and Diagnosis

Background
Cancer is an emerging health problem in Africa that needs to be addressed appropriately in order to control increased incidence and mortality rates, Despite rising incidence and mortality rates in Africa, cancer has been given low priority in the research field and in healthcare services.

Early diagnosis of cancer focuses on detecting symptomatic patients as early as possible so they have the best chance for successful treatment. When cancer care is delayed or inaccessible there is a lower chance of survival, greater problems associated with treatment and higher costs of care. Early diagnosis improves cancer outcomes by providing care at the earliest possible stage and is therefore an important public health strategy in all settings.

Objectives
To determine the preparedness and capacity of early Cancer screening at Health center IVs in kasese district Midwestern Uganda.
To establish methods used by the district health team in identifying cancer cases in the district.

Method
A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at Kasese municipal IV, Rukoki Health IV,Bughonye Health center IV, Rwansande Health center IV.
Data was collected using a semi-structured questionnaire from Health IV in chargers who were at the time clinical officers, Nursing officers, laboratory in chargers and technicians, laboratory district focal personal and District health officer.The data was entered in computer using Epi Data and analyzed with SPSS

Results
The results showed that 98% of the health center IV laboratories didn't have any capacity to screen cancer related infections, 3% of the laboratories hard referred samples to commercialized laboratory to screen cancer related infections.

The study also reported 20% of health center IVs which hard participated in cervix cancer and breast cancer screening with support from a funded project.

Health center IV which hard laboratory staff who hard attained Bachelor level hard high chances to suspect Cancer infections and referred them, most of the Health centers IV cancer infections go unnoticed.

Conclusion
Health center IVs hard no enough capacity to screen and diagnose cancer infections in their early stages, leaving most cases to go in noticed.

Recommendations

There is need to introduce a variety of cancer screening laboratory testing kits on the market to be able to be used at low level health center inorder to capture, early disease detection .
There is need for ministry of health to include cancer on the lower health care agenda as a routine procedure especially to the population at high risk for example men above 40years, people living with HIV.

There is further need for government to formulate guidelines, train staff, promote quality control measures, all these with an aim to improve cancer diagnosis at health center IVs.
The study recommended more studies to be done on government hospitals and regional referral hospitals to access the preparedness and capacity to do early screening and diagnosis of cancers in their early stages.