The association shared with Mmegi that in their experience, testing for cervical cancer comes with a lot of fear and trauma and that there is need for professional counseling to alleviate the fear. Cervical cancer comes second to skin cancer among other types of cancer. Assistant Head of Volunteers at the association, Bontle Modige said that most people are left with feelings of despair and confusion with what would happen now that they have tested positive. "Because of our inability to provide counseling after testing positive with cancer, some people are filled with fear that they are going to die. They fail to see life beyond cancer," she continued. She noted that this is fueled by lack of education on cancer in general.
"On average, people know about the disease but there is need for more information on signs of the disease, how often to do pap smears, causes of the disease and what to do if diagnosed with the disease," she said, adding "the public has shown hunger in learning about these things and I think it is only our shortcoming to inform them," she said.The association has just over 30 volunteers who usually visit hard to reach areas to impart information on cancer. Modige says that equipment for Pap Smears are available in most clinics, but the majority of women are not clear on how often they have to go for the test.
