Early cancer screening saves thousands of lives each year, as it helps diagnose cancer at an early stage, when there are more options and treatment is more likely to be successful.
However, the rate of people performing cancer screening is not high, and there are many types of cancer that cannot be screened early. This comes from many different causes, including prejudices and invisible barriers that create health inequalities in cancer screening and early detection.
Screening helps find cancer at an early stage, even before symptoms appear. When abnormal tissue or cancer is found early, it can be easier to treat or cure. By the time symptoms begin to appear, the cancer may have already grown and spread, affecting the cancer's ability to be treated or cured.
In theory, people at risk should be screened. But in practice, few people know about cancer screening, leading to inequalities in diagnosis, treatment and outcomes for those diagnosed with cancer. Therefore, it is necessary to break down barriers to screening so that everyone has equal access to prevention and early diagnosis of cancer.
Fear and stigma about cancer
The first barrier to address is stigma. Many people are afraid of cancer, so they don’t talk about it. And if cancer isn’t talked about, then obviously cancer awareness will be lower. Conversations about cancer usually only happen when someone has died from cancer. It’s a matter of knowledge and education. People hear stories about cancer at funerals. They never hear positive stories about people who have had cancer or who have survived. Because the people around them won’t talk about it. When we’re afraid of something, sometimes we get caught up in stereotypes about it.
For example, if people believe that cancer is a matter of fate or that it is incurable, they may not consider early diagnosis to be beneficial, nor may they be aggressive in seeking treatment. Some studies have shown a link between low screening rates, high mortality rates, and negative attitudes toward cancer screening and treatment for lung and bowel cancers.
Feeling shy when examining sensitive areas
In addition, screening for breast, cervical and colon cancer are all related to sensitive areas of the body. Due to education or religious beliefs about women's moral standards, especially in young women who have not had sex, many women are reluctant to be examined, feel uncomfortable or uneasy when doctors examine these parts. In addition, the risk of cervical cancer is related to a person's sexual history, so being screened for cervical cancer. They are afraid that if the result is positive, it may lead to discord in the relationship with their husband or current lover. These psychological barriers about women's traditional moral standards and virtues somewhat limit many women from getting screened for cancer.
Fear of medical examination
Most patients in Vietnam do not go for a general check-up for many years and only go when they cannot stand it anymore. By then, the disease has become very serious, leading to complicated treatment, increased treatment time and costs, and even increased risk of death. Late detection is one of the main reasons for the high mortality rate due to cancer in Vietnam. This situation is not only seen in cancer but also in many other diseases. The reason is that many people are afraid of going to the doctor because they will discover the disease, knowing that the disease will cost money, and so they are afraid of doctors.
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Going to the doctor only after the pain is unbearable is also one of the reasons why the disease is discovered late and the treatment prognosis is not good. (Illustration photo) |
Others do not care about their health, or feel that they are not important, so they subjectively ignore their health. This situation is often seen in mothers, grandmothers, or family breadwinners. They are used to sacrificing for others, so they often ignore invitations to go for screening with the reason that they are busy taking care of their children, doing housework, etc. and have not seen any abnormal signs on their bodies (or if there are, they can bear it and deliberately ignore it).
Economic conditions, living conditions
People living in remote areas, people with difficult living conditions are not aware of the benefits of cancer screening, do not have access to cancer screening, and may not be able to afford cancer screening tests, because they need to prioritize other expenses in their financial burden. Many people do not even dare to skip a few days of work to go to the doctor, because they lose income and spend money on medical examination, or if they are found to have a disease, they will have to spend more money on medicine.
Breaking down barriers
Since most of these barriers are psychological, the root of the problem lies in education and raising public awareness about cancer and the importance of cancer screening. Once people understand the benefits of cancer screening, they will be more willing to participate in screening. In addition, popularizing knowledge about cancer will make people more open-minded about cancer, thereby increasing their understanding of cancer.
In addition, the way of propagating and popularizing knowledge about cancer can also gradually erase the embarrassment caused by women's psychology of trying to maintain ethical standards when screening for cancer in sensitive areas. Previously, childbirth and family planning were sensitive topics, but now thanks to the effect of propaganda, they have become normal stories. If cancer is also properly propagated in the community, psychological barriers, fear and taboos about cancer will gradually be removed.
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