Only 6 months after establishing the “ambitious 11” clinics in the north and northeast departments of Haiti, the CureCervicalCancer Team is back to reeducate and resupply. Due to the large number of sites and long distances to be traveled, we split into two teams and began this project. Team A led by Dr. Jennifer Lang, CCC Medical Director, intern Ellen Nong, and professional photo journalist Cat Benner traveled to San Raphael Medical Center. Team B led by CCC traveling nurse administrator Caitlin Cawley and intern Leila Hariri visited the l’Hopital Esperance in the rural town of Pilate.
Similar to the trip heading to Hope Hospital, the road to Saint Raphael was a long and bumpy two-hour ride. Throughout our journey, we had gorgeous views of lush green mountains and families bathing in the nearest river. All the children waved hello to us with their beautiful smiles. When we arrived at Saint Raphael, the clinic was crowded with dozens of women waiting to be screened. Dr. Jennifer Lang met and spoke with Dr. Adeski, who was previously trained by CCC to perform cervical cancer screenings and cryotherapy. He had already began the screening process before our arrival, which was phenomenal! When Dr. Adeski had to leave the room to begin cryotherapy procedures, Dr.Lang took over for him and taught me how to screen for cervical cancer lesions. I was extremely nervous when I initially began screening, but Dr. Lang and Anne were there to supervise and that made the experience amazing. After screening three patients on my own, I began to feel very comfortable in the environment we were in. By the end the of the day, we screened a total of 32 women, with nine being VIA-positive for pre-invasive cervical cancer lesions and treated via cryotherapy. It was an exciting day for a new intern at CCC, but it was an overall success saving so many lives in Saint Raphael. Authored by Ellen Nong
Team B
Upon arrival to the CCC/IMC “SANTA FANM SE LAVNI FANME” (Haitian for, “The health of the woman is the health of the family”) clinic, we were warmly greeted by the familiar faces of our previous trainees Nurse Darlyne Accil and Dr Emmanuel Clervil, as well as charge nurse of the hospital, Sister Louisa Belanger. We learned that the water supply to the hospital has been depleted for months and that challenge has disrupted some of the services offered. Thankfully, the UN has sent help and tanks of water are being transported from Cap-Haitien to Pilate, a bumpy 3 hour drive. Despite numerous obstacles, the staff has been screening and treating women each and every week. During our visit, we were happy to observe screenings executed expertly, all equipment in perfect working order, and exceptional patient data records. As expected, many women who come to the clinic for screening are found to have invasive cervical cancer. These patients are referred to St. Marc Oncology Center in the Artibonite Department which is located on the eastern coast of the island. One of the objectives of this week is for us to replenish necessary equipment at each clinic. We were able to easily fulfill those needs, and the mission today was accomplished.
This week is off to a great start! Authored by Leila Hariri
