Today, we screened 91 women! All of this was possible due to the community health workers, who were trained yesterday to inform the women of our cervical cancer prevention services. Their enthusiasm made a huge impact. In the morning, we began with 2 clinic stations. Due to the large demand, we added 3 more...
During our third day at Cap Haitien, we trained nine community health volunteers who are essential to educating the community about our cervical cancer prevention services. These community health workers are often important individuals in their community and will bring many women to be screened. After our lecture, the CCC team along with CCC...
Today, we trained four nurses in thermocoagulation at the Lindsay Rickles, RN Clinic in Bethesda Medical Centre in Cap Haitien, Haiti. These nurses are previous Global Trainees who learned VIA and cryotherapy in 2014 when our partnership began. After the lecture reviewing the screening technique and introducing thermocoagulation, we screened patients in the afternoon.
We’re bringing thermocoagulation to Haiti! Thermocoagulation is a treatment method for precancerous lesions that can be used as an alternative to cryotherapy with the same results. The most important benefit of thermocoagulation is that it functions on rechargeable battery, eliminating the need for carbon dioxide gas. Carbon dioxide gas is prohibitively expensive and often unavailable...
Many barriers in Haiti prevent the CCC sites from sustaining a successful “See & Treat” program including lack of supplies, lack of funds to obtain carbon dioxide gas, lack of trained staff, and lack of women who seek the service. Most women are completely unaware of the necessity of cervical cancer screening. Last week, Program Director,...
The smell of damp earth from the recent rains wafted through the windows of the tiny classroom, quickly shuffled to accommodate the projector and desks for eight trainees. A small space between desks accommodated a damp patch on the floor where the ceiling had been leaking. Three physicians and five nurses, here to learn VIA...
CCC had an exceptional turn-out today in Cap-Haitien at the Bethesda Medical Center! I found myself enchanted with the cadence of French Creole which echoed throughout the busy clinic. Unfortunately, my enchantment with the language didn’t make it easier for me to learn it. The simplest interactions evidenced that Haitian women perceived my English to...
This afternoon, CureCervicalCancer returned to Haiti for our fifth visit. Our very own nurse AnneMarie Durosier was waiting to receive the CCC team at Cap Haitien airport. We loaded our three giant “Clinic in a Suitcases” into the cars and headed directly to Bethesda Medical Center, home of the Lindsey Rickles Clinic. This week our...
Driving through the gates of the Hospital compound in Borgne was like coming home. Familiar faces came out to the courtyard to greet us, quickly followed by hugs. Dr Thony Voltaire (Medical Director for the hospital), and Miss Adeline Beliard (nurse in charge of the cervical cancer prevention program) was there to welcome us and...
Today’s taptap journey brought CCC intern Ellen and I to Hopital Grande Riviere du Nord, less than an hour south of Cap-Haitian. We had been told that the clinic was working to mobilize patients, but we were not prepared for the dozens of women, all anxious to be screened, waiting for us upon our arrival....
