Today was the CCC Team’s first day of training the local healthcare professionals (over 35 people in attendance)in the “See and Treat” procedure at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital (JOOTRH) in Kisumu, Kenya. The day began with an informational presentation on the theoretical aspects of Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid (VIA) and cryotherapy...
We arrived at Hopital Saint Michel in Cap-Haitien, Haiti this morning to find that our partners—International Medical Corps—had prepared for our arrival. We were introduced to Dr. Johanna Trevant, the hospital’s head of gynecology, and two nurses designated to learn the See and Treat procedure. We began with an informational seminar and then moved to...
Today was our final day in Borgne, Haiti, which culminated in the successful establishment of The Phyllis Clinic, CureCervicalCancer’s 7th ongoing, fully sustainable See and Treat clinic! We had a busy clinic day and saw a record number of women from the community! We were deeply gratified to see the See and Treat stations completely run by...
When CCC takes on a project in a remote area like Engos, Kenya, we need to learn about the indigenous people who will constitute our patient population. The roughly 900,000 Maasai (who speak Maa as well as some Swahili and English) are pastoralists whose livelihood depends primarily on owning and herding cattle. History The Maasai...
Once we began operations, we had a lively See and Treat program going. Initially Dr. Patricia Gordon conducted demonstrations and brought in Cullen Hallinan, Jessie Margolis, and Kim Borden (who are pursuing careers in medicine) and nurses as co-participants. As the morning moved on, it was exciting to see Kim, Jessie, and Cullen taking over...
The first challenge CureCervicalCancer.org (CCC) faces in launching any new effort to bring “See and Treat” (for premalignant cervical cancer) to a developing country is getting its staff and equipment to the site. Stage One is bringing all the equipment (including multiple large cryotherapy units) to be used, and ultimately donated, through Customs, in this...
Occasionally, supporters of CCC comment that they would like to “breeze off” with us to one of our destinations, say, Guatemala, or Kenya, or Haiti. The fact is that getting to our work sites is no “breeze.” When CCC goes overseas, we have already accomplished a huge set of tasks since we must travel with...
CCC was honored by an invitation to speak at the National Ethiopian Cancer Conference in August, 2013. Because CCC’s Director, Dr. Patricia Gordon, could not attend, CCC was delighted to be represented by Dr. Samson Mulugeta of Ayder Referral Hospital in Mekelle, Ethiopia, who was instrumental in setting up the CCC See and Treat Clinic...
Indigenous Mayans and their Health Practices Using western medicine to treat indigenous people presents challenges in overcoming cultural differences and communicating. When CCC works in Coban, Guatemala at the end of September, it needs some grounding in ways traditional Mayans confront illness and health and their views on the sources of illness and methods to...
Coban, Guatemala is not a prime tourist destination; rather, surrounded by mountains and located at 4330 feet, it is a coffee-growing region. The fourth largest city in Guatemala, Coban, about 4-5 hours drive (219 kilometers) from the capital, has a population of around 100,000 people. The local people are predominantly Q’eqchi, a group that represents...
