A massive cervical cancer awareness campaign organised by the Kuruman Community Trust attracted several hundreds of residents in Kuruman on September 29, 2018.

A fun run of about ten kilometres premised the campaign that started around 06:00 at the First Eye. The trust has taken a very bold step using its community-inclined resources to encourage women to have a pap smear done to prevent cervical cancer.

The speaker of the district municipality Councillor Queen Mokgatle was part of the supporting officials in the campaign with the chairperson of the trust, Mr Lazarus Mbethe and officials from the Department of Health.

The trust has a mobile clinic which caters for primary health issues. During the campaign by the trust, the department of health provided medication to the patients. Tests are being conducted in several villages that include Gamopedi, Gadiboe, Tsineng, Cardington, Bendel, Olifantshoek and Dithakong in the district through mobile clinic services. Statistics have revealed that the district has high cervical cancer cases in the last two years hence an active awareness programme has been instituted. Doctors and their nursing staff are part of the awareness exercise.

Doctor Rose Ndlhovu from Johannesburg said that breast cancer has become the leading killer followed by cervical cancer hence early diagnosis is very important to contain it from spreading. Early diagnosis keeps cancer dormant through therapeutic interventions and therefore manageable. The mobile clinic has become a great relief to the rural women who cannot easily visit health centres.

The doctor said that screening and treatment on-site is the best way to lessen challenges faced by rural women. Among the targeted villages the mobile clinic spends about a week before moving to the other station. About 1000 to 1300 women visit the mobile clinic in a month.  The mobile clinic has been operating for the past four years, a brilliant idea supported by the founder and chairperson of the trust, Mr Lazarus Mbethe.