Dr. Avnish Jolly, Chandigarh, 30th July, 2008:The World Health Organization, the United Nations Populations Fund, and PATH are seeking clinicians who have used cryotherapy for treatment of precancerous cervical lesions in low-resource settings.
We need you to share your experiences using cryotherapy in the field (what works and what doesn’t work well) and to provide feedback on cryotherapy equipment. Our goal is to increase access to high-quality cryotherapy services in the future. Your thoughts will be immensely beneficial!
We have prepared a simple, 15-minute online survey to capture your insights. It is easy to fill out, and no registration or personal information is required.
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=Of_2b0Up_2b9qNh_2ftGlvdVR8Pg_3d_3d
The survey will be open until August 8, 2008.
Background
Cryotherapy is recognized as the most cost-effective, feasible approach to treating precancerous lesions in low-resource settings. Solutions to the technical problems involving the use of cryotherapy are urgently needed, especially now that rapid, low-cost HPV testing is becoming available and many high-risk women will need treatment at the point-of-identification of disease. Cost-effective methods for treatment of precancerous lesions, in combination with early detection, will lead to a major reduction in the incidence of cervical cancer and result in positive health outcomes for women throughout the world. Cryotherapy has the potential to be a highly suitable treatment if the current technical problems can be resolved, if the effectiveness of the treatment is demonstrated conclusively, and if it is made available to practitioners worldwide.