AbstractContext: Cervical cancer till date is the commonest cancer of women of reproductive age group.It is a disease with long latent period and progresses in stages as: inflammationmild moderatesevere dysplasia carcinoma in situinvasive cancer. Prevention of carcinoma cervix can easily be done by regular screening of women of reproductive age group. In the days when diagnostic and curative endoscopic procedures have conquered the field of gynaecology, PAP SMEAR test is still an effective method for screening of cervical cancer at the community level. Aims: To find out the prevalence of cervical cancer in urban slum population of Turbhe, Navi Mumbai. Settings and Design: An OPD based cross sectional study, conducted at Urban Health Centre, Turbhe, Navi Mumbai. Methods and Material: Participants for the study were –married, parous women , more than 30 yrs of age , who attended the OPD. An informed consent was taken and a pre –tested questionnaire was filled up. Vaginal smear was taken with the help of Cusco’s Speculum and cotton swab stick. Slides were sent for histopathological examination. Statistical Analysis Used: SPSS version 20. Results: 1.9% of participants had cervical dysplasia, 95.1% had inflammatory smear and 2.9% of participants had normal smear. Conclusions: PAP smear is a simple procedure which can even be carried out in minimum time and requirements. By this procedure cervical dysplasia can easily be detected and treated, and thereby burden of cancer cervix can easily be reduced. It is observed that creating awareness activities in a small setup at community level, increases the voluntary participation by the women. The study also deals with various risk factors for cervical cancer.
Keywords: Community Awareness; Cusco’s Speculum; Dysplasia; Carcinoma in Situ.