Returned from Kiribati

Ellen Starr and Susan Hollinger showing off their parting gifts from their training participants.

Late last month, Clinical Director Ellen Starr, Clinical Consultant Susan Hollinger and volunteer Tatum FitzGerald traveled to the island nation of Kiribati, where they were tasked by Pacific Island Medical Aid (PIMA) to help get a fledgling cervical cancer prevention program off the ground. Two days of classroom learning would prepare the local team with information about HPV, cervical cancer, screening methods and effective ways to provide immediate treatment when needed, and referral when appropriate.

After the training, the team was ready to welcome women for screening at an X-ray clinic that had been converted to facilitate VIA and cryotherapy. Equipped with a headlamp, cotton swabs, speculum, and 5% vinegar, 10 local nurses and midwives screened 99 women. There was an overall positivity rate of 29%, which is substantially higher than global norms (roughly 10%). Cryotherapy treatment was performed on 83% of women found to have positive lesions, and the remaining 17% were referred to a local doctor for alternative management because they presented with lesions too large for cryotherapy. In addition, two women were found to have lesions suspicious for cancer and were also referred for followup diagnosis and care.

Susan Hollinger training local practitioners

It was indeed a wonderful trip with great teachers and eager students. I continue to be amazed how much you were able to accomplish in one short week … and what a monumental difference you have made for Kiribati.

Carlton Smith
Director
Pacific Islands Medical Aid

All in all, it was an enriching and rewarding experience for all those involved. The energy of the local team to do the work, the caring and compassion they showed for each other, and the intelligence and willingness to “do whatever is needed” was an inspiration. It’s what makes the people of Christmas Island and the support of PIMA unique.

The nurses laughed, sang, taught songs and danced as everyone negotiated a tough week of learning and practice. All the while patients were being lovingly cared for, reassured and treated with respect by each and every trainee.

Thank you to PIMA Director Carlton Smith and the entire staff of London Hospital, who helped the training run as smoothly as possible.

This amazing group of trainees is committed and more than capable of carrying on what they learned. These dedicated providers helped successfully screen and treat a group of women—their friends and neighbors—who might otherwise have gone on to develop cervical cancer.