The difficulties of secondary prophylaxis of cervical cancer in women suffering from paranoid schizophrenia - a case study.

Cervical cancer constitutes 5.32% of all malignant neoplasm cases, it is the sixth most common condition of the cancer type and it is an important problem because of its medical, epidemiological and social implications. The aim of primary prophylaxis is to reduce the number of new cases, while secondary prophylaxis is to provide early diagnoses and treatment of cancer cases. The aim of this work is to present the case of 55-year-old woman treated with chronic paranoid schizophrenia whose gynecologist refused to collect biological material for cytological evaluation. The patient was diagnosed with carcinoma planoepitheliale (G2), then treated surgically and qualified for adjuvant-radiological treatment. Despite the good mental state and a psychiatrists' statement (treating the patient for many years) of the absence of contraindications for hospitalization, a gynecologist-oncologist refused to admit the patient to the ward in fear of a threat to other patients and decided on outpatient palliative treatment of the patient. Finally, radiologist-oncologist performed the complete cycle of irradiation in order to cure the patient. While looking for possible reasons of cervical cancer development in individuals with psychotic disorders, all the possible carcinogenic factors have to be taken into account. Nulliparous women and virgins treated for mental illness must not be denied screening examinations related to cervical cancer. Despite the changes, also related to the implementation of the mental health program, people with mental disorders with underlying physical illness are still stigmatized, even by a higher medical personnel. Moreover, mentally ill patients are denied proper treatment in accordance with the current state of medical knowledge.