4 May 2018

Yap offers free women's health checks

2:35 pm on 4 May 2018

Female government workers in the Micronesian state of Yap are being offered time off for free health checks later this month, as the cost of treating cancer soars.

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Photo: 123rf

The government is recognising international Women's Health Week by directing all government departments and agency heads to grant four hours' leave to their female staff so they can take part in health screenings.

The government said the average cost of sending a cancer patient off island for medical treatment had gone up from around $US11,000 to $US15,000.

It said the number of cancer patients being sent abroad had doubled in the last seven years.

Oral cancer is the number one cancer on Yap, followed by lung, liver, prostate, cervical and breast cancer.

Yap's health authorities and health centres have also been directed to encourage physical fitness and healthy eating to reduce the burden of cancer and non communicable diseases like diabetes and heart disease.

Women's Health Week starts on 21 May.