Dr. Nermean Mostafa is a lecturer in clinical oncology at Ain Shams University in Egypt. We were very pleased to interview her about all the work she does for and with gynecological cancer patients in Egypt, about lingering stigma that her patients face, and about her plans for World Gynecologic Oncology Day 2024! Please find some excerpts from our interview below (edited for length and clarity) or check out the full video of our conversation over on Instagram!

World Gynecologic Oncology Day 

I'm so happy to continue our live video series with Dr Nermeen Mostafa!  Thank you for joining us.

Dr Nermean Mostafa 

Thank you so much for inviting me, and I'm extremely happy to be with you tonight in your interesting live Instagrams. I'm really excited about having our interview tonight.

World Gynecologic Oncology Day 

Please tell us a little bit about yourself and about what your work is in Cairo.

Dr Nermean Mostafa

I'm a lecturer of Clinical Oncology at Ain Shams University Cairo, Egypt, and I'm a member of the scientific and executive committee of the presidential initiative of cancer, early detection and management, and head of the awareness subcommittee in this initiative. I'm a council member of PARSGO and I'm a member of the mentorship task force group in the European Society of Gynaecological Oncology and the DEI initiative. I'm also proud to work as head of the organizing committee of one of the biggest breast and gynecological cancer conferences in Egypt, Africa and the Middle East, which is called the BGICC, for five years now.

World Gynecologic Oncology Day 

You mentioned that you are active in the presidential initiative in Egypt, which is to try to raise awareness about all cancers, and particularly cervical cancer. Could you tell us a little bit more about that?

Dr Nermean Mostafa

It launched June 2023, and it includes the four preventable cancers, colon, lung, cervix and prostate, and has a special focus on the cervix and the global forces and efforts to eliminate cervical cancer. The target population—yes, men and women—starting from the age of 18. Anyone age of 18 with the National ID can go to the primary health unit or electronically through the website or calling the call center. We have a hot line. Now you can you fill a survey, a very short survey, and according to the results of the survey, if you need a further investigation, you start to be directed to the actions that needed.

For example, if she's lady, she's 21 she must do the Pap smear and to do the HPV test. If you have a family history or are a smoker, you will go further for the low dose CAT scan, for lung screening, for the colon.

The objective of the presidential initiative is to detect the tumors at an earlier stage where there is a high cure rate, and as well to prevent cancers by detecting lesions, for example, on the cervix. For the positive cases, they are treated in a multidisciplinary tumor board setting and receive the standard of care. As well, the goals of the initiative are to raise awareness, community, and public awareness.

World Gynecologic Oncology Day 

You mentioned that the awareness part of it has been interesting for you.

Dr Nermean Mostafa

Yes, the focused awareness task force. It's a different committee. It has different representatives from the community. We have a basketball champion, famous public figures and media influencers. We have representatives from the higher education minister, and we have social media bloggers to raise community and public awareness, and to join all different sectors of the community. Our objectives are to start awareness with the students in high school and universities about the culture of being healthy: You don't have to get sick to go to the doctor.

A lady after our campaign went to do the HPV test, and she was tested positive, and she was treated, and now she started to have her own group, an HPV advocate group, and among different WhatsApp group and Facebook groups.

Cervical cancer is a very private and special disease area that (society) has a fear of talking about. The people are so shy to speak about it. That’s why we are working hard on it to raise awareness.

World Gynecologic Oncology Day 

You mentioned that cervical cancer is the main cancer that faces stigma in Egypt. Could you talk about that a little?

Dr Nermean Mostafa

Yes, because cervical cancer is related to the HPV infection. It's a sexually transmitted disease and related to multiple partners. So everyone is so shy to speak about it.

When we went for public or community awareness campaigns, when we talked about cervical screening and it was time for Q&As, no one asked any questions. But at the end of the session, we start to have one-to-one private questions about this disease, about the vaccine, the mode of transmission, the prevention, the screening.

So we want to raise awareness. If it's a disease, like any disease, it's not related to bad sexual practices. One of the objectives that we want to talk about is sexual health. It's something normal that we don't have to be shy of. It's not something that we should be shy of.

That's what we are facing, usually during our awareness campaigns, especially about cervical cancers. And one of the panelists mentioned before that we have legal multiple partners in our Arabic countries; the men can legally marry four ladies after divorce. The lady can marry another man who was married before. So this is considered multiple partners. So it's normal. It's not something that is we should be shy of. We should go for our routine checkup, routine gynecological checkup, routine cervical screening for the vaccine.

As well as the stigma that we are facing about the HPV vaccine itself, related to sexual malpractice. That it may (cause) premature sexual behavior. No—it's a normal vaccine. It's FDA approved many years ago. It’s the only vaccine that can prevent you from cancer, from a big, big health problem.

World Gynecologic Oncology Day 

Thank you for talking about that, because I think it's always interesting in these interviews to hear about what different challenges different countries have. I hope that people who watch this series or who read the transcripts on our blog can maybe learn something that applies to them as well. You mentioned before you are working with PARSGO?

Dr Nermean Mostafa

Yes, when we had webinars before about cervical cancer, we are all facing the same challenges regarding social and cultural factors that, especially in our Arab countries, no one wants to talk about this disease and even the vaccine. We are having a lot of misconceptions about the vaccine, its safety, its efficacy, to whom it should be given, at what age. So awareness is needed about the primary prevention, secondary prevention, and that it's a disease that can be prevented.

World Gynecologic Oncology Day 

What advice would you give to someone who wants to bring some more awareness to cervical cancer prevention, to screening during World Gynecologic Oncology Day?

Dr Nermean Mostafa

To put yourself on top of your list for that. We are ladies. We don't have any time for ourselves. We always put our families as priorities. We always forget how to take care of ourselves. So it's a day for all ladies to take care of their selves, to love their selves by getting educated, getting informed, getting screened, getting checked up about all women health-related issues. To get your Pap smear, and if she has a family history, wants to get screened about ovary, breast cancer, you know, all physical and mental related health issues. So World GO Day is the day to love yourself and to take care of yourself.

World Gynecologic Oncology Day 

Thank you again for talking about the stigma that patients face, and the people, even if they're not patients, but women face when they're going to the doctor, I think that that those messages, even though we say it almost every day on our social media channel, they can't be said enough.

We need to talk about it so that the stigma is reduced.