Health Sciences North is drawing attention to the low number of cervical cancer screening rates in the northeast. This is part of April’s Cervical Cancer Awareness Month. HSN, Cancer Care Ontario, and the Northeast Cancer Centre are all teaming up to encourage women to get screened for cervical cancer.
Almost half a million women in Ontario are overdue for a cervical cancer screening. Regional Coordinator of Cancer Screening Promotion for the cancer centre, Nicole Gauthier, says it’s important for women to get screened because most cervical cancers can be prevented with regular pap tests and the HPV vaccine. Gauthier says screening with a pap test is the only way to find cell changes at an early stage, when the changes can be treated and the cancer prevented.
There is a website that has clinic information for those who don’t have a family doctor. Go to the Cancer Care website for all of the information.