Screening for Cervical Cancer

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The Issue

Cervical cancer can for the most part be avoided or easily treated. It can also be easily detected by regular screening. However, most women who develop cervical cancer have not been screened in the three years prior to their diagnosis.

Background

The cervix is the lower part of the uterus leading into the vagina.

This is an area where cells change rapidly, and where malignant cell changes are most likely to occur. While cervical cancer is the tenth most common cancer among Canadian women of all ages, it is the third most common among women aged 20 to 49.

The Papanicolaou (Pap) smear test is used to detect changes in the cervix before they become cancerous or when they are at a stage when treatment can be effective. Since the introduction of the Pap test more than 25 years ago, the death rate from cervical cancer has declined dramatically, dropping almost 50 percent. The survival rate is 74 percent over five years.

However, approximately 1,450 Canadian women will receive a diagnosis this year of invasive cervical cancer, and approximately 420 women will die from this disease. Woman w