Cape Breton Women Being Encouraged to Have Pap Test

More than 1,400 women living in Cape Breton will receive a letter this week encouraging them to have a Pap test as part of a three-year pilot project in Cape Breton.

"Cape Breton has a high rate of cervical cancer and a very low screening rate for the disease," said Elaine Rankin, project co-ordinator for the Cape Breton Pilot Project. "This letter campaign is the first step we're taking to inform and educate women in this area on the reasons why they need an annual Pap test."

Currently, less than 43 per cent of Nova Scotian women over 14 years of age get a Pap test. This rate is significantly lower in the four Cape Breton counties where the average screening rate is 32 per cent.

The letter campaign is part of a pilot project designed to develop and test a comprehensive approach to increasing cervical-cancer screening in Cape Breton that can be used to encourage preventative health care among high-risk women across the country. This approach was chosen after a needs assessment found that 87 per cent of the women surveyed felt a letter campaign would be a good idea.

Women who have not had a Pap test in the past three to 10 years will be sent a letter encouraging them to be tested. The campaign will then be evaluated, and if successful, it is expected that an additional 30,000 letters will be sent out at the end of the summer or early fall. In addition to the letters, the project will also help raise physician awareness and involve community-based education initiatives.

The pilot project is being organized by the Nova Scotia Gynecological Cancer Screening Programme and the Cervical Cancer Prevention Network. The initiative was announced last spring and is funded by Health Canada.

Women are advised to have an annual Pap test by contacting their family physician or other appropriate services, such as a Well Women's Clinic. Yearly Pap tests are important as they can detect any changes in the cervix. Regular Pap tests can prevent cancer of the cervix in more than 90 per cent of cases.

The second annual Pap Test Awareness Week will take place this fall, from Oct. 25-31.