Pap Test Awareness Week in Nova Scotia, Oct. 25-31

The second annual Pap Test Awareness Week takes place in Nova Scotia from Oct. 25 to Oct. 31 in an effort to increase public knowledge of the importance of a yearly Pap test as a preventive health-care measure.

More than 15,000 women were screened in the month following Pap Test Awareness Week '97.

"Nova Scotia has unacceptably high rates of cervical cancer," said Health Minister Jim Smith. "The need to educate women about the importance of having regular Pap tests has never been so great."

Pap test screening in Nova Scotia is low: less than 45 per cent of women at risk are tested annually. More than 60 Nova Scotian women, or 13 in every 100,000, are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year. Approximately 23 die annually.

The annual test is recommended for all women who are or have been sexually active. Having a Pap test yearly, and not smoking, can reduce a woman's risk of developing cervical cancer.

"Regular Pap tests can prevent cancer of the cervix in over 90 per cent of cases," explained Dr. Rob Grimshaw, executive director of the Nova Scotia Gynaecological Cancer Screening Programme. "A Pap test is the only way to detect changes in the cells of the cervix before they become cancer."

Nova Scotia's Pap Test Awareness Week '98 is being organized by the Nova Scotia Gynaecological Cancer Screening Programme in association with its many partners, including the Nova Scotia Division of the Canadian Cancer Society and the Nova Scotia Department of Health.

Activities are being organized across the province during Pap Test Awareness Week. A list of some of the activities follows.

For more information about what's happening in your community, contact the Nova Scotia Gynaecological Cancer Screening Programme at 902-473-7438.