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FALL 2006 |
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H
E A L T H P R O M O T I O N
Pap tests:
Reducing embarrassment and increasing screening
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As part of the Cervical
Screening Initiatives Program’s Fall 2006 Pap Test Awareness Week
campaign, women are encouraged to become more informed and proactive
about regular Pap testing.
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By Lori Harnett |
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As part of the Cervical Screening
Initiatives Program’s Fall 2006 Pap Test Awareness Week campaign,
women are encouraged to become more informed and proactive about
regular Pap testing.
A Pap test is an important health test
that can prevent cancer of the cervix from developing. By viewing the
Pap test as a medical exam, just like all other medical tests, the
stigma and embarrassment women may feel about this test can be
eliminated.
When you walk into a coffee shop, or even
into a physician office, and strike up a conversation about Pap
screening, you feel the uneasiness begin to build. Women usually shake
their head and make comments about how they hate having that done.
Encouraging women to talk to each other
about the feelings they may have around the Pap test and, most
importantly, to discuss these thoughts with their doctor is the goal of
this year’s campaign.
Open discussion about women’s health is a
necessary step to supporting those women who do not attend regular
screening. Only 35 per cent of women in Newfoundland and Labrador have
an annual Pap test. Furthermore, of all women ages 18 to 69, only 20 per
cent have had two Pap tests within 30 months.
Every year, between 30 and 35 women in the
province are diagnosed with invasive cervical cancer and another 100 or
more with precancerous changes. Women who have been diagnosed with
cervical cancer are telling their story listing “pride, embarrassment or
not realizing the importance of the Pap test” as reasons for why they
did not participate in regular cervical screening.
The Cervical Screening Initiatives Program
encourages physicians to initiate a conversation on this important
preventive screening test to all their eligible female patients and to
begin building a Pap friendly office environment.
All clinics offering Pap screening will
receive a promotional resource kit to support the Pap Test Awareness
Week messages. In addition, tools and resources are available to use in
the clinic setting to increase uptake for cervical screening.
This year’s public campaign encourages all
women to take personal responsibility for their health — A regular Pap
test can save your life!
For more information or to order
resources, contact Lori Harnett, Provincial Women’s Health Educator,
Cervical Screening Initiatives Program, toll free at (866) 643-8719.
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