Have a cervix? Join St. Joseph’s ‘pap’ rally

The next Pop-Up Pap Test Clinic on March 24 will feature the latest in cervical screening with the province’s switch to HPV testing. Better test, less often. Attendees will be among the first in Ontario to benefit.

London, Ontario – Those attending the upcoming Pop-up Pap Test Clinic at St. Joseph’s Health Care London (St. Joseph’s) will be among the first in Ontario to benefit from the province’s shift this month to a new, more accurate cervical screening test.

“Cervical screening has taken a giant leap forward with a switch to human papillomavirus (HPV) testing,” explains Dr. Robert Di Cecco, Medical Director of St. Joseph’s Colposcopy Clinic and Regional Lead for Cervical Screening for the South West Regional Cancer Program. “HPV is the leading cause of cervical cancer and the new screening method is a game changer in being able to more precisely identify those at risk, detect that risk earlier and reduce false positives.”

Individuals who undergo screening won’t notice the difference. The change takes place in the lab, not the clinic or doctor’s office, adds Di Cecco. But the ability to prevent cervical cancer is greatly improved with the change.

Until now, a pap test, or pap smear, looked for abnormal cells on the cervix that can possibly lead to cervical cancer. Pap tests could find cell changes caused by high-risk HPV, but they didn’t test for HPV itself. The new, highly sensitive method uses advanced molecular techniques to specifically detect types of HPV that can cause cervical cancer as well as cell changes in the cervix caused by these types of HPV.

What’s not changing is how the cells are collected from the cervix. The new cervical screening test will feel like getting a pap test. As always, a speculum is inserted into the vagina and a small, soft brush is used to take cells from the cervix so the lab can test for cancer-causing types of HPV and cell changes.

“With greater test accuracy, however, most people can go longer between screenings – five years instead of three – if everything is normal,” says Di Cecco, who cautions that some people may need screening more often based on their medical or screening history.

The Pop-up Pap Test Clinic at St. Joseph’s is open anyone with cervix age 25 and older who has not had a pap test in the past three years. No referral or appointment necessary. It will be held from 9 am to 12 pm March 24 in the Colposcopy Clinic at St. Jospeh’s Hospital in London. Thos who attend should bring their Ontario health care. More information is available on St. Joseph's website.

For more information and to arrange an interview, contact:

Dahlia Reich, Communication Consultant 
St. Joseph’s Health Care London
519 646-6100 ext. 65294, Cell: 519 619-0971 
@email

About St. Joseph’s Health Care London

Renowned for compassionate care, St. Joseph’s Health Care London is a leading academic health care centre in Canada dedicated to helping people live to their fullest by minimizing the effects of injury, disease and disability through excellence in care, teaching and research. Through partnership with Lawson Health Research Institute and our collaborative engagement with other health care and academic partners, St. Joseph’s has become an international leader in the areas of chronic disease management; medical imaging; specialized mental health care; rehabilitation and specialized geriatrics; and surgery. St. Joseph’s operates through a wide range of hospital, clinic and long-term and community-based settings, including: St. Joseph’s Hospital; Parkwood Institute; Mount Hope Centre for Long Term Care; and the Southwest Centre for Forensic Mental Health Care. sjhc.london.on.ca.