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| Cervical Screening – a Life Saver |
Women who have regular smear tests every three years reduce their risk of developing cancer by about 90%. In the Otago/ Southland region 91.9% of women who identify as appropriate for cervical smears have registered with the National Cervical Screening programme since it was established in 1990. However 25.2% of them have not had a cervical smear in the last five years. Cervical cancer is one of the most preventable of all cancers.
Wendi Morris is passionate about encouraging women to have regular cervical smears. It’s not just her job, she believes it saved her life and could have prevented the early death of her mother.
Wendi is a Health Promotion Adviser for Public Health South and promoting the National Cervical Screening programme comes under her umbrella. In the 1970’s long before the National CS programme was introduced, Wendi had just had her fourth child and told her Doctor that she felt something was wrong .Her Doctor took a smear and the results showed the presence of abnormal cells, he took a second smear and this showed extremely high grade abnormal cells which if left would develop into cancer. She was 23. She was given a cone biopsy, which cut away the cells around her cervix. Wendi went on to have four more children.
Unfortunately Wendi’s mother did not live to see all of her grandchildren. In 1978 Wendi had encouraged her mother to have a cervical smear. Sadly her mother was found to have cervical cancer and the cancer had spread to other parts of her body. Wendi believes if the knowledge about cervical cancer and the need to have smears had been widely known in the 70’s her mother may have lived to see all of her grandchildren.
Wendi tells women,“If you are called back to have another smear, go!” She says some women are sometimes too scared or whakama to go. “There is a misconceived idea that abnormal cells mean cancer, but they don’t.”
Dr Jill McIlraith, Dunedin GP and Well Dunedin trustee agrees that women can be reluctant to have a smear. "Sometimes it is embarrassment that stops women having smears but it would be a great pity if we let shyness stop us from taking care of our bodies. It only takes a few minutes to actually take the smear test and that is a small investment in our own health."
Wendi wants women to know that a cervical smear test is not a test to look for cancer. It is a screening test to look for abnormal changes in cells on the surface of the cervix. Some cells with abnormal changes can develop into cancer if they are not treated. Treatment of abnormal cells is very effective at preventing cancer.
Wendi Morris stresses, “ without screening, one out of 90 women will develop cervical cancer and one out of 200 women will die from cervical cancer.” She also says that nearly 95 % of results are normal and that an abnormal result hardly ever means cancer but it still needs to be followed up.
All women who have ever been sexually active are advised to have smear tests from the time they turn 20 until they turn 70. The Human Papilloma Virus causes cervical cancer. HPV is a common sexually transmitted infection. HPV infection is common, cervical cancer is rare.
In Dunedin, women can have a cervical smear done at their normal medical practice ,at Family Planning or Student Health. In some practices with male doctors, practice nurses may do the smear.
Wendi Morris says that Public Health South is particularly keen to urge priority women, such as those who have never had a smear, have not had a smear for five years as well as Maori and Pacific Island women, to have cervical smears every three years. If any woman has difficulty paying for a smear or would like more information they can confidentially talk to Wendi or her colleague Fleur Kelsey. on 0800 668 439
Wendi Morris always remembers the words of her Doctor, “ If you hadn’t come back for that second smear I might not be talking to you today.” She says that message is imprinted on her brain and it drives her to reach as many women as she can with the same life saving message.
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