At-home screening tests for cervical cancer bring hope for early detection

As cervical cancer awareness month wraps up, survivors and doctors alike are hopeful that new at-home screening kits could save lives and are looking to bring them to Ontario.

Data from the Canadian Cancer Society says that last year alone, an estimated 1,500 women were diagnosed with cervical cancer and as many as 400 could die from it.

With the human papillomavirus (HPV) being a leading cause for cervical cancer, immunization against it has proved to be an extremely effective prevention method.

Medical officials in British Columbia are now shifting their focus on the early detection of HPV through new at-home screening tests.

Forty-year-old Leea Fortune is a mother of two from Burlington and cervical cancer survivor who was diagnosed last March.

She learned of her diagnosis when doctors performed tests on cervical tissue after an unrelated procedure.

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There are not always warning signs and symptoms vary in each person. If detected early, cervical cancer can be prevented and treated.

McMaster University’s Dr. Andra Nica explained the process in Ontario.

“People will get letters at home notifying them that they are either due or overdue for their pap smear, and that’s how we test for pre-cancer right now.” she said.

In British Columbia, the process looks a little different. A pilot study conducted with at-home cervical cancer screening kits and tests are now available to all women who live in the province.

Dr. Lily Proctor is the Medical Director of British Columbia’s cervical cancer screening program.

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“It arrives in the mail, there’s instructions, there’s a swab, and then there is a pre-paid return envelope so you can follow the instructions and self swab, you put it back into the envelope, it goes into a Canada post box and then in 4 -6 weeks you get your results in the mail.” explained Dr. Proctor.

Fortune thinks it would be a good idea for home screening kits to be available everywhere in Canada, so women don’t end up in her situation.

Ontario’s Ministry of Health says its is working with Cancer Care Ontario to include HPV testing as a part of the Ontario Cervical Screening Program (OCSP), adding that it will be a years-long transition.

As for Leea, she’s undergone months of treatment.

“I’m kind of now in recovery. I still have a small piece of my tumor. It’s still there so, we are waiting, hopefully my next MRI is in February and that it shows that it’s all gone.”