A free drop-in Pap test clinic will be returning to St. Joseph’s Hospital in London, Ont., on May 10.
The last clinic in January had 103 people over the course of the day, many of whom were overdue for screenings. Some people who attended had not received a Pap test in 15 years. Generally, once someone with a cervix is over the age of 25, they should be completing a test every three years for early detection of abnormal cells.
“Cervical cancer is a hugely preventable if these changes are picked up and acted on,” says Dr. Robert Di Cecco, medical director of St. Joseph’s colposcopy clinic. “We’ve got a great way of identifying people that need treatment before it becomes a cancer. So that’s the uniqueness of this particular screening test.”
Five per cent of individuals who attended the clinic in January received abnormal results and are now receiving follow-up care. Based on the demand, Di Cecco and St. Joseph’s hospital are considering doing pop-up clinics every few months to provide these services to those in need.
“Screening tests don’t work if you don’t get screened, so it’s one of those things where it’s a simple test, and granted I understand it’s not the most comfortable test to get done,” Di Cecco says. “But having it done and knowing that you’re free and clear for the next several years, I think is a huge weight off people’s minds.”
There’s also some hesitation to go for testing after a lot of time has passed. Various factors lead to doctor anxiety, and Pap tests are not always a pleasant experience for many people.
“I think there’s a lot of embarrassment about it because it is it is such a personal issue. I think a lot of people put it off and then they feel embarrassed to go,” Paige Wall, a patient at the first pop-up clinic says. “We were all there for the same reason, and that made it less intimidating. We all just collectively were anxious and a bit awkward, but that actually helped alleviate it.”
The high demand in January inspired Di Cecco and his team, in partnership with Southwest Regional Cancer Program (SWRCP), to host the second clinic. This comes as new data from the Ontario College of Family Physicians estimates there are around 84,000 residents in the London region who do not have a family doctor.
“There’s such an overrun of people looking for family doctors that it’s become an amount that doctors aren’t able to cover,” Wall says. “With the number of women that need (gynecological) health care, this clinic was a really good idea.”
The colposcopy clinic at St. Joseph’s Hospital provides specialized cervical screening and care to those with abnormal Pap test results, which requires a referral from a health care provider. But for the pop-up Pap test, no referral or appointment is needed.
“What we saw in the first clinic was there were a lot of people that were new to London don’t have a family doctor locally and needed the screening done,” Di Cecco says. “And then the others were people that didn’t have a family doctor or who had a family doctor that had retired recently, and nobody’s picked up the practice.”
A Pap test, also called a pap smear, is an exam done to look for changes in cervical cells that may later develop into cancer. Cells are taken from the surface of the cervix and sent to a lab to be examined under a microscope.
Pap tests aren’t the most exciting or fun experience, so St. Joseph’s colposcopy is providing pap-corn and loli-paps to anyone that attends.
“Everyone was very friendly, a bunch of the ladies in the waiting room were making jokes and talking about their experiences,” Wall says. “The lady beside me said she hadn’t been (to get a test) in five years, and I said ‘Oh, I got you beat, it’s been 10 for me.’”
The clinic will be open from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m., in Zone B , Level 4 of St. Joseph’s Hospital. Anyone interested in attending the clinic can enter from the urgent care department and make their way upstairs. Test results will be relayed to anyone that attends the clinic tomorrow within six weeks, regardless of result.
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