Be aware about the problems down there!

Joanne Noga stops to share an intimate story with a stranger at the bottom of a downtown elevator.

"Make sure you get your pap test. Cause I had cervical cancer and it’s not fun. And I live to tell about it."

She spends the afternoon sharing the same story with hundreds of people, downtown reminding them to stop and smell the flowers.

"If it wasn’t for the pap smear- I’m not sure what would have happened. I don’t know where I’d be today." says an emotional Noga.

Four years ago, she was diagnosed with cervical cancer, she credits her yearly pap test for saving her life.

With a team of volunteers, Noga hands out flowers today . A note attached to the stem of each carnation reminding all women to have a check up.

Next week, from October 19th to the 23rd, hundreds of health centers across the province will offer walk-in, appointment free- pap tests for any woman in Manitoba.

"Our program recommends that all women who have ever been sexually active should be screened on a regular basis- which is at least once every two years." said Kim Templeton of CancerCare Manitoba.

"I eat healthy, I run- it doesn’t matter what you do — you can still get cancer, " as Noga discovered, cervical cancer can affect even the healthiest Manitobans.

"In Manitoba about 50 women develop cervical cancer every year and about 15 women die of it -so the numbers are really small but again that’s because of the pap test." added Templeton

By the afternoon, two thousand flowers were handed out along with the life saving reminder.

For more information or for a list of the participating clinics log on to http://www.telleverywoman.ca or call 788-8626.