Cervical screening

The National Cervical Screening Programme, established in 1991, is aimed at reducing incidence and mortality through the screening and early detection of abnormalities of the cervix, allowing medical intervention to avert the possible progression to cervical cancer.

Early detection of cervical cancer

Programme on diagnosis and monitoring of cervical cancer

Programme on diagnosis and control of cervical cancer

In addition, in conjunction with the State Secretariat for Public Health, campaigns were being conducted in rural areas to screen for cervical and uterine cancers and other women's health problems.

Early detection of breast cancer can be done individually, while cervical cancer can now be detected through the use of acid, since pap smear is quite expensive.

There is some evidence of relatively low participation in routine breast cancer screening among women of Turkish and Moroccan origin and of relatively low participation in routine cervical cancer screening among women of Moroccan and Antillean origin.

This was in response to PEI having one of the highest rates of cervical cancer and lowest rates of screening.

In 2000, the provincial government supported a social marketing campaign to increase awareness of the importance for women to be regularly screened to prevent cervical cancer.

In addition, technical guidelines were prepared for the start up of a programme for screening women for breast and cervical cancers, leading causes of morbidity and mortality.

Cervical and breast cancers are most common among young, fertile mothers.

In both 2000 and 2001, the highest detection rates for micro invasive squamous cell cancer were found in women in the 30 34 age group.

The Government continues to support initiatives to increase access and participation in cervical screening.

In 2001, there were 735 new cases of all cervical cancer (squamous, adenocarcinoma, adeno squamous and other cervical cancer) diagnosed in Australia, compared with the peak of 1,135 new cases in 1994.

Candor on Cancer Screening

The services that specifically affect women only are the least available. These are services such as screening for breast cancer and screening for cervical cancer.

Between 1990 and 1993 8,800 cases of cervical cancer were diagnosed, 5 per cent of them at an advanced stage.

Cervical cancer is five times higher than the U.S. national average.

Health policies and programmes have also been implemented in order to decrease and prevent the occurrence of cervix uterine and breast cancer.

These are Screening and care for victims of violence, screening for breast cancer, screening for cervical cancer and menopause.

In January 2001, the provincial government supported establishment of the PEI Pap Screening Program with the goal to reduce the incidence and mortality rates of cervical cancer in PEI.

Malignant tumours most commonly occurring among men are tumours of the lungs, stomach and prostate gland among women they are tumours of the urinary sexual organs, breast and cervix.

Department of Comprehensive Care for Women, Children and Young Persons, cervical uterine and breast cancer data for 1992 2000.

Since the programme commenced, the incidence of cervical cancer has fallen by over 30 per cent (from 1,078 new cases detected in 1990 to 735 cases in 2001) mortality from cervical cancer has fallen by over 50 per cent (from 6.1 deaths per 100,000 women in 1983 to 2.8 per 100,000 women in 2003).

In the western province of Wielkopolska there is a higher risk of death caused by malignant tumours of the breast and cervix among women, and of the prostate gland and testicles among men.

Cervical cancer was the eighteenth most common cause of cancer deaths in Australian women in 2003, accounting for 238 deaths.

In 1990, action to prevent cervical cancer in women aged 15 and over resulted in 233,794 Pap smears being performed, representing a rate of coverage of 30.2 per cent.

Early detection of endometrial cancer

The Forum gives Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, in consultation with their own communities, the opportunity to develop and implement proactive, health promoting strategies in relation to cervical screening at the national level.

In this age group and in the 45 55 age group cervical cancer and breast cancer occupy sixth and seventh places respectively.

The development policy for the health sector to the year 2010 established priorities in the field of reproductive health and safe motherhood, in particular.

Laboratory hormone tests, spermiograms, post coital tests, endocervical mucus tests, semen lavage for intra uterine insemination.

As for cancer prevention, screening for breast, uterine and colorectal cancer had been free of charge since 2001.

The first limitation of breast cancer screening is obvious where effective diagnosis and treatment are not available, screening cannot have any impact. But there is more to the issue namely, whether screening ultimately fulfills its intended purpose of reducing breast cancer mortality rates.

And our minds immediately turned to cervical cancer in women, which is spread by a virus, and to the AIDS epidemic, which is associated with a number of different types of cancer.

Ms. Coker Appiah expressed fear that the provision of early detection cervical and uterine cancer services under the Maternal and Perinatal Care subprogramme might exclude women beyond childbearing years or women who had no children (CEDAW PSWG 2004 II CRP.2 Add.1, response to question 29).

With regard to cancer among women, especially breast cancer, she asked when cancer screening would be made universal and covered by health insurance.

Women of child bearing age family planning, reproductive health counselling, cervical uterine cytology, and breast examinations

It is also necessary to incorporate the existing preventive promoting programs into the health care system, which would be implemented as short term project activities (breast cancer and cervix cancer).

Women attend workshops about caring for the unborn, alternate foods, breastfeeding, family planning, sexually transmitted diseases, breast and cervical cancer etc.

There are other concerns with regard to reproductive health relating to the health of the aged, abortion issues, cervical and breast cancer, infertility, gender based violence and discrimination.

Since 1990 the National Cancer Institute has been responsible for running the national programme on diagnosis and monitoring of cervical cancer, which was devised as a response to the high incidence of this disease and its excessively high levels in a number of towns.

343. The Committee recommends the implementation of programmes to prevent cervical and breast cancer, which are also major causes of mortality among women, and programmes to prevent the spread of HIV AIDS, as well as to treat this disease.

Ms. Luddy (Ireland) said it was hoped that the national breast screening programme would be launched in 2007 it would be free of charge to the target 50 65 age group.