A SOUTH-WEST doctor says women have nothing to fear over changes to cervical cancer screenings.
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Dr Kristen Cornell, a South West Healthcare obstetrics and gynaecology consultant, said there had been a lot of confusion about planned changes that would see pap smears every five years instead of two years.
“The reason for the changes is because we understand cervical cancer better and we have better technology to test the pre-cancer causing agent HPV (Human Papillomavirus),” Warrnambool-based Dr Cornell said.
“There’s been a lot of confusion. People are frightened and don’t understand why it’s changing and that’s probably the big problem.”
Following a review in April 2014, the federal government announced recommendations that a new cervical screening test should replace the current Pap test.
Changes included an HPV test undertaken every five years, rather than the existing two years, cervical screening from 25 years of age rather than 18, and exit testing between 70 and 74 years of age.
Recommendations also included advice that women with symptoms could have a cervical test at any age.
A petition calling on the government to scrap changes was released online in February and received over 70,000 signatures.
The Australian Medical Association said the organisers of the petition were “woefully misinformed”.
“We have one of the best cervical screening and prevention campaigns in the world,” Dr Cornell said.
“And it’s because of that change in our knowledge and understanding that we are able to provide a better service.”
Dr Cornell said the new test could detect HPV, which was the cause of most cervical cancers, whereas pap smears detected abnormal cell changes.
“Now what we are testing for are the cancer-causing genes rather than the cell-changes that eventuate from the HPV virus,” she said.
“We now know that for women under the age of 25 the screening program doesn’t reduce the rates of cervical cancer.
“Two strains of the virus are included in the vaccine now given at high schools. These two strains cause the majority of cervical cancers.”
The vaccine, Gardisil, is given to girls and boys aged 12 and 13 free of charge as part of the National HPV vaccination program.
Dr Cornell said she was confident the changes would not put women at greater risk of cervical cancer.
“We now understand cervical cancer better and have better technology,” she said.
The changes to cervical screening tests are expected to be introduced from December 1.
