Good news for those who dislike getting pap smears – cervical cancer self-screening will become available in the Yukon through some health care providers as soon as next week. 

Pap smears, or cervical exams, are most often used to screen for human paploma virus or HPV. The virus causes 99 per cent of cervical cancers, said Dr. Sarah Saunders, a Whitehorse-based obstetrician and gynecologist.

Usually, pap smears are performed at a clinic by a doctor or healthcare provider, but with the new kits, patients will have the option of collecting their own sample on site, or taking a kit home, and bringing it back at their convenience for testing. 

Saunders said self-administered swabbing helps reduce barriers for patients who may have had negative experiences in the past such as painful pelvic exams or traumatic sexual experiences. 

“There’s a whole list of reasons why people might have felt uncomfortable getting a pelvic exam in the past, and so being able to do this self swab eliminates that step at the outset, to hopefully take away that barrier to screening,” she said.

Saunders said results are usually available within six weeks. She said some health care providers only follow up if a test is positive in order to decrease administrative burden. Saunders recommends patients confirm with their provider if they want a follow-up call for a negative result.

New understanding of how to test for cervical cancer

Saunders said HPV is a common sexually transmitted disease that most people who are sexually active will get at some point in their lives, but usually goes away on its own.  

“But if it sticks around in the cervix for long enough, it can cause abnormal cells, which can progress to a pre-cancer or to cancer,” said Saunders. 

She said the self-swab method is possible because of an updated understanding of the most effective way to detect HPV. 

“Traditionally, cervical cancer screening has been done by taking a sample from the cervix and looking at the cells” said Saunders. “Over the last few years, we’ve been trying to move away from that, to looking for the HP virus rather than looking at the cells.”

This means, doctors no longer need to sample the cervix. 

“You just need to sample the vagina, which is why it’s something that patients can collect on their own with this self swab,” she said.

Saunders also anticipates the kits will help more people access HPV testing, especially those living in the communities. 

While she anticipates the self-swab kits will help more people get tested, she also anticipates the increased frequency of testing will lead to more positive HPV tests, leading to more stress for patients. 

Ashley Beggs, canager of the Yukon’s cancer screening program, said guidelines are changing to recommend HPV screening every five years, instead of every three years. Saunders said that’s because HPV testing is more effective at screening for cervical cancer than a pap smear.

Ontario and B.C. offer self-swab kits by mail. Beggs said for the time being, that option is not available in the Yukon, but is being explored for the future. 

For those who don’t have a health care provider, kits will be available through the Whitehorse walk-in clinic, community health centres, the sexual health clinic, and the midwife clinic starting March 23.