Good news is on the horizon for those at risk of cervical cancer.
The B.C. government says the province will become the first in Canada and move from its current model of screening for cervical cancer to a far more accurate, accessible, and long-lasting test.
In a news conference Tuesday, Premier David Eby and Health Minister Adrian Dix explained that the province will transition away from Cytology (lab tests looking for abnormal cells in swabs taken at doctor’s offices) to human papillomavirus (HPV)-based screening for cervical cancer.
The new tests are nearly twice as accurate as the screening done in B.C. now, the province says, with data from the BC Cancer showing the test detects pre-cancer cells 96 per cent of the time — current screening only 53 per cent.
Moving away from Cytology will mean that instead of having to go into a doctor’s clinic for a pap test — which takes cells to then be examined in a lab under microscope — the new tests come in a kit via mail, where you self-swab and then return by mail.
“It’s not every day that a province can set an achievable goal of eliminating a deadly cancer, but today’s launch of the first at-home self-screening program means ending deadly cervical cancer in British Columbia is now a very real possibility,” said Eby.
B.C. Premier David Eby speaks at a press conference on Tuesday January 9, 2024. (CityNews Image)
“As of January 29, women will be able to order a quick, easy, and highly accurate test kit to use at home, and will be able to access a network of highly trained and compassionate medical professionals who will support those identified to be at higher risk. This more accurate, comfortable, and convenient way to test will encourage more women, and vulnerable populations like trans people, across the province to get screened, including in more rural and remote communities. By working together, we can eliminate deadly cervical cancer in B.C. in the next decade.”
The transition to order an at-home test kit will first begin with those 55 years old and older, and broadening to those aged 25 years and older over the next three years.
HPV researcher and senior public health scientist at the BC Centre of Disease Control Dr. Gina Ogilve shared that in 1955, B.C. launched the world’s first cervical cancer screening program with the use of pap smear tests. “We were able to find abnormal cells before they became cancer and catch cervical cancer in its earliest stages, when the chance of survival is the highest — about 85 per cent.”
“Today, we are taking the next major leap forward with the goal of not just reducing the incidence of cervical cancer but ultimately eliminating it altogether. Cervical cancer is preventable cancer through immunization and through screening,” Ogilve said.
“When a high-risk HPV infection persists over many years, it may cause changes to the cells that then ultimately may lead to pre-cancer and then cervical cancer. So, unlike the conventional Cytology, or pap test, which looks for abnormal changes in the cervix itself, HPV testing looks for the virus that causes these abnormal changes to occur,” she explained.
General practitioner Dr. Cailey Lynch explained that the first person she saw die of cervical cancer has stayed with her for the past 20 years. “I still have dreams about the patient at the end of the hall, who we didn’t reach in time.”
Lynch says as a family doctor, she gently reminds, or “perhaps harangues and downright boss” her patients into her officer for “no one’s favourite procedure. … If I’ve done an excellent job, they’d say, ‘That wasn’t so bad.’”
“This incredible research will make a high barrier procedure into a simple home test. It will save countless lives,” Lynch said.
According to the province, cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in females globally. Rates of that cancer are “among the fastest increasing amongst females in Canada, but it is preventable through immunization and screening programs. 99 per cent of cervical cancers are caused by high-risk HPV.”
The province explains that it is also making the HPV testing its primary screening, as it detects the virus before it can cause cancer.
Dix explains the new program does have an associated cost of about $12 million, with some “additional costs,” but says for the benefits, it is money well spent.
The province says the pilot project for transitioning to an HPV test from screening, which started in 2021, had 40 per cent of participants choose to self-swab versus having the swab taken at a doctor’s office. The province explains due to this, it is optimistic that, over time, more and more people will be comfortable with the self-administered aspect of the new test.
For those who do not have a family doctor, the province explains that if an abnormal result is found, the results will go to a clinic in the patient’s community that has agreed to do a follow-up. The patient will also receive the information of the clinic that has taken over their results.
VANCOUVER – Mayors and other leaders from several British Columbia communities say the provincial and federal governments need to take “immediate action” to tackle mental health and public safety issues that have reached crisis levels.
Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim says it’s become “abundantly clear” that mental health and addiction issues and public safety have caused crises that are “gripping” Vancouver, and he and other politicians, First Nations leaders and law enforcement officials are pleading for federal and provincial help.
In a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier David Eby, mayors say there are “three critical fronts” that require action including “mandatory care” for people with severe mental health and addiction issues.
The letter says senior governments also need to bring in “meaningful bail reform” for repeat offenders, and the federal government must improve policing at Metro Vancouver ports to stop illicit drugs from coming in and stolen vehicles from being exported.
Sim says the “current system” has failed British Columbians, and the number of people dealing with severe mental health and addiction issues due to lack of proper care has “reached a critical point.”
Vancouver Police Chief Adam Palmer says repeat violent offenders are too often released on bail due to a “revolving door of justice,” and a new approach is needed to deal with mentally ill people who “pose a serious and immediate danger to themselves and others.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024
The Canadian government says it will donate up to 200,000 vaccine doses to fight the mpox outbreak in Congo and other African countries.
It says the donated doses of Imvamune will come from Canada’s existing supply and will not affect the country’s preparedness for mpox cases in this country.
Minister of Health Mark Holland says the donation “will help to protect those in the most affected regions of Africa and will help prevent further spread of the virus.”
Dr. Madhukar Pai, Canada research chair in epidemiology and global health, says although the donation is welcome, it is a very small portion of the estimated 10 million vaccine doses needed to control the outbreak.
Vaccine donations from wealthier countries have only recently started arriving in Africa, almost a month after the World Health Organization declared the mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
A few days after the declaration in August, Global Affairs Canada announced a contribution of $1 million for mpox surveillance, diagnostic tools, research and community awareness in Africa.
On Thursday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said mpox is still on the rise and that testing rates are “insufficient” across the continent.
Jason Kindrachuk, Canada research chair in emerging viruses at the University of Manitoba, said donating vaccines, in addition to supporting surveillance and diagnostic tests, is “massively important.”
But Kindrachuk, who has worked on the ground in Congo during the epidemic, also said that the international response to the mpox outbreak is “better late than never (but) better never late.”
“It would have been fantastic for us globally to not be in this position by having provided doses a much, much longer time prior than when we are,” he said, noting that the outbreak of clade I mpox in Congo started in early 2023.
Clade II mpox, endemic in regions of West Africa, came to the world’s attention even earlier — in 2022 — as that strain of virus spread to other countries, including Canada.
Two doses are recommended for mpox vaccination, so the donation may only benefit 100,000 people, Pai said.
Pai questioned whether Canada is contributing enough, as the federal government hasn’t said what percentage of its mpox vaccine stockpile it is donating.
“Small donations are simply not going to help end this crisis. We need to show greater solidarity and support,” he said in an email.
“That is the biggest lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic — our collective safety is tied with that of other nations.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government says it could be months before it reveals how many people are on the wait-list for a family doctor.
The head of the province’s health authority told reporters Wednesday that the government won’t release updated data until the 160,000 people who were on the wait-list in June are contacted to verify whether they still need primary care.
Karen Oldfield said Nova Scotia Health is working on validating the primary care wait-list data before posting new numbers, and that work may take a matter of months. The most recent public wait-list figures are from June 1, when 160,234 people, or about 16 per cent of the population, were on it.
“It’s going to take time to make 160,000 calls,” Oldfield said. “We are not talking weeks, we are talking months.”
The interim CEO and president of Nova Scotia Health said people on the list are being asked where they live, whether they still need a family doctor, and to give an update on their health.
A spokesperson with the province’s Health Department says the government and its health authority are “working hard” to turn the wait-list registry into a useful tool, adding that the data will be shared once it is validated.
Nova Scotia’s NDP are calling on Premier Tim Houston to immediately release statistics on how many people are looking for a family doctor. On Tuesday, the NDP introduced a bill that would require the health minister to make the number public every month.
“It is unacceptable for the list to be more than three months out of date,” NDP Leader Claudia Chender said Tuesday.
Chender said releasing this data regularly is vital so Nova Scotians can track the government’s progress on its main 2021 campaign promise: fixing health care.
The number of people in need of a family doctor has more than doubled between the 2021 summer election campaign and June 2024. Since September 2021 about 300 doctors have been added to the provincial health system, the Health Department said.
“We’ll know if Tim Houston is keeping his 2021 election promise to fix health care when Nova Scotians are attached to primary care,” Chender said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
