Cervical Cancer Informative Speech

Women will be familiar with going along to their GP at least every two years for a Pap smear to screen for cervical cancer. How your GP screens for cervical cancer is changing and it's important for women to understand what the changes are and why they're happening.

What is cervical cancer?

Cervical cancer is a disease that occurs when the cells in the cervix, or the opening to the uterus, start growing out of control. It's the 14th most common cancer diagnosed in women in Australia and nearly 1000 women will be diagnosed with it in 2017. Almost all cervical cancer is caused by a virus called the human papillomavirus (HPV). The types of HPV which cause most types of cervical cancer are prevented by the Gardasil vaccine. While cervical cancer can be very serious and even lead to death, if it's diagnosed early it will be treatable for most women. For that reason screening for cervical cancer is very important.

So what is a screening test?

They're done on people who are well and who are usually asymptomatic, meaning they do not have symptoms of the disease. This way a potential problem can be identified and monitored or treated early, rather than waiting until it starts to cause you harm. Screening usually involves asking you some simple questions followed by a test such as a blood test, mammogram or a cervical smear. Your GP will be able to recommend any screening tests which are important for you and how often they need to be done. Screening tests are different to diagnostic tests, which actually diagnose a