Young women still harbour misconceptions about undergoing smear tests and just 17 per cent of those called in to undergo cervical cancer screening took up the invitation.
A total of 120 women aged 25 to 35 have been invited since the cervical cancer screening programme was rolled out two weeks ago, but just 20 used this free service.
Across Europe the women’s response rate is 60 per cent. However, Health Parliamentary Secretary Chris Fearne is not unduly concerned as take-up is always slow in the beginning.
The same thing had happened when breast cancer screening was introduced, but it eventually reached an 80 per cent take-up rate after about five years, he said.
We are confident the smear test rate will increase as we step up our awareness campaign
“Seeing that this is only the second week since the introduction of cervical screening and seeing it has all been low key to ensure any hiccups are ironed out, a low acceptance rate was expected,” Mr Fearne said.
“We are confident the rate will increase more in line with international levels as we step up our awareness campaigns in the coming weeks and months,” he said, adding the media had an important role to play in raising awareness.
The plan is to target 10,000 women every year using the more accurate liquid based cytology test at a cost of €500,000. Women will be recalled after three years.
The service will be provided from health centres, starting from the one in Floriana, to eliminate increased crowding at Mater Dei Hospital. Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women worldwide and the third leading cause of cancer deaths.
Mr Fearne said in Malta, there was an average of 15 new cases a year, with seven deaths annually.
“Most deaths are preventable and if detected early the survival rate of cervical cancer will increase by 75 per cent,” Mr Fearne said, adding Malta had been one of the last EU member states to introduce this type of screening.
Gynaecologist Marcelle Chircop welcomed the introduction of screening, though questioned whether it should target younger women. She hoped that through proper awareness women would overcome their reluctance and undergo a smear test.
The silent killer
• Cervical cancer is one of the most common cancers that affect a woman’s reproductive organs. Various strains of HPV, a sexually transmitted infection, are responsible for the majority of cervical cancer cases.
• When exposed to HPV, the immune system response in most women prevents the virus from doing harm. In a small group of women, however, the virus survives for years before it eventually converts some cells on the surface of the cervix into cancer cells.
• In most cases, you won’t have any symptoms of an HPV infection. The only way to know if you are infected is to have a direct test for the virus. The only way to tell if a high-risk HPV infection has caused the cells in your cervix to change is to have a smear test. Signs of an HPV infection may appear weeks, months, or years after the first infection, which is why it is important to have regular tests.
• Most cervical cancer is preventable. Early detection of abnormal cell changes is important. Cervical cancer is almost always prevented through regular screening and treatment of pre-cancerous changes.
• Almost all women will have HPV at some point, but very few will develop cervical cancer. Most HPV infections are temporary and will go away on their own. An HPV infection that does not go away over a period of years might lead to cervical cancer.