Sarah’s test a real life saver
T O W N S V I L L E ’ S S a r a h Stringer has a message for the thousands of local women at risk of dying from a preventable cancer.
She wants you to know she owes her life to Australia’s cervical cancer screening program.
Federal health data shows almost half of female residents in our region are missing out on the vital cervical cancer screening test.
Just 53 per cent of Townsville women were tested in 2015- 16, recently released federal health data shows.
The issue is particularly close to Sarah’s heart as she was diagnosed with the disease in June this year.
“They decided to do a modified radical hysterectomy,” the lab technician said.
“They removed my cervix, uterus, fallopian tubes, the tis- sue around the uterus and about 30 lymph nodes from my abdomen and groin area.”
The extensive surgery means Sarah will not have to undergo chemotherapy or radiation therapy.
However, she will need more tests to determine if growths on the surgical scars are malignant.
“I hadn’t had a pap smear in five years, I had some unexpected bleeding, my periods became irregular so I just went for a check- up,” she said.
Women who are aged 25 and over should be tested every five years.
Australian girls and boys are given vaccinations against the human papillomavirus ( HPV) that causes cervical cancer in women and throat cancer in men. But adult women still need to have regular cervical screening tests to track any changes in the cells of their uterine cervix.
Australian Cervical Cancer Foundation chief executive Joe Tooma said cervical cancer was the fourth most common female cancer and it was “entirely preventable”.
“The problem we have is that women are not taking the steps they need to take to make sure it is prevented,” Mr Tooma said.
“The first is to make sure you are up to date with your cervical screening.
“The new way we test for HPV is much more accurate and they can identify HPV much earlier than in the past.”
If there was no HPV present the woman did not come back for five years, Mr Tooma said.
If HPV and abnormalities are found, that can be treated straight away using freezing of the affected tissue. The ACCF has a service to help women keep track of screening dates. Visit accf. org. au/ getthetext for details.
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