And now for a public cervix announcement ...
Hammer City Roller Derby team pairs up with the regional cancer centre to raise awareness about Pap tests
The Hammer City Roller Derby team is used to tackling tough opponents on the derby track.
This month, they’re tackling an even tougher issue — cervical cancer screening.
The roller derby squad is teaming up with the Regional Cancer Program to promote Pap tests, the routine procedure that checks a woman’s cervix for abnormal cells that can indicate a risk of cancer. The skaters have volunteered to be cervical screening champions for their 2018 season and will encourage derby fans to stay on-track with regular testing.
Hammer City Roller Derby members Kelly Warne (Abbey Roadkill) and Maggie Middleton (Typhoid Maggie) say that while cervical cancer screening isn’t the easiest subject to tackle, the league felt it was an important opportunity to spread the word about an essential component of women’s health care that’s often neglected.
“No one is like, ‘Yeah! I’m getting a Pap smear this weekend,’” said Middleton, the league’s president. “But part of our mandate is advancing women in athletics, and part of that is just staying healthy. It seemed like a really interesting fit for the league.”
“How many people think it’s cool to grow a moustache in November now?” said Warne, referencing the popular Movember fundraiser for prostate cancer. “But I’m not talking about my Pap smear? It’s the exact same thing. Why is it cool for them and not for us? So I think the Derby girls are going to make this cool.”
The Ontario Cervical Screening Program recommends that eligible women get a free Pap test every three years. The tests are recommended for women ages 21 to 69 who have ever been sexually active, including members of the LGBTQ+ community who were born with a cervix.
While the provincial goal is to screen 85 per cent of eligible Ontario women, only 62 per cent of eligible women in this area are regularly having tests. That
means more than 150,000 people are either overdue for their Pap, or have never been screened — particularly newcomers or women who don’t have a family doctor. The number of people who
return for a screening every three years is also declining provincially and regionally.
In Canada, one of the reasons why people underestimate their risk is because cervical cancer is
almost entirely preventable, said Dr. Dustin Costescu, regional colposcopy/cervical lead and an assistant professor and family planning specialist at McMaster University. However, he says in developing countries where Pap tests aren’t offered, cervical cancer is either the most common or second-most common cancer among women (with lung cancer taking the other top spot).
While the test can be uncomfortable — or even traumatic for sexual assault survivors — he says that health practitioners will work with women to ensure their comfort.
“Not everyone’s excited about getting a Pap test, but this is a two-minute procedure that happens once every three years. And if it’s negative, you have an over 98 per cent chance of not getting cervical cancer in the next three years,” said Costescu. “We know that for some women, it takes a lot of courage to come to their family doctor to get a Pap — but we want to work with women to make sure that their health is up-to-date.”
For Warne and Middleton, the campaign to promote Pap testing has a special significance. Warne lost her mother to breast cancer when she was 15, while Middleton’s mother went through cervical cancer while Middleton was in high school. They both stress the importance of getting screened and seeing your doctor regularly.
“The fact that it is preventable is what breaks my heart,” Middleton said.
“Since we started this in January, I’ve probably said ‘Pap test’ so many times,” said Warne. “For a month at Derby, they were calling me the Pap test Poster Girl,” she said. “But I think we just need to keep talking about it.”
The Regional Cancer Program will have an information table at the club’s home opener on Saturday, April 21 at Right on Target, the community space at the former Target store at the Centre on Barton, 1112 Barton St. E., Hamilton. For event and ticket information visit hammercityrollerderby.ca.
For more information about cancer screening, visit hnhbscreenforlife.ca.