Collie River Valley Medical Centre is urging women in the Collie area to make an appointment for a cervical screening test if they are due or overdue as part of the National Cervical Cancer Awareness Week.
The week will be held from November 12-18 and this year the Australian Cervical Cancer Foundation is once again asking women to get out their orange nail polish to show support around asking the question are you up to date?
Collie River Valley Medical Centre cervical screen test provider Sharon Varis said the centre was urging women to have regular checks.
“We need to encourage all women to have a Cervical Screening Test every five years as four out of five women who develop cervical cancer have either never screened or do not screen regularly,” she said.
“In 2015-16 the South West region had a cervical screening participation rate of 55.8 per cent, which is greater than the state rate of 55.4 per cent.
“While this is encouraging, it shows there is still a large number of women who do not screen regularly or are not participating in screening and are therefore at risk of developing cervical cancer.
“The best way to prevent cervical cancer is regular screening with a cervical screening test every five years.”
To encourage women to have regular cervical screening Collie River Valley Medical Centre will be hosting a free women’s health clinic once a week.
All women aged between 25 and 74 years who have ever been sexually active need to have regular tests as part of their ongoing health and well-being.
For more information visit https://healthywa.wa.gov.au/cervicalscreening.
