The number of women having a Pap test has fallen for the first time in a decade and while the test has been around for over 50 years it is still pivotal for preventing cervical cancer. Australia currently has the second lowest rate of cervical cancer in the world.

 

We only rarely see women visiting our clinics with symptoms of advanced cervical cancer, but there is no room for complacency. More than 200 women die each year in Australia of this terrible disease, often women who have not had regular Pap tests, and the mortality rate is about five times higher for Aboriginal women.