Paige Wall, 31, was among a staggering 103 people who took advantage of the one-day only Pop-up Pap Test Clinic hosted by St. Joseph's Health Care London in collaboration with the South West Regional Cancer Program. Paige had not had a pap test for 10 years and was grateful for the opportunity to drop-in for this important cervical cancer screening test.
They began lining up before 9:00 am. By 9:30 am, the waiting room was filled and people spilled out into the hallway. And they kept coming.
By the end of the day, a whopping 103 people had received pap tests at St. Joseph's Health Care London's innovative Pop-up Pap Test Clinic – surpassing all expectations and calling for all hands on deck by Colposcopy Clinic staff and leaders, who stepped up and stepped in to make the day a success. The clinic was held on January 29 during Cervical Cancer Awareness Month.
“It was overwhelming – I was not expecting these numbers – but it's also gratifying that people took advantage of the clinic," says Dr. Robert Di Cecco, Medical Director of the Colposcopy Clinic, who was quick to call in reinforcements as patients continued to file in. An energetic Dr. Kaysie Usher, a gynecologist at London Health Sciences Centre, answered the call and jumped to join the Colposcopy Clinic team as they bustled from one exam room to the other.
About 85 per cent of those coming to the clinic did not have a family doctor and almost all patients had missed out on the screening for five to as long as 15 years. Some patients said they had a family doctor who does not do pap tests. Others were new to the city with a family doctor in their former community hours away.
“Most of those who came to our clinic had not had the screening for 5, 8 or 10 years – we just can't let that happen," says Dr. Di Cecco, who came up with the idea of the one-day pop-up clinic to raise awareness of cervical cancer, boost cervical cancer screening rates and provide an important service for people without a family doctor.
The clinic, open to anyone with a cervix age 25 and older who had not had a pap test for the past three years, was a pilot but the numbers indicate a tremendous need to offer more such opportunities for people to get screened, says Dr. Di Cecco. The Colposcopy Clinic will follow up with anyone whose pap test reveals abnormal cells.
In the waiting room of the popping pop-up clinic, there was an atmosphere of camaraderie and spirits were high as people waited patiently to be seen. Despite the longer-than-expected wait, much gratitude for the clinic was expressed by patients.
Paige Wall, 31, was among them. The mother of three had not had a pap test for 10 years and has not been able to find a family doctor since hers retired last year.
“Yes, it may be uncomfortable and awkward and weird to get a pap test, but it takes two minutes and I'd rather find out there's a problem early than die of a cancer that could have been prevented," says Paige, who decided the morning of the clinic to drop in.
The lack of a family doctor is a huge frustration for Paige as well as her mother, who recently underwent surgery, and her husband. None can find a physician and are relying on walk-in clinics.
“We're just a number out there and there's nothing we can do. It's not like I can go to a walk-in clinic and ask for a routine pap test."
Getting regular pap tests is critical in identifying early changes to cervical cells when they may be easier to treat, and when treatment can prevent cervical cancer from developing, explains Dr. Di Cecco, who is also Regional Lead for Cervical Screening for the South West Regional Cancer Program (SWRCP). Most cervical cancers are found in individuals who have never been screened or who have not been screened regularly, as recommended by Ontario's cervical screening guidelines.
The Ontario Cervical Screening Program recommends pap tests for cervical cancer screening every three years for individuals age 25 and older at average risk. The screening is usually performed by family physicians and other care providers in the community. However, latest numbers released by the Ontario Medical Association and the Ontario College of Family Physicians show that 2.3 million Ontarians currently don't have a family doctor, a number expected to grow to 4.4 million – one-quarter of Ontarians – by 2026.
St. Joseph's Pop-up Pap Test Clinic, organized in partnership with the SWRCP, was the first clinic of its kind offered to the general public in the London area and from the turnout, it just may be 'back by pap-ular demand.'
Read more about St. Joseph's Pop-up Pap Test Clinic on St. Joseph's website.