HPV Prevention Week, Oct. 3-9: Canadian Partnership Against Cancer's experts available to speak about Action Plan to Eliminate Cervical Cancer

TORONTO, Sept. 28, 2022 /CNW/ - Each year more than 1,300 people in Canada are diagnosed with cervical cancer and more than 400 die. It doesn't have to be this way.

Cervical cancer is nearly always caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), a common sexually transmitted infection that is preventable through immunization and treatable if caught early enough through effective screening.

As Canada marks HPV Prevention Week this year from Oct. 3–9, the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer's Vice President of Cancer Control, Erika Nicholson, is available to provide commentary on:

• How jurisdictions across Canada are working to improve access to the HPV vaccine for everyone who needs it – particularly given gaps that arose during the COVID-19 pandemic when school-based immunization programs were paused.
• How scrapping the Pap test and replacing it with HPV primary screening will modernize cervical cancer screening, benefitting individuals and the cancer care system. HPV screening is only required once every five years, opens the opportunity for self-collection at home, and is more cost-effective, preventing more cancers than the Pap test.
• Achieving health equity, given that the incidence of cervical cancer is higher among First Nations, Inuit and Métis, those living in rural or remote areas, those with lower incomes, and recent immigrants.

The World Health Organization has set a goal to eliminate cervical cancer worldwide this century, and Canada's Minister of Health committed the country to achieving this by 2040.

The Action Plan for the Elimination of Cervical Cancer in Canada, 2020-2030, outlines the priorities, targets and actions needed to get us there. Ms. Nicholson can also provide insights into the action plan and Canada's progress toward the elimination of cervical cancer.

Additional experts are available across the country to discuss HPV and the elimination of cervical cancer from the perspective of specific populations and regions. Please reach out to the contact person below to be connected to these partners or to speak to Ms. Nicholson.

About the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer 
As the steward of the Canadian Strategy for Cancer Control (the Strategy), the Partnership works with Canada's cancer community to take action to ensure people in Canada have equitable access to quality cancer care, fewer people get cancer, more people survive cancer and those living with the disease have a better quality of life. This work is guided by the Strategy, which was refreshed for 2019 to 2029 and will help drive measurable change for all people in Canada affected by cancer. The Strategy includes eight priorities, which will tackle the most pressing challenges in cancer control as well as distinct First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples-specific priorities and actions reflecting Canada's commitment to reconciliation. The Partnership oversees the implementation of the priorities in collaboration with organizations and individuals on the front lines of cancer care – the provinces and territories, health-care professionals, people living with cancer and those who care for them, First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities, governments and organizations, and its funder Health Canada.

Learn more about the Partnership and the Strategy at www.partnershipagainstcancer.ca.   

SOURCE Canadian Partnership Against Cancer

Media contact, Lesley Frey, Manager, Strategic Communications, Canadian Partnership Against Cancer, [email protected] 416-409-3127