Shannon Pethick once believed cervical cancer would be eliminated in Canada by now, but recent data suggests the country may fail to meet its 2040 target. The Canadian Cancer Statistics Advisory Committee has published alarming figures showing a "concerning plateau" in cervical cancer rates, indicating Canada is moving in the wrong direction.
A Survivor's Heartbreak
"It hurts my heart because we should be past this," said Pethick from her Saskatoon home, reflecting on her diagnosis 15 years ago at age 32. She thought cervical cancer would be in Canada's rear-view mirror by now, but the latest report dashes those hopes.
The World Health Organization established a global goal in 2018 to virtually eliminate this type of cancer to fewer than four cases per 100,000 females. Canada had been making steady progress for decades, with rates declining between 1984 and 2005, but since then the trend has fluctuated worryingly.
Preventable Tragedies
The statistics reveal that 430 people in Canada are expected to die from cervical cancer in 2025. While this represents a small portion of the 87,400 total cancer deaths projected for this year, every single cervical cancer death is potentially preventable.
Unlike many other cancers, there's a vaccine available to prevent cervical cancer, which is caused by the human papilloma virus (HPV), a common sexually transmitted infection. The "what ifs" still haunt Pethick, who wonders what might have happened if she hadn't put off her routine Pap test for seven years.
Her treatment involved two months of radiation five days weekly, chemotherapy every Friday, and five internal radiation sessions. While she's now cancer-free, the treatment came at a profound personal cost. Doctors determined that taking time to freeze her eggs could have been dangerous given how rapidly the cancer was growing.
"Doing all of this and getting this thing out of my body also meant that I was never going to be able to have kids," Pethick shared, lifting her glasses to wipe away tears. "I still struggle with that."
Barriers to Screening and Solutions
Pethick attributes her delayed diagnosis to the invasive nature of Pap tests, which involve inserting a speculum into the vagina to swab the cervix. She believes if HPV self-testing kits had been available then, she would have tested earlier.
This alternative screening method is already being implemented in several provinces. British Columbia currently uses self-testing, which research shows is just as accurate as tests collected by healthcare providers. Similar initiatives are underway in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.
Jennifer Gillis, the Canadian Cancer Society's director of surveillance, identifies several factors contributing to Canada's stalled progress: lower HPV vaccination rates, declining screening participation, and gaps in follow-up care. These preventable barriers are keeping Canada from reaching its elimination target and putting more people like Pethick at risk.
