Featuring Dr. Beth Donaldson, MD

Duration: 1 minute, 19 seconds

Cervical cancer is cancer of the cervix, which is the lower part of the uterus in women.

It is most common in younger women who are sexually active. You actually can't get cervical cancer unless you've been sexually active in the past. Cervical cancer is caused by one of four common HPV viruses.

And the way to screen for cervical cancer is what we call a PAP smear. It's a yearly test that women need to start having as soon as they become sexually active in life. And they have it up until about age 69. There's also a vaccine for cervical cancer that women can take and it's now being given across Canada to girls age 9 to women age 26, and it's actually just started being given to boys as well. This vaccine will likely be available for the wider population at some point, but that's not available yet.

If women have any questions about cervical cancer, they should see their physician on a yearly basis. Women should really start to think about cervical cancer as soon as they start to become sexually active. It doesn't matter if that age is age 14 or if that age is 40. They should see their physician within six months of becoming sexually active.

Presenter: Dr. Beth Donaldson, Family Doctor, Vancouver, BC

Local Practitioners: Family Doctor