Dr. Gina Ogilvie (pictured) says this new method could ultimately eliminate cervical cancer. Photo: Government of BC

Better prevention and detection for cervical cancer is now possible as BC becomes the first province in the country to launch at-home self-screening kits for the human papillomavirus also known as HPV.

Starting January 29th women and individuals with a cervix aged 25 to 69 can choose to order a free kit to self-screen for HPV.

The province government will transition to this self-screening model to test for HPV as the primary method from the cytology Pap smear method which is currently the primary one. This comes as the HPV testing method can detect the virus before it can cause cancer and is more accurate and accessible than the other method.

At a press conference on Tuesday, January 9th, BC Premier David Eby said the goal of eliminating a deadly cancer is now even more possible with the new at-home self-screening program.

He explained that the new test will allow patients to easily self-collect a sample at home or at a health-care provider’s office.

“This program puts the power to prevent cervical cancer in the hands of ordinary British Columbians,” Premier Eby said. “It's quick, it's easy, it's more accurate than the traditional method of testing, and it's good for a longer period of time than a Pap test.”

He said the kit can be ordered online or by phone and comes with a return envelope for the sample to be mailed back. The results should be received a few weeks later.

“And if your results are positive for a higher risk strain of HPV, you'll be connected to a network of clinicians across the province to support you in making sure that you do not face that cancer diagnosis,” Eby said.

The premier said the kit can be ordered online or by phone and comes with a return envelope for the sample to be mailed back. Photo: Government of BC

He also said the kits will allow more British Columbians to access testing who might not have been able to access a clinic for a Pap smear or are uncomfortable going to a medical clinic.

“If you live in a rural and remote area, maybe it means taking a day off of work and travelling or longer making arrangements around work and kids to be able to visit a physician,” Eby said. “It's a very intimate and personal test, and if people have had trauma, or they just feel uncomfortable with it, it's it's too easy to say I'll do it later. But this is how we prevent cervical cancer.”

Dr. Gina Ogilvie who is a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Global Control of HPV said BC first launched the world's first cervical cancer screening program in 1955. The Pap tests were able to find abnormal cells before they became cancer when at the time the highest chance of survival was 85 per cent.

“And today, we are taking the next major leap forward with the goal of not just reducing the incidence of cervical cancer, but ultimately eliminating it altogether,” Dr. Ogilvie said.

Sandy Alexander, a nursing professor at Vancouver Island University, says 99 per cent of cervical cancer is caused by HPV, but not all types of HPV can lead to cancer.

“HPV or human papillomavirus virus is actually a very common DNA virus that is spread through intimate skin-to-skin contact, and there's about 150 sort of types of HPV and many of them don't even cause any symptoms at all,” Alexander said. “Some even resolve on their own, go away on their own, but some of them can cause some serious health problems like cancer.”

She explains that there are about 14 types of HPV that are high-risk, with two commonly associated with developing cervical cancer.

“When HPV causes cancer, it's because it's the HPV virus changes the cell's DNA and then disrupts the normal cells ability to sort of repair itself, repair the damage that's caused by the infection of the HPV,” Alexander said. “Then what then happens, it sort of leads to this uncontrolled replication of cells that that then results in cancer”

Alexander says cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer for women globally

“Every year in BC about 200 people will get cervical cancer and 50 will die from the disease. Six-thousand people will develop high-risk changes to the cervix which are precancerous,” Alexander said.

She also explains that anyone doing sexual activities with another person involving oral, genital or anal contact can get HPV.

“The transmission can occur through skin-to-skin contact, or say if someone is using sex toys that can be a way of transmission too,” Alexander said. “Since the infection sometimes has no signs or symptoms at all, you may not even know that you or your partner has it”

Prevention of HPV is something Alexander says is important to also talk about.

“We know that there are ways to prevent, safe sex female or male condoms. However, we know that condoms don't can't cover all of the body, surfaces that may be infected. So vaccination is a big one,” Alexander said.

She explains that in BC the vaccine is given to those in sixth grade as younger people can develop antibodies more easily.

“It's routinely given to all of our grade six students in the province and the one that's publicly funded is the Gardasil9, which protects against nine different types of HPV, seven of them that cause cancers of the cervix, anus, mouth, throat, penis, vagina and vulva,” Alexander said.

She says those who did not receive their vaccine in grade 6 can still receive the vaccine with certain groups of people eligible to get it for free. The province lists the eligible group who can receive the vaccine for free on their website at immunizebc.ca.

Alexander says the new self-screening kits are a huge step for cervical cancer prevention.

Starting January 29th If someone is eligible and due for a cervix screening, can order a self-screening kit by phone at 1-877-702-6566 or online at screeningbc.ca/cervix.

Funding Note: This story was produced with funding support from the Local Journalism Initiative, administered by the Community Radio Fund of Canada.