Amid low screening rates, St. Joe's launches London's first pop-up pap clinic

St. Joseph's Health Care is asking women to 'pop in for a pap' on Monday — a chance for those without a family doctor to get the routine screening that can help prevent cervical cancer. 

The one-day pop-up clinic is a way for people aged 25 and older to get the health assessment they need, even if they don't have a family doc, said Robert Di Cecco, a gynecologist at St. Joe's and head of cervical screening for the Southwest Regional Cancer Centre program. 

"One of the things that's a struggle in Ontario is our pap test screening rates are not ideal," said Di Cecco. "Our screening rates are in the 50 to 60 per cent range. One of the barriers that individuals have with respect to screening is that they don't have a doctor."

The one-day clinic is the first-of-its-kind in the London region and will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the colposcopy clinic. Health officials say they hope it will serve as a model for similar events in the future. 

During a pap test, a small swab is used to scrape cells in the vagina. The sample is put in a container and sent to a lab to be assessed for abnormalities which can be used to assess a patient's cervical cancer risk. Samples collected at the pop-up clinic will be sent to a lab at the London Health Sciences Centre and results may take up to four weeks. 

"The idea of this pop-up clinic was to give people that opportunity to come and get the test done," said Di Cecco. "Screening tests are only useful if people go to get screens. They're not useful if you don't show up."

Tiffany Lukas is one of Di Cecco's patients and has been routinely getting pap tests since she turned 16.

In 2018, her test results showed signs of very early cervical cancer. The cancer had not spread to other parts of her body and Lukas was able to undergo a minor procedure to have the cancer removed on the same day that it was discovered.

Indigenous health worker on site 

"I was afraid. I was scared. I was fearful, but then I also had relief," said Lukas. "It was no longer in my body because it was caught early and then removed."

Lukas attributes the routine pap test for catching her cancer early and wants to encourage others to make a habit of getting pap smears. 

"I was in the right hands at the right time," said Lukas. "I just hope that I can help other women in my shoes."

The pop-up clinic will be a welcoming space for anyone with a cervix — open to all regardless of gender or backgrounds, Di Cecco said. 

The clinic will also have an Indigenous support worker on site and available to help support folks coming in for paps if they have questions or concerns.

"There are struggles with respect to primary care in that community," said Di Cecco. "[The clinic] is open to everybody so we want to make sure that our Indigenous community is aware of it."