March 17, 2024
The Canadian Cancer Society says, following a 30-year decline, the national cervical cancer rate rose 3.7% a year since 2015, representing the biggest jump for any type of cancer affecting females. The latest projections for N.B. are 35 cases a year and 10 deaths. Strategies in place to reduce the risk and hopefully eliminate cervical cancer include the HPV vaccination program, although vaccination figures in N.B. are headed in the wrong direction. The female participation rate in the Grade 7 vaccine program fell to 75.5% last year, down from 81.5% the year before. The province is supposed to transition from pap testing to HPV testing in the next five to seven years.