'Smear parties' to combat cervical cancer

A women's health trust is suggesting a new take on the Tupperware party - the "smear party" - to make cervical screens a more enjoyable experience.

The Well Women's Nursing Service, an Auckland charitable trust, has taken its mobile cervical screening equipment to about 10 evening gatherings of women in private homes, says co-founder and chief executive Ruth Davy.

She says the women bring food and drink. Nurses offer education and information, and can answer any queries. The five-minute process itself takes place in a separate, private room.

Ms Davy says women who are shy or nervous about going to a clinic can find female support puts them at ease.

Smear parties are "really good for getting people talking - we have very positive feedback". Participants "feel really safe and empowered, and they can't believe it's so easy".

The impetus came from a group of women who asked the service to come to them, and has grown by word of mouth since. "We thought: this is a great idea - we kept laughing about how it was like a Tupperware party," says Ms Davy.

But any method that increases the numbers of women being checked is worth pursuing: "Women who have smear tests every three years reduce their risk of developing cervical cancer by about 90 per cent," she says.

The death rate from cervical cancer in New Zealand has declined by about 50 per cent since mass cervical screening started in 1991.

Cervical smears through the service are free for Community Service Card holders, or for women who have not had a smear for five years; others pay $45.

Health authorities say any woman who has ever had sex should have a three-yearly smear, in which small pieces of tissue are taken from the cervix surface to see if there are abnormal changes in cells.

Some cells with abnormal changes can develop into cancer if they are not treated. 
 

The cancer risk factor

Without screening
* 1 out of 90 women will develop cervical cancer
* 1 out of 200 women will die from cervical cancer
With screening
* 1 out of 570 women will develop cervical cancer
* 1 out of 1280 women will die from cervical cancer
 
Source: Healthy Women. Figures are estimates.