Pap smears the main safeguard
Cervical cancer is the seventh leading cause of death and the fourth most common type of cancer among Hong Kong Chinese women, according to a 2002 report by the Nethersole School of Nursing at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
'Despite the provision of cervical screening programmes, women's attendance for screening remains low at 59 per cent,' the report said.
In 2004, Hong Kong Cancer Registry statistics showed 439 new cases in that year and 128 deaths.
One GP from a south side clinic says it's early days for the vaccination and it couldn't cover every strain. Pap smears will stay, as the vaccination is not 100 per cent, she says. 'People are still going to be having intercourse, so people will still be at risk.'
Doctors who check for HPV look to see if it's high or low risk, but there are many types of HPV. 'It's ubiquitous,' she says.
