Women too busy to undergo smear test for cervical cancer

Half of Hong Kong women studied are placing themselves at risk of cervical cancer because they are either too busy to take a Pap smear or believe the disease is only a threat to promiscuous women.

The incidence of cervical cancer in Hong Kong is among the highest in the world, with 19.5 women per 100,000 being diagnosed each year. This compares to 13.5 in Japan, 12.2 in Britain, 7.5 in the United States, and 4.2 per 100,000 on the mainland.

Studies have shown that 50 to 60 per cent of women are screened in Hong Kong, compared to 85 per cent in Britain and 80 per cent in Australia.

A Chinese University study yesterday revealed Hong Kong women's reluctance to go for the potentially life-saving Pap smear.

Of the women polled who said they did not intend taking a Pap test despite being sexually active, 60 per cent said they were 'too busy', said Professor Sheila Twinn of the Chinese University's Nethersole School of Nursing.

Seventy-six per cent said they believed they were healthy and 'had no symptoms', 57 per cent were unsure if they needed one, and 55 per cent thought only promiscuous women could get cervical cancer. The researchers interviewed 985 women, of whom 93 per cent were or had been sexually active, and therefore at risk of developing cervical cancer.