Automated Pap Test Screening Machine
Newfoundland and Labrador has become a leader in Pap test screening technology thanks to donors of the Health Care Foundation, who contributed more than $400,000 to purchase an Automated Pap Test Screening machine (APS). Eastern Health is now the first health authority in Canada to have this new technology.
The APS is an innovative system that scans Pap test slides and identifies the slides most likely to contain abnormalities that could develop into cervical cancer. This machine greatly enhances the accuracy of Pap test screening, ensuring that women in our province have the best screening for cervical cancer available anywhere. It could not have come at a better time, as rates of cervical cancer in this province are among the highest in Canada.
The Health Care Foundation extends our sincere thanks to the following donors: International Grenfell Association, Elinor Gill Ratcliffe, Susan Patten, Mary Pratt, Judy and the late Tom Woodford, John and Debbie Patten, the Rotary Club of St. John's Northwest, the supporters of our Brunch with the Bags event, and an anonymous donor who left a bequest to us. We also express our gratitude to Susan Evans, a cervical cancer survivor, for sharing her story and assisting with our fundraising efforts.
Of course, this machine will only benefit women who get their regular Pap tests. It is our hope that efforts to promote the importance of having regular Pap tests will keep this machine very busy in the years to come!
