All women aged between 25 and 69 in New Zealand will be eligible for free cervical screening from March next year under a new Government initiative aimed at eliminating cervical cancer.
According to a report by 1News, Health Minister Simeon Brown announced the plan, saying cervical cancer is a disease that can be prevented and ultimately eliminated through vaccination, screening and treatment.
"Cervical cancer is a cancer we can eliminate," he said.
"We have the tools to be able to do that with its vaccination, screening and treatment, and so today we're announcing a big next step in delivering that for New Zealanders," 1News has quoted.
Currently, free cervical screening is available to Māori and Pacific women aged 25-69, community service card holders, and women who have never been screened or are overdue.
From March, the service will be extended to all women aged 25-69, either through a GP appointment or a self-test. Screening is recommended every five years, as reported by 1News.
Cervical cancer survivor Jen Jewell, who was diagnosed in 2019, said she only underwent screening because she and her husband were trying to have a child.
"I feel very, very lucky that I was, my life circumstances put me in a position where I caught it when it was able to be treated," she said.
"I was stage two, so I had a few rounds of chemotherapy, I had a couple of weeks of radiotherapy and six sessions of intensive brachytherapy, and I was done, as quoted by 1News.
"It took two and a half months for me to go from having cancer to eventually getting the confirmation that I was cancer-free," as quoted by 1News.
Jewell said making screening free could help make the process more routine and reduce anxiety around getting tested.
Cancer Society chief executive Nicola Coom said the cost of screening could prevent some women from accessing the service.
"It can range anywhere between $35 to $100 at your GP. I recently had this self-test, and it was $65, and I walked out of that appointment thinking, how do women throughout the country afford this?
"For some women, that's the choice between the children have school lunches for the week, or I have a self-test for cervical cancer," 1News has quoted.
Coom said cervical cancer was among the cancers that could potentially be eliminated, with regular screening playing an important role.
According to 1News, the announcement has received support from health advocates, with Labour having previously made a similar commitment to provide free cervical screening from October 2027.
Brown said the Government expects about 786,000 additional women to benefit from the expansion.
He acknowledged that wider screening could initially lead to more cervical cancer cases being identified, but said many women in the newly eligible group are already being screened and would now no longer have to pay for it, 1News has reported.
The Government's wider cervical cancer elimination plan aims to reduce the disease to fewer than four cases per 100,000 women annually across every population group by 2040.
The plan includes a target of having 80% of women up to date with cervical screening by 2030, while 80% of women referred for colposcopy should be seen within 30 days.
Brown said the combination of vaccination, screening and treatment would ultimately reduce pressure on the health system.
"We have the tools, whether that's vaccination, whether screening and treatment and if we meet the targets that are as part of the elimination plan, we will be able to eliminate this cancer, and that will actually reduce pressure on our health system overall," as quoted by 1News.
Minister for Women Nicola Grigg said increasing screening uptake would be critical to saving lives.
"Today is a good day for women, but screening only saves lives if it's taken up," she said.
"So my message to every woman who is overdue is simple. Please don't delay colposcopy; talk to your healthcare provider today," 1News has quoted.
The elimination plan also aims to have 90% of young people receive their first HPV vaccine by age 15 by 2035, up from the current rate of 69%, as reported by 1News.