Every 60 seconds, someone’s mother, wife, sister, aunt or daughter is diagnosed with cervical cancer somewhere in the world, with over 800 cases diagnosed in Australia each year.

Australia is on track to be the first country to eliminate cervical cancer by as early as 2028. A game-changing step towards elimination is that the federal department of health is now offering self-collection to all screeners aged between 24 and 75 years old.

This expanded self-collection aims to remove some cultural and personal barriers that have been discouraging some women from screening.

Australia’s leading supplier of the HPV test Roche Diagnostics has confirmed their tests are widely available across the country, so women from areas like Western Australia and regional and remote areas will have access to the Self-collection Cervical Cancer Screening Program.

Caitlin Rose, 27, knows what it’s like to have a cervical cancer scare and shares her experience with Mouths of Mums, and the hope she has for self-collection to encourage more women to take ownership of their health and get screened if they’ve put it off – especially during the pandemic.

“It was in the back of my mind that I had to get a cervical cancer screening, but it was always one of those things where I was like, ‘I don’t have time’ or because it is a procedure, I would feel more comfortable seeing my regular GP about it. I thought, ‘I don’t have the money to go and see my GP just for this.’

“My GP was the one who really brought it to the forefront of my attention to have a screening done as I hadn’t had one before. It was only when I went home and my partner at the time asked how my appointment went and I said, ‘It’s all good, but she would like me to get a cervical cancer screening test.’ He was the one that encouraged me to take the doctor’s advice and prioritise the screening.

“I was lucky that I had this same GP since I was 12 and we knew each other very well. She explained the process to me and that it could be painful or uncomfortable, so I knew what to expect. I don’t want to use the word ‘embarrassing’ because it wasn’t, but for the first time undergoing the screening I felt self-conscious, so I understand the hesitation.

“I was at work when I received the call, and I was anticipating an ‘all good’ result. It never crossed my mind to even be worried because there is this assumption of ‘I’m young, there’s no way that there is going to be anything wrong.’

“I was up to date with my vaccinations, so it was a huge shock when I got the call. Firstly, I had HPV, the human papillomavirus, which can lead to cervical cancer. My results showed that I had C-16 and C-18. My GP then explained it is a sexually transmitted disease and I was horrified.

“I was very quiet initially as I didn’t know how I felt about it all. I spoke with my mum, sister and partner but was still very stressed. Especially because there is a stigma attached to HPV because it is an STD so there is a sense of shame associated with that.

“I would share with my younger self and any other women who are hesitant, to ‘listen to health advice and experts,’ and it’s important to have conversations with family and friends. I do think there is this kind of invincibility idea when you’re young as well. The thought, ‘It’s not going to happen to me.’ I would say we are not invincible, bad things can happen. We need to take responsibility for ourselves and our health.

“Before going through all of this, I would never have volunteered to publicly talk about cervical cancer screening, but I think it’s so important to talk about it openly. I had no symptoms that would suggest anything was remotely wrong. I now must have bi-annual screening because the results raised concern that it could diverge into cancer cells.

“I do hope that this option introduced by the government to self-collect will encourage more people to go and get screened. There’s no reason to wait. It could change the trajectory of your life.”