Post by Lucy Gilbert, MD, MSc., FRCOG

Thank you to Maria Kestane at The Big Story podcast, from Frequency Podcast Network, for creating space to discuss an issue that deserves national attention. Cervical cancer is one of the few cancers we can truly eliminate, but progress has slowed, and rates are beginning to rise among younger people. The science is not the barrier. We have effective HPV vaccination, evidence-based screening, and emerging self-sampling technologies that can reach people who have historically been underserved. What we need now is alignment: across provinces, across care settings, and across the full spectrum of prevention. Access should not depend on geography, income, or the availability of a family physician. If we want to reach Canada’s 2040 elimination goal, we must modernize how screening is delivered and make prevention truly accessible to everyone. I appreciate the opportunity to speak openly about what’s working, what isn’t, and what has to change for us to protect more Canadians from a preventable disease. For the full episode: https://lnkd.in/eVJAn6iw #CervicalCancer #CancerPrevention #HPV #GynecologicOncology #PublicHealth #HealthEquity #WomensHealth #HPVVaccination #CancerScreening #OncologyLeadership #HealthcareAccess #EliminateCervicalCancer