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Women who want an annual Pap test now have to pay for the screening under new rules that took effect Jan. 1.
The Ontario Health Insurance Program (OHIP) previously covered one Papanicolaou (Pap) stain a year, but in an effort to cut costs the province now only covers the cost of a test once every three years. The change saves the government $1.5 million for 2012/13 and $6.1 million for 2013/14.
The move also aligns provincial and recently updated Cancer Care Ontario guidelines.
Pap tests are used to test women for cervical cancer.
“It makes sure that we are making the best use of the limited health care dollars that we have,” Ontario Medication Association (OMA) president Dr. Doug Weir said.
If women want a Pap test more frequently than every three years, they’ll have to pay for the lab analysis, which costs about $20, Weir said, adding most physicians will likely charge the fee to perform the test.
Women who have had abnormal Pap results, or whose doctors have ordered the exam, do not have to pay for the additional exams.
Cancer Care Ontario updated its recommendations on cervical cancer screening last year. It now says women should start the test at the age of 21 and be screened every three years until the age of 70 if their results are normal.
Stephanie Rose recently moved to Toronto from the United States and said she’s disappointed by the change and didn’t expect she’d ever have to pay out of pocket for the test.
“I really think that’s something we can’t take lightly,” she said. “I think regular Pap smears are really important for general population well-being.”
Kirsten Goodland said her family has a history of cancer, and that the cost would affect her. She works part-time and is a full-time student.
“You should never feel scared to go and test for something that could potentially kill you.”
“This isn’t America.”
The Canadian Cancer Society estimated that 1,350 Canadian women were diagnosed with cervical cancer and 390 died from the disease in 2012,.
Research shows most of the benefit of cervical cancer screening occurs for women in their 40s and older, the point at which most cervical cancer cases are diagnosed.
However, abnormal test results are not uncommon in younger women because the Pap tests pick up lesions caused by infections with the human papillomaviruses (HPV), which can cause cervical cancer.
With files from The Canadian Press
People are just replying out of reflex without even reading into what the cancer screening guidelines recommend. Just because something has been done yearly for free in Ontario means that it should be continued to be provided yearly forever. Cancer screening guidelines are always being examined in order to weigh the risks and benefits in screening. Both the US preventative services task force and the American Cancer Society recommend screening every 3 years in females ages 21-29. If you read their rationale for why the 3 year interval exists, you will see that it has to do with risks vs benefits to the patient. If someone happens to have an abnormal PAP at one point, they will NOT have to pay additional for the shorter interval follow up PAPs they will have done, and this is all that matters. A year is a way to measure time that was created by humans and has nothing to do with how fast or slow HPV causes the changes seen on a PAP smear. Multiple studies have been evaluated and have concluded that there is no additional benefit to screening someone more than every 3 years. There are so many morons posting here that have no clue as to the reasons behind a decision like this, they just see that the government is trying to impose a change and they go ballistic because the big bad government is out to get them. You people are complete uninformed morons. These petitions you donkeys have created are meaningless because you are too stupid to comprehend the implications of over-screening people for cancer. Your petitions are a just a hilarious joke and a waste of your not-so-precious time.
Here we go again.If it is not a MALE issue,because that’s who runs the country, it’s not important.I wish all the stuffed shirts in Parliament had to live as a common person does…;;Stick it to the people until there is nothing left.Harper
I believe there are certain things that the government should not touch and this is one of them. Health Care, eye care, education, should be left alone. 20 years ago these things worked so what has changed. We are allowing the Government to Bully us, Maybe the Government is the one that requires cutbacks. How much money are we paying for wages to the leaders of varius partys and their staffs?
Making screening start at 21 is crazy, it should start at 18. I have a 20 year old daughter who had her first screening in August 2012, and she was diagnosed with Cerval Cancer. She has had 3 tests in 6months. So If she had to pay for her test because she was under the screening age she probably would not have bothered to have it and she probably would have waited to the point her cancer would have been advanced . I myself was a victim that nearly died waiting on surgery because of the cutbacks. I am now on a series of medications for the rest of my life because of the waits.
How many people are out there needing glasses but can’t afford to go for an eye test because the government cut this back.
It is time the we as Canadian;s step in and put a stop to the Government;s Bullying, and to have them look it their own back yards before cutting back on the essential services required by Canadians.
I don’t even have a doctor. So not only do I have to take time off work to go to a shitty walk-in clinic and wait all day, but now I have to pay for it? Isn’t that less incentive for women to take preventative measures against cancer – something that would got OHIP much more later? And be prepared for all those unwanted pregnancies because birth control requires a pap smear before prescription renewal.
Cervical cancer takes years to develop.
This article does not mention the correlation between those who do not regularly get Pap tests or those who do not follow up on abnormal pap results and those who are diagnosed with cancer.
Another thing this article doesn’t mention is that cervical cancer is mostly caused by HPV. If you have cancer in the family, it would not necessarily put you at a higher risk for cervical cancer.
Pap tests are also incredibly invasive, since you are scraping off a single layer of cells.
Perhaps this article should focus on the lack of information these women have and how you, a major news source, is perpetuating fear mongering.
This is irresponsible “journalism”.
It’s not only going to cost $20. That is the lab analysis fee only. Doctors will also charge a fee on top of that which has yet to be disclosed. I would guess at least $75 as my former Dr was already charging this for treatments not covered by ohip.
To everyone saying it’s “just 20 dollars”…yeah, that’s how it starts. Started with “oh it’s just 75 dollars” for an eye exam (which on minimum wage because i can’t afford school or get loans, is a lot, and i haven’t been able to afford an eye exam or teeth cleaning since I moved out of my parents house) All these costs are going to eventually add up. I also pay out of pocket for any drugs i need, I had to go without food for a week because i needed antibiotics for strep throat a few months ago. The government is backwards.
I once had an abnormal pap and pre-cancerous cells. Imagine they would have started to grow after my pap test and i waited 3 years to get the next…..could it be cancer by then? This is unreal and really makes me angry.
This is DISGUSTING and ridiculous! Do you know how many women won’t get them now? This is an essential part of womens general health. Our health care is going down and getting worse every year. This really angers me. They say catching cancer early is important, but doing this is preventing that from happening, and will also probably made the spread of STDS go higher. Yeah it’s saving the goverment money, but were still paying the taxes, yet our heatlh care costs are going up every single year…eye exams, ambulance fee’s etc…It already takes forever to get anything diagnosed or go to a specialist here, now we can’t even count on our annual pap smear?
How lucky are we to be living in a country where we generally dont have to pay a large sum of money out of our pockets when we go to the doctor for just a check up. I think we need to take a step back and look at the whole picture, we need to be grateful for what we have a think about what others do not have. We need to realize that at some point we should be taking responsibility for our own health as individuals and take the preventative steps in order to better our well-being, even if that includes skipping out on an evening out. This is your body, after all you only have to live with it for the rest of your life…whats more important?
By the recommendations set by any gynecologist and doctor set after the onset of pre-cancerous cells and lesions on the cervix, the required check up is YEARLY! The required check up while going through treatment to prevent cancer is every 6 months for two years. Not to mention painful cervix dysplasia placing any woman of child-bearing age in danger of never having children. Yeah, you figure that one out dear.
So they’ve gone against the logical doctor advice and taken something that is important to us women away and you’re telling us to just be happy with what we have? That is sad.
This is about the message it is sending women. This is undermining a very serious issue and leading women to believe that it is perfectly fine to go 3 years without an exam. What other preventative actions can we take as women against abnormal cells, precancerous cells etc., if we do not have free annual paps? And what about those who now cannot afford another medical bill? It may not come down to “skipping an evening out”, it may come down to not getting that eye exam, or those antibiotics for some people. We pay hefty taxes in this province and this is a cut that should not be made to save what seems like a minimal amount. We are lucky in many ways, yes, but that’s not to say we do not pay largely for it.
with the coverage that we’re “so proud” to have as Canadians is more important.
As a nation, we spend more money servicing the country’s debt than we do on healthcare…and healthcare is just a little more expensive than our army. Here’s a breakdown on where your money goes (per dollar):
- Health (10 cents/dollar) – Revenue Agency (3 cents) – Social Transfer (4 cents) – Children’s Benefits (5 cents) – Crown Corporations (4 cents) – Defence (8 cents) – EI (7 cents) – Tranfer payments (6 cents) – Operations (12 cents) – Other transfer payments (14 cents) – Public Debt (11 cents) – Public safety (3 cents) – Support to elderly (13 cents)
…maybe borrowing money for a costly overseas war that doesn’t concern us wasn’t such a good idea. I believe this money would have been better spent on healthcare… just sayin’
“they’ll have to pay for the lab analysis, which costs about $20, Weir said, adding most physicians will likely charge the fee to perform the test.”
So will be fee be $20? Or will it be more than that? This quote makes it seem as though most physicians will charge to perform the test and the lab analysis will cost us $20. Does anyone have clarification?
This is an outrage! It’s not a matter of the money, but a setback to women’s health. Sign my petition to stop this!
http://www.change.org/en-CA/petitions/the-ontario-health-insurance-program-ministry-of-health-and-long-term-care-stop-the-fee-for-annual-pap-tests
Wow, so you have to pay out of your own pocket for something that mostly affects you, and not send the bill to future people are going to being paying higher taxes. What’s the problem with that? It actually makes a lot of sense. it’s not like you lose the service, you just pay. It’s not like it was “free” before. Someone else is always paying…
Offering the test free encourages women to actually have the test done regularly. With a fee, many women will opt instead to use the money on other things than a PAP smear. This will lead to many long undiagnosed illnesses and complications, which will cost our health care system far more in the long run than we are paying now.
Future generations will pay much more for this. Preventative health care is key in lowering overall health costs.
I couldn’t agree more. In fact, tax payers shouldn’t have to pay for ANY health care provided to Canadians. After all, a person’s health only impacts them so why should I have to pay for someone else’s cancer treatment, emergency medicine, cardiac care, annual physical, long-term care……the list goes on and on.
I truly hope that those reading this understand that it is sarcasm
God forbid you never get cancer because you couldnt afford the treatments that are offered to us Canadians and are PAID for by taxpayers…you are a sarcastic ignorant person to post this..how dare you to say a persons health only impacts them..it impacts themselves,family & friends etc..I am thankful to live in a country where we have health care..hospitals and specialists available to everyone..You sicken me!!!!!
Do you understand sarcasm and how it is used?
Absolutley the wrong choices being made here. Sure $20 isnt a whole lot but what about those young girls that are just starting out? $20 is a lot to them. When it comes down to their last $20 and its between food and a test that migt not show anything Im pretty sure foods going to come 1st. I was 18 when my first cancerous cells showed up. Now Im 23 and I go for my 4th surgery tomorrow. If I had to pay for these tests they wouldnt have been done. I am completely disgusted with the health care cuts we didnt even get a choice on. Im sure there was TONS of minor crap that could have been cut instead of something so major.
I dealt with the ‘new rules’ for paying for eye exams, as eye balls don’t transmit STDs STIs etc. . . I believe AIDS is not more rampant (as i have seen in many other countries) in Canada because we have the infrastructure in place to prevent, and when that doesn’t work, DETECT and isolate the virus, many more viruses, and multiple other contagious diseases.
I don’t think its right for a 16 year old girl to have multiple sexual partners within the year, but lets be honest and realistic,, its happening all over our province. How many of them do you think would ask their parents for 20 bucks because they are changing sexual partners and want to do it as safe as possible? ? {Probably fewer than optimists would hope}
A woman’s box deserves attention when ever a woman feels its needed, not a government regulated standard.
Finally,, is this not a slippery slope for other cut offs? If this isn’t women losing OHIP rights, what is it?
HPV shots are not fully researched, nor guarantee to fully prevent contraction (There are over a 100 strains of HPV with no real positive cure). There is a big controversy agents these shots created to minimize contraction of HPV.
There are negative side effects to receiving them too, such as, damage to your body’s natural immunity.
Each HPV shot (in a series of three at around 100 + dollars each which is NOT covered by OHIP by the way) has a life span to protect for maybe 5 years max. As well, it has to be done before a woman and man are sexually active to be fully effective, which does nothing to the 90% of people who are already infected with it.
It is not a guarantee that they will prevent anything but is an attempt for the government contain the further spread of the infection.
Don’t make claims you didn’t fully research either. It is better to be safe and receive negative results then to assume that it will disperse with none fully researched drugs.
I’ve made a petition about this. Spread the word.
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/560/299/667/demand-ohip-to-keep-free-annual-pap-test-for-women/
I guess everyone must have missed the part where says the change was brought on by Cancer Care Ontario updating its recommendations on cervical cancer screening last year. It now says women should start the test at the age of 21 and be screened every three years until the age of 70 if their results are normal…
I AM APPALLED BY THIS!!!!!! SOMEONE GET IN CONTACT WITH ME SO THAT WE CAN START A PROTEST ON PARLIAMENT HILL LETS SHOW THIS GOVERNMENT THAT PUTTING MONEY OVER PEOPLES WELFARE AINT RIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!! INBOX ON FB COREY DUBTACULOUS CROK WE NEED TO PUT AN END TO THE GOVERNMENTS REIGN ON US!!!!!! WE ARE NOT TO BE PICKED OFF AND KILLED WHENEVER CANADA NEEDS MORE MONEY!!!!!!!!
It`s 20 dollars? Are you kidding me? If you are on unemployment or Ontario works, I am sure that it’s covered. Think about the money that you blow on other things. If you can’t throw $20 aside for a health test, there is something wrong,
It’s everything our health care system is no longer. It may “only be $20 a year” but when it comes down to it our taxes should be covering this but instead it’s covering monthly trips, drinks, entertaining our government. They’re pissing our money away and screwing us in the process and all you can say is “throw $20 aside” on top of all the taxes we pay – and for what? Health care, education, our judicial system everything is going to hell and whenever they take one little thing away all others add up.
Isn’t Deb Matthews a woman? Are men paying for a prostate exam too?
A big reason for this change was to spare women the stress of an abnormal result and further invasive testing, as the majority of abnormal pap results are self-resolving within the 3-year time line (ie. the abnormal result was not cervical cancer, the only thing a pap smear is screening for). Shame on Citytv for not providing a balanced view of the issue, or any input by a health expert!
A pap test saved my life…now women are to go without unless they want to pay for it. Thats Bull! My cancer went from mild to severe in less than 6 months…Imagine if I had to wait for a test every three years…
SO what happens when my doctor says “you need a pap test so you can your birth control”
((that I already pay $28 monthly for)) I now have to pay an extra $20 a year for the test to be done
ok so now we have to pay a couple of bucks to have this done “if we want it done” if ordered by the Dr….we don’t is what i believe i read in any case i have been in the labs for blood tests many a times when i’ve over herd them tell men oh that test is not covered and i do believe it has to do with that area as well…in any case the positive way to look at this is if i can spend 20 bucks on going to a movie…for dinner…for drinks.. or even ordering a pizza to watch the game or a movie at home…then i most certainly can come up with 20 bucks for this…how ever i am quite disturbed as this has been brought to my attention a couple of days after my city says they are going to cover the health expenses of illegal immigrants at no charge to them..i really don’t understand this country…it is always there to help out everyone which is a good thing but they should be looking after our own first as we will sooner or later be in the same boat as the poorer countries as there will be nothing left to give oh well just another day in the life of a Canadian :S
I understand that it is a high cost annually and that there are a lot more people suffering and also dying from more aggressive cancers than cervical cancer, but none the less it is our health care that we pay out for. Maybe the government should start taking funds away from other areas and putting more into health care. There are far too many people that collect Unemployment while not job hunting or they work under the table. Those people are getting countless dollars for no reason what so ever and it cannot be justified. I believe we need to crack down on handing out money to those who aren’t properly utilizing it so that money can go to people who need it, not who choose to abuse the system.
So NOT surprised! Under the Ontario Liberals we now pay between 400.00 to 600.00 EVERY year as Dalton’s Health Tax. We now are NOT covered for physical therapy, eye exam, chiropractic care, and now this. Guess someone has to pay the the BILLIONS of wasted scandalous programs, to save two seats. Not to worry, sex change operations are still covered. Shame on anyone who voted these clowns in again and again.
This article is extremely unbalanced. Costs are not the only consideration when making this decision. Over-screening is actually a big issue and in a low-risk pool of women, the number of false positives will outweigh the true positives. This leads to unnecessary invasive and painful treatments, not to mention the stress associated with a cancer diagnosis. Especially now that vaccination for HPV is becoming more widespread, the risk of cervical cancer will be on decline, making frequent screening less needed. There have been extensive studies on cervical cancer screening and there is good clinical data to support these recommendations. More frequent cervical cancer screening does not lead to decreased incidence or mortality in the general population. Some of the previous comments stating that dire consequences in the absence of annual Pap tests simply aren’t supported by data.
We’re one of the only places in the world that suggested yearly. 3 years is commonplace throughout most of the world- and in countries with immensely better research and medical care than we have. I have a cervix, I’m more than fine with this decision. There is no proof that a PAP every year is better than every 3 years (in fact it’s shown that 3 years is ideal, and there are some studies showing that yearly paps can actually have harmful effects). OHIP is still covering followup PAPs for people who have abnormal tests. Less wasted money, equally beneficial results, and possibly less harmful effects. Seems like a win all around.
As many other commenters have said, this is not meant to be a forum to pit the men against the women. If anything, the fact that the government beleives they can benefit from ALL OF US expecting basic health care is disgusting. You’re right; prostate cancer is a nasty thing, maybe you can empathise why we women are so upset about the same thing happening to us (regarding the testing). Perhaps 1/10th of the amount of women died due to cervical cancer compared to men with prostate cancer, but the facts as they stand are not always complete. Many women live with cervical cancer undiagnosed for years until it metastisizes in the abdomen, lungs and liver, effectively changing the cause of death.
Again, women are not attempting to downplay prostate cancer in an attempt to emphasize this change in government, we are simply upset about this blatent disregard for EVERYONE’s health.
cool. so how much are men going to pay for their annual prostate examination now, under these new cuts?
Clinical research is what drives this decision. A ridiculous number of health $ are spent on wasted and useless diagnostic tests.
Your friendly family doctor gets paid for every single test ordered, prescription written, consultation made – he/she is a business and will often order unnecessarily tests. Conscientious or making a buck?
You are as guilty as the doctor for insisting on antibiotics for a sore throat or such like without waiting for a throat swab.
You are as guilty for using the Emergency Department / Accident and Emergency as your personal walk-in clinic.
You are as guilty by expecting your tax bill not to go up but expecting more and more health care services to be available.
The system is being bled by greedy doctors and people who think they know better – THAT is where your health care dollar is going.
Honestly, I am continuously disappointed by Ontario’s health care system. I don’t understand why people have to pay so much taxes and yet they don’t get the benefits from it. This is getting ridiculous. As the above statement says, our healthcare system is great as long as you don’t get sick and have to deal with it.
This is not necessarily a bad decision, as there is always the risk of false positives and false negatives, and potentially unnecessary surgery causing long-term harm. Considering the total female population of Canada, and assuming fairly rigorous current testing for cervical cancer, the number of women diagnosed with cervical cancer is tiny.
Listen, I don’t care what stats say. If your doctor thinks it should be done, it should be done, and covered, period. If the Ontario Government had a billion dollars to piss down the drain on E-Health, they can foot this bill. Instead of pissing our money to a bunch of greedy companies, and incompetent contractors, they should have put that money to health care. Do you know what a billion dollars could do to preventive health care services and education???
Read the article… If your doctor thinks it needs to be done more often than every three years (which it doesn’t for most women because HPV is an extremely slowly progressing cancer that takes close to a decade to progress from “abnormal” to “cancerous”) then it WILL be covered. Everyone who thinks this change means a decrease in the quality of healthcare should stop making ignorant comments and look at the research on the disease. You complain about the government wasting money? Thats exactly what this test would be doing if every women did it every year. Not to mention all the additional tax dollars that get wasted on additional testing for false positives.
1. HPV is not cancer. HPV has been cited as the cause of many gynecological cancers, including cervical (the 3rd most diagnosed cancer in women). HPV and Cervical Cancer can (and frequently do) go unnoticed and undiagnosed frequently for a few reasons; one being women not having access to regular medical examinations, including pap smears and the fact that BOTH HPV and cervical cancer are typically asymptomatic until progressed. Occaisionally, cervical cancer is asymptomatic until there are metasteses on the lungs or abdomen. If caught in the precancerous stage, it is 100% curable.
The widespread induction of the pap test is responsible for an over 80% drop in cervical cancer diagnoses.
Lastly, the lab costs for a pap smear run right around 2 – 3 dollars depending on the available resources. 2- 3 dollars per year X however many women in Ontario. I wonder how that compares to the costs of disability due to undiagnosed pregnancy, hospitalization due to gynecological cancers, and the complications due to STD related illness? Probably much more expensive to run a swab, right? I can guarantee it’s a pittance comparatively.
You know what I do at yearly Pap Tests? I test for Syphilis, and Chlamydia and Breast Cancer on top of the regular texts. I always get my doctor to check for everything he possibly can. They are yearly checkups on my general sexual health because I am a sexually active person. I’ve had multiple partners and these yearly check ups were my way of feeling as safe as I could be since I started having sex. Whenever my doctor told me I didn’t need this many tests, or I was too young to be getting these tests, I don’t need to worry, I always made him do them anyway. I don’t care about statistics or when these things “usually” happen to other women. This is me taking charge and care of my own health, and the fact that Ontario is not promoting safe sexual health anymore is ludacris.
To be pitting men and women against eachother. Our health care is a joke and not only do we have to pay for more services now, but the services still suck! We should all be taken care of regardless of sex, status, race and age. What the hell is our government doing to us. Vote smart people! (Not that there’s a smart vote option)
I am worried for my children.
So am I. Im only 23 and I have a yearly pap found my cells at 18. What if I never had those tests? What if my daughter doesnt have them? What if when she starts its too late?
This is ridiculous!!!!
This is HORRIBLE! HPV can lay hidden for more than 10 years. I had a pap in 2011 which was fine and then one in 2012 which showed HPV. If I had waited 3 years like my doctor had said it would have gotten so much worse and could have led to cervical cancer down the line. I insisted that I get it done and I am so happy that I did. This makes me so furious!
It will be more than $20, that is just the lab fee. The doctor will also charge for his services and who knows how much that will be
I completely agree with the above comment posted above by HealthNut….. Many female cancers are extremely aggressive, testing yearly is necessary! These cancers are advanced by the time it is found, and survival rates are poor…… I know first hand, I lost my mother at the age of 40 to this terrible disease within 4 months of diagnoses!
This change may save the government millions in the next couple of years……but have they taken into consideration the increases in health issues that will be missed and the costs associated with that? Placing a fee on this test benefits no one!!!!!
It’s not about $20 and women’s hardships , its about detection and prevention so that our mothers, sisters,wives, daughters, etc can LIVE healthily.
One year I was fine and the next year I was not and needed emergancy surgery. Had I waited 2 more years after, I am sure it would have cost the system ALOT more.
While our fathers, brothers, and cousins continue to pay for their tests, and die. After all, men don’t have aggressive cancers, we just need to suck it up. Even though only 390 or so women died in 2012 to cervical cancer. Compared with the 4000 men to prostate cancer. That’s 11 fathers, brothers and cousins every day!
Women need to start grasping this. Men have been getting shafted by the Government, health professionals, and Doctors for decades. We teach young women in schools about the breast exam, do you think we teach young males about testicle exams? Nope!
Please, note, I am not anti women, or anything like that. I am just fed up with the constant image from the media that men have no real health issues that need to be addressed. The lack of education to men, on things that can and will kill them. We have brainwashed the public with a lack on knowledge, and the women’s group have done a great job bringing their issues forward, breast cancer etc, while mens issues, just fall through the cracks.
Incidence of Cervical Cancer In Canadian Women:
Incidence is the number of new cases of a particular type of cancer diagnosed each year.
It is estimated that 1350 new cases of cervical cancer will be diagnosed in Canada in 2012.
The lifetime probability of a woman developing cervical cancer in Canada is 1 in 153.
Mortality
Mortality is the number of deaths each year due to a particular type of cancer.
It is estimated that 390 deaths from cervical cancer will occur in Canada in 2012.
The lifetime probability of a woman dying from cervical cancer in Canada is 1 in 445.
Take your sexist rant elsewhere … no one wants your opinion on a woman’s issue.
Thank you fiberals. Another reason to never vote for your dyke, ever again. And I won’t.
This is just part of the Liberal’s slowly privatizing healthcare. It started off with eye tests and just keeps on going.
On the bright side they are we are also paying more in taxes and fees to cover the reduced healthcare coverage we receive.
Try being a man, you have to pay for your PSA test, unless you show symptoms through an examination. How about Citynews and the rest of women friendly media groups start setting up and reporting this! Getting a little sick of hearing all about women’s hardships with cancer.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among Canadian men (excluding non-melanoma skin cancer). In 2012:
An estimated 26,500 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer and 4,000 will die of it.
On average, 73 Canadian men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer every day.
On average, 11 Canadian men will die of prostate cancer every day.
Probability of developing or dying from prostate cancer
One in 7 men will develop prostate cancer during his lifetime and one in 28 will die of it.
Read more: http://www.cancer.ca/Canada-wide/About%20cancer/Cancer%20statistics/Stats%20at%20a%20glance/Prostate%20cancer.aspx?sc_lang=en#ixzz2M3fw9Dep
From Govt Website:”In men without symptoms (screening), PSA testing is not paid for by the provincial health plan. A man can have the PSA test if he is willing to pay for the test himself. However, it is hoped he will make this decision only after discussion with his physician or nurse practitioner.”
Don’t want to hear your rant. As a woman, we have children, pay extra fees, have less time off to raise our children and work at highly educated careers, and still make less than a man. FYI, we also have to pay for Ovarian cancer blood tests (CA 125), therefore, quit your bitching.
it would be wiser for men and women to approach the government together with these concerns….
the government and media often report in ways that divide and conquer us….and most people don’t even realize it. we just bicker amongst ourselves.
you never had to vote for that ‘dyke’ before….she just stepped in for that presumably hetero idjut dalton….lol….a little freaked out are we by someone’s sexuality? or is that the best you got? are you heading down to the local offices of the person/party you want to support and help out on the campaign? that would be more helpful then screeching about some politicos sexuality….
in reference to your news show on women now having to pay for pap test, and men don’t! Well that is totally wrong, I went for a psa test 4 years ago and had to pay $35, women conplain all the time about this and that, give me a break ladies, stop whinning, you have so many benefits in this country, go to a 3 rd world country and see how it compares. Women get all the breaks, its the children and fathers that should get more programs for them. time to grow up ladies.
Well in a world where men and women were equally paid and respected I could see this being an issue. Unfortunately women in the same position as men with the same education and intelligence are still paid less than men and are still seen as less qualified for higher positions than men. So women have begun standing up for their rights, in health and otherwise. Perhaps you men should rally together and fight for your health rights as we women have. Don’t sit by idly doing nothing as the women fight for their rights and then criticize us for it. There is a lot of media about prostate cancer as well as groups that you could join. Mens health is not forgotten. So next time you want to complain about women fighting for their rights and men getting “shafted”, try advocating for yourself like women do, maybe something will happen. Too bad the healthcare system is determined to make maintaining health as hard as possible for as many people as possible.
Also PSA test is ridiculously inaccurate and not a test I would recommend getting on a regular basis anyways.
my american friends say to me “you’re so lucky, you have free health care”
and I say “oh yeah, just don’t get sick”
Does this mean that we can get a tax deduction. Our taxes are suppose to cover our medical supposedly.
Yes, Women of all ages… who have cervix that are 21- 65 years old will get a tax refund in form of a Winners Gift card .
I have opened up my own clinic in my basement. For $5.99 I will offer a full papanicolaou test with free candy and toy upon completion, I am highly skilled, and have many woman returning for additional testing. Contact my office for further information. I am located in the beautiful neighbour hood of Weston/Lawrence area. Above Kumars Tropical Fish! Come Now….
I was taught health promotion in school. The fundamental article for the basis of health promotion WORLDWIDE is called the Ottawa Charter. How unfortunate that something that started in our country will also die here.
More nonsense from this Liberal government. The person in charge may have changed, but the same garbage exists.
Let’s now charge women who want to take a life-saving test for the sake of making a fast buck. Just like when the hospital charges for parking, only discourages people who are sick from going to the emergency room because they can’t afford to feed the meter for their car outside.
$20 eh.. not too bad… with the new polymer bills… we can make the payment to be a fun event… sort like a scavenger hunt for the doc.
The Canadian government needs to start being clear that our health care doesn’t cover a lot of things. People are made to think we are paying massive amounts of tax money into a fully supported health care system. This is not the case. More and more you will find that things you need aren’t covered. Many cancer patients find this out at the worst possible time.
I realize that we are in a health care spending crisis, however, this is NOT a service that should be cut. Cervical cancer is an especially agressive cancer. By testing for it every 3 years, we could miss the mark entirely on early diagnosis and treatment. After 3 years,some of these women in the prime of their lives may very well have a late stage cancer. This type of spending cut was a terrible decision. Are we not supposed to be moving towards prevention and early detection in our health care system? This reminds me of the budget cuts proposed to breast screening clinics in the province and is yet another blow to the name of our great healthcare.
Another way to suck the money right out of people. This is getting insane.