Data from Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory show that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women have a cervical cancer death rate that is over nine times that of non-Indigenous women'. Cervical cancer is one of the few cancers where screening detects pre-cancerous lesions. Detection rates were higher in younger age groups than in older age groups. To ensure that early warning signals of cervical cancer are detected, the National Health and Medical Research Council recommends that women who have ever been sexually active have a Pap smear every two years unless otherwise advised by their doctor. Interviews with Dr Heather Mitchell can be arranged through Nigel Harding, AIHW, tel.
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