When Anna Echols asked about the results of her pap test — which checks for cervical cancer and other abnormalities — the Central Saanich woman was told the wait could be several months.
“I’m not worried,” said Echols, 50, “but I’m thinking of all those women out there, because we do make up 50 per cent of the population here in B.C.”
Echols had a swab on May 5 at the Central Saanich Medical Clinic on Mount Newton Cross Road in Saanichton. When she returned on May 31, she asked the receptionist if the results were in.
She was told results from pap smears in January were just coming back and based on that, her results would likely be a couple more months.
“I’m like, wow, I’m 50 years old, so I’d had a lot of pap tests in my life and I’ve never had to wait months for a result,” said Echols. “They need to throw more money at this.”
The B.C. Cancer laboratory services website says turnaround time for the Cervical Cancer Screening Lab on pap tests is “longer than expected” at about 14 to 16 weeks from time of receipt in the lab — far beyond the average benchmark of about three weeks.
The Provincial Health Services Authority said Thursday that B.C. Cancer and Provincial Lab Medicine Services are working on “short term and long-term mitigation strategies” to address the backlog, which is due to an ongoing shortage of gyne-cytotechnologists.
Gyne-cytotechnologists evaluate patients’ cell samples and are trained to notice subtle changes to detect precancerous, malignant and infectious conditions.
The health authority said tests are being triaged based on urgency, as indicated by the health-care provider submitting the specimens.
Adding to the pressure on labs is an increase since 2021 in cervical screening as people resume in-person appointments and tests with doctors and nurse practitioners. Pap tests are recommended for everyone with a cervix age 25 to 69 as a preventive tool for asymptomatic people.
The health authority said mitigation strategies including new ways of testing for cervical cancer, one-time funding to ease the backlog, and the temporary use of contracted labs are expected to ease the situation by September.
While the health authority could not provide the amount Thursday, it said one-time funding will support, in part, use of an additional cervical cancer screening collection method called liquid based cytology.
In both the conventional pap smear and LBC methods, a cervical sample is collected during a speculum examination of the cervix. LBC uses a similar spatula and brush, but once the cells are collected in the LBC method, they are put in a vial containing an alcohol-based fixative and submitted to the laboratory that way instead of on a glass slide.
The new specimens will be processed by contracted lab professionals to allow existing gyne-cytotechnologists “to remain focused on processing existing specimens,” the health authority said, noting preparations are underway to start using LBC as soon as possible.
Over the coming weeks, information and training will be provided to primary-care providers on how to collect LBC samples. Training sessions are about 20 minutes long.
“For patients, there is no change,” said the health authority. “Where appropriate, they will be informed of the alternate test but the overall screening experience will remain the same.”
Beyond the staff shortages, B.C. Cancer said test results may take longer than benchmark turnaround times for other reasons, including: technical issues that require prolonged processing before examination, the need for a second pathologist’s opinion for a difficult diagnosis, the need for additional testing, and the need for additional information that may aid in diagnosis.
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