{"id":424874,"date":"2026-01-22T02:22:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T02:22:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/424874\/"},"modified":"2026-01-22T02:22:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T02:22:15","slug":"c-w-wiebe-clinic-to-reduce-barriers-to-cervical-cancer-testing-pembinavalleyonline-com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/424874\/","title":{"rendered":"C.W. Wiebe Clinic to reduce barriers to cervical cancer testing – PembinaValleyOnline.com"},"content":{"rendered":"

On January 22nd,\u00a0C.W. Wiebe Medical Centre<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Pembina Valley Pride<\/a>\u00a0are teaming up to host\u00a0a welcoming event that, according to executive director Karen Denise Cyr, will offer access to \u201ca really important\u201d cancer screening in a relaxed environment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

An inclusive Pop-Up\u00a0Pap\u00a0Test Clinic\u00a0<\/p>\n

A\u00a0Pop-Up\u00a0Pap\u00a0Test Clinic will\u00a0run from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.\u00a0at the south end of the clinic\u00a0in\u00a0honour\u00a0of\u00a0Cervical Health Awareness Month.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis special event is really intended to raise awareness about the need for us to take care of our health and,\u00a0in particular,\u00a0our cervical health,\u201d said Cyr.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cC.W. Wiebe\u00a0has a fantastic team of physicians that are out\u00a0looking out\u00a0for the health and welfare of\u00a0all\u00a0our community members that need health care and support, and on this special day on January 22nd,\u00a0…\u00a0we’re going to have a really fun, low-key, time where people can come and they can get their\u00a0cervix\u00a0checked and they can have some popcorn and some\u00a0… Bubbly.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Who should get a\u00a0Pap\u00a0test?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dr. Rachel Noble, also from C.W. Wiebe Clinic, said that anyone with a cervix between the ages of 21 and 69 should consider getting a\u00a0Pap\u00a0test, which is a procedure that collects cells from the cervix to check for cancer.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

While both acknowledge that no one particularly enjoys the process, C.W. Wiebe strives to make it as comfortable as possible, and for Cyr, the peace of mind the test can offer is worth it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf\u00a0you take care of that,\u00a0you\u00a0can enjoy the rest of\u00a0life\u00a0knowing that\u00a0you’ve\u00a0screened yourself for cancer,\u201d she said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHopefully,\u00a0the answer is you\u00a0don’t\u00a0have it, and you can live a full and productive life.\u00a0It’s\u00a0quite sad if\u00a0…\u00a0something\u00a0that can be caught and detected early and treated appropriately\u00a0is\u00a0something that would hold people back from being able to live a full life.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Addressing barriers to care with an event for everyone\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dr. Noble added that, as a care provider, she has seen (especially during the pandemic) how fear can act as a barrier to people accessing healthcare.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u00a0are holding this event in partnership with Pembina Valley Pride to just show that love is more powerful than\u00a0fear, and we want everyone to come down,\u201d she said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that\u00a0[experiencing]\u00a0certain situations or certain patterns of abuse or not being\u00a0accepted by society or\u00a0[having]\u00a0financial issues can also drive people to not seek\u00a0healthcare attention, and\u00a0so\u00a0we just want to do this event in the evening and make it a little bit more time-friendly for people.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dr. Noble added that those who would like a screening do not need their health\u00a0card\u00a0to get a\u00a0Pap\u00a0test.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

A \u2018very preventable cancer\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n

The OB-GYN\u00a0added that about 1 in 50 people in Manitoba are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year, but fortunately, she said\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0a \u201cvery preventable cancer.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAlmost entirely,\u00a0the cases are caught when\u00a0they’re\u00a0just at the pre-cancerous stage or even pre-pre-cancerous stage, and\u00a0that’s\u00a0the benefit of doing a\u00a0Pap\u00a0test is that we can catch any pre-cancer\u00a0cells\u00a0and we can treat them and\u00a0provide care so that it\u00a0doesn’t\u00a0progress to cervical cancer,\u201d she said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s\u00a0a\u00a0really powerful\u00a0tool.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related stories:<\/p>\n

As for the test, she said it consists of a pelvic exam, which will be administered by female providers who will be mindful of consent throughout the process.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u00a0are\u00a0able to visualize the cervix after we do the speculum part,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’re also seeing some research projects through Cancer Care Manitoba that are examining the possibility of even doing self-screening, which is really exciting, so\u00a0I think that\u00a0… if\u00a0we\u00a0encountered\u00a0someone on Thursday that was really having difficulties, at the very least, we would try to do the self-swabbing.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Support every step of the way\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cyr added that while the comfort level of a\u00a0Pap\u00a0test varies from person to person, the pop-up event\u2019s atmosphere will be designed to make the process as approachable as possible.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAll the things that\u00a0we’re feeling and thinking leading up to it\u00a0…\u00a0impact\u00a0how we perceive\u00a0what’s\u00a0going on, so\u00a0if we can kind of help a person to be calm and talk about anything that they’re concerned about and feel safe, then it will be an easier thing to experience,\u201d she said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd again, knowing\u00a0the why.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0a\u00a0means to an end, and the end is a good one \u2014\u00a0 being cancer-free.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Pop-Up\u00a0Pap\u00a0Test Clinic takes place on January 22nd\u00a0from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at 385 Main Street in Winkler.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Anyone with a cervix is welcome.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

With files from Jayme Giesbrecht\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On January 22nd,\u00a0C.W. Wiebe Medical Centre\u00a0and\u00a0Pembina Valley Pride\u00a0are teaming up to host\u00a0a welcoming event that, according to executive…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":424200,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[49,48,84,392],"class_list":["post-424874","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-health","tag-healthcare"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/424874","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=424874"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/424874\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/424200"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=424874"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=424874"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=424874"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}