KANGAR: As many as 60% of Malaysian women have never undergone a pap smear check for cervical cancer screening, based on the 2019 National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS).
National Population and Family Development Board Director-General Abdul Shukur Abdullah said the statistics reflect low awareness among women about the importance of detecting the disease as early as possible.
"Cervical cancer is a real threat to women's health. It is the third most common cancer that women suffer from globally and the sixth leading cancer in Malaysia," he said after the opening ceremony of the Cervical Cancer Awareness Month in Perlis here on Monday (Jan 20).
The ceremony was opened by Perlis Women, Family and Community Development Committee chairman Wan Badariah Wan Saad while the board’s Perlis director Naemah Ibrahim was present.
Abdul Shukur said the low awareness was due to factors including the stigma of fear and embarrassment to undergo the test even though cervical cancer is more common among women in their 40s.
He said the effort to raise awareness will continue through the Women's Reproductive Cancer Awareness Campaign (WCaRe) from 2022 including providing free Human Papillomavirus (HPV) DNA tests to the target group.
Abdul Shukur said that from 2019 to 2024, a total of 162,581 women nationwide have undergone HPV DNA testing, and of that number, 10,582 positive cases were detected while last year alone saw 3,038 positive cases.
"In Perlis, data shows that a total of 1,888 women have undergone HPV DNA testing within five years, with 79 positive cases recorded. However, that number only represents 3.3% of the estimated 56,700 women aged between 30 and 65 in the state of Perlis.
"A total of 52,735 women in Perlis have yet to undergo this test. In 2024, 475 women had undergone HPV DNA testing, surpassing the target of 400 people, but 18 positive cases were detected, which makes Perlis the third state with the highest number of cervical cancer cases in Malaysia in 2024," he said.
In the meantime, Abdul Shukur said that for 2025, the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry and the board are targeting for 80,000 women nationwide to benefit from the WCaRe programme including 45,000 for cervical cancer screening and 35,000 for mammogram subsidies (at private centres). - Bernama
