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Go get a cervical cancer screening. Just don’t call it a pap blitz.


The NWT’s health authority has dialled back the wording of a call for people to attend a cervical cancer screening clinic in Yellowknife this weekend.

The clinic runs from 10am till 3:30pm on Saturday, January 28 at the Yellowknife Primary Care Clinic. Screening generally begins at age 21, the health authority said, or three years after becoming sexually active – whichever comes first.

Saturday’s event was initially billed online as a “pap blitz,” a term occasionally used elsewhere to mean a concerted effort to deliver as many cervical cancer screenings – also called pap tests – as possible to a target audience.

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However, by late Monday afternoon, the health authority had quietly removed that term from its website and associated posts on social media.

“We had someone contact us who was concerned the language may have been too aggressive,” said David Maguire, a health authority spokesperson, by email.

“The simple solution was to remove the word ‘blitz.'”

Appointments for a Saturday pap test can be booked in advance, or walk-ins are welcome. To book an appointment, the health authority said, call (867) 767-9294.

If you’re in an NWT community other than Yellowknife, call your health centre to book a screening.

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