Cancer test urged for B.C.'s South Asian women
Last Updated: Saturday, July 31, 2010 | 4:28 PM PT
CBC News
A group of South Asian students at Simon Fraser University gathered at a park in Surrey on Saturday to raise awareness about cervical cancer.
"Cervical cancer is one of the leading cancer killers of women, especially in the South Asian community," said Chantelle Chand of South Asians for Change and a co-organizer of the Rose Petal campaign at Bear Creek Park. "And this is sad because it's a very preventable, treatable disease."
In the Lower Mainland, Chand said, less than 30 per cent of South Asian women are getting Pap tests, compared with 86 per cent of Caucasian women.
"I think it's a cultural thing," Chand said. "I think it's due to the conservative nature of women in the South Asian community. Also, it just might be a fear and a lack of education about the importance of this exam."
Harjinder Thind, a Punjabi radio talk show host, said many callers to his show have been hearing about the test for the first time.
"There was very little awareness about cervical cancer in a lot of South Asian women" who don't speak English, he said.
