Blog

Tracey O’Brien: Cancer Institute NSW has funded $300,000 to train 200 midwives and 50 Aboriginal health workers on the Cervical Screening Test’s self-collection option

Photo from Tracey O'Brien/LinkedIn

Oct 20, 2023, 22:56

Tracey O’Brien: Cancer Institute NSW has funded $300,000 to train 200 midwives and 50 Aboriginal health workers on the Cervical Screening Test’s self-collection option

Tracey O’Brien shared the following on LinkedIn:

“Cervical cancer is one of the most preventable cancers and thanks to huge efforts by the Cancer Institute NSW and partners across the country, Australia is on track to eliminate cervical cancer by the mid-2030s.

Screening truly saves lives, but we know it can be a confronting process for many people in our community.

Over the past 12 months, NSW has seen an upswing in the number of people choosing to use the self-collection option for cervical screening, with more than 13,000 people using the new method in the last 12 months.

It’s clear many communities are taking up or returning to life-saving screening because they now have the ability to choose how and where they have the Test, in a way that best aligns with their personal, religious, or cultural beliefs.

To help keep the momentum going, the Cancer Institute NSW has funded $300,000 to train 200 midwives and 50 Aboriginal health workers on the Cervical Screening Test’s self-collection option.

The more people who feel comfortable doing the test, the more lives will be saved. Today, together with Minister for Health, Ryan Park and Karen Price from ACON, I had the opportunity to get that important message out there and hopefully encourage more people to put their fears aside, and have a five yearly Cervical Screening Test.

If you or a loved one are due for your cervical screening test, don’t delay.”

For details click here.
Source: Tracey O’Brien/LinkedIn

Dr. Tracey O’Brien is the NSW Chief Cancer Officer and CEO of the Cancer Institute NSW, Australia. Before her current role, Tracey was Director of the Kids Cancer Centre, Sydney Children’s Hospital, and Director of the Transplant & Cellular Therapy Program. Tracey has held numerous high-profile national and international leadership positions, including Advisory Chair, Cancer Australia; V/Chair (Africa, Asia and Australasia) International Centre for Bone Marrow Transplant Research and V/President of the Australian and New Zealand Children’s Oncology Group. In recognition of her exceptional contributions, Tracey was profiled in 2023 as one of the world’s foremost women in paediatric cancer by the International Society of Paediatric Oncology. In 2019 Tracey was named in the Australian Financial Review’s prestigious Top 10 Women of Influence, winning the Innovation category. In addition to her medical expertise, Tracey has a Master of Law (Health) and executive MBA and serves as a conjoint Professor in Clinical Medicine (UNSW) and Honorary Professor in Science and Engineering (Macquarie University). Dr. O’Brien remains committed to mentoring the next generation of clinician leaders and maintains an active clinical practice in cancer survivorship at Sydney Children’s Hospital.