Karla Van Kessel's doctor failed to recognize she had symptoms of cervical cancer and misread her Pap smear results, causing a dangerous delay in her diagnosis. She says women need to demand ...

Cervical cancer starts in the cells of the cervix, which connects the uterus and vagina. It is slow to develop, quietly growing for months or even years before it’s diagnosed.

Following a 30-year decline, the incidence rate for cervical cancer in the country has been increasing 3.7 per cent every year since 2015, according to a 2023 report from the Canadian Cancer Society.

In recent years cervical cancer rates have dropped for women in their 20s who received the HPV vaccine, but have increased for women aged 30 to 44 (stock) (Image: Getty Images) ...