Canary Islands to begin cervical cancer screening for women aged 25 to 65
The Canary Islands will begin routine cervical cancer screening for women aged between 25 and 65 from next year, the regional Minister of Health, Esther Monzón, confirmed today (Tuesday). Speaking at a press conference to present the first regional strategy for health promotion and wellbeing, Monzón said that the aim is to finally launch the long-awaited programme in 2026.
She admitted that progress had been slower than planned, saying the rollout was delayed by software issues. The regional health service has spent recent years developing a unified electronic medical record system, a complex project that required extensive technical work and ultimately postponed the development of the software needed for the new cervical screening programme. “The intention is to have it fully operational from next year,” Monzón said.
Regarding the possibility of introducing lung cancer screening, the minister said that a national commission had carried out a cost-effectiveness analysis and concluded that, for now, such a programme “does not justify implementation.” However, she stressed that the Canary Islands hopes to offer it in the future if national guidelines change.
The new cervical screening programme will bring the archipelago in line with broader public health recommendations and aims to improve early detection of cervical cancer, which significantly increases survival rates when identified at an early stage.
More details on how the screening will be rolled out across health centres in the Islands are expected to be announced over the coming months.
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