Dr. Robert Di Cecco, Regional Lead for Cervical Screening, South West Regional Cancer Program
Photo credit: St. Joseph’s Health Care London
May 21, 2026
The South West Regional Cancer Program (SWRCP) has hosted a pop-up clinic for cervical cancer screening at St. Joseph’s Health Care London (St. Joseph’s) since 2024 to ensure those who need a cervical cancer screening test, but may not have a primary care provider, are able to get one.
Now, there will also be two opportunities to get screened this spring at St. Joseph’s or at Victoria Hospital, London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC).
Both clinics are drop-in – so no appointment or referral required. You just need to bring your Ontario health card.
If you are someone with a cervix, aged 25 and older who has not had a cervical screening test in the past three years, you are eligible to attend these clinics. This includes women and transmasculine and non-binary people.
St. Joseph’s clinic:
When: Friday, May 29, 2026, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Where: Colposcopy Clinic, Zone B, Level 4, Room B4-507
St. Joseph’s Hospital
268 Grosvenor St., London, Ontario
Please use Grosvenor Entrance 1 (main entrance with roundabout) or 2 (Urgent Care Centre)
Victoria Hospital clinic:
When: Friday, June 5, 2026, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Where: Victoria Hospital, LHSC. Zone E, third floor, room E3-619.
Please use E entrance (faces Base Line Road East) and park in visitor parking lot 7 that is across from E zone.
Information about cervical cancer screening test
As of March 2025, the test is now screening for human papillomavirus (HPV), replacing the traditional pap smear. The test sample is still collected the same way; the difference is in the lab.
The pap smear looked for cell abnormalities and is not as sensitive or specific as the HPV test. The pap smear also required a subjective interpretation of someone looking at the cells in the sample and determining whether they are abnormal or not.
The HPV test specifically detects evidence of cancer-causing strains of HPV in the sample, providing a more accurate assessment of cervical cancer risk.
“We are always acquiring new information as time goes on that may modify how we do things for the better,” says Dr. Robert Di Cecco, Regional Lead for Cervical Screening, South West Regional Cancer Program. “The hope with implementing the HPV test as the primary screening test is it will allow us to more accurately identify those at risk of developing abnormalities and therefore, allow us to intervene before they can develop into an actual cancer.”
With cervical cancer screening, early detection is important. And the SWRCP is making it easier for those eligible to get screened this spring by hosting two clinics.
For more information, please visit the LHSC and St. Joseph’s websites below: