For Downtown Eastside resident Dianne Campbell, getting a yearly Pap test was just one of the many health-related matters she used to ignore.
Campbell, 45, a self-described former sex-worker, alcoholic and intravenous drug user, said she was afraid of the intimacy of the gynecological exam.
“When I was out on the street I didn’t want to know anybody,” Campbell said. “I didn’t want to know myself. It isn’t really being scared of the test itself, it is scared of yourself and scared of what you might find out. And then what to do with it — with the consequences of whatever it is.”
To help women such as Campbell, feel more comfortable with the test, the Positive Outlook Program (POP), a Vancouver Native Health Society initiative, hosts Papalooza — a free yearly event held at the society clinic. It includes lunch, Pap testing, haircuts, sexual health education, bingo, door prizes and music.
When Campbell met with the Courier last week in the large, barebones meeting room on the second floor of the VNHS building, she described Papalooza as a rocking event where women in the community come together to have fun, catch up with each other and at the same time take care of their health in a private, and supportive environment. There is a good dose of humour involved in the event as well.
Last year the women were given T-shirts that said, “I love my vagina” and chocolate vagina lollipops. This year they won’t get the T-shirts.
Campbell laughed and hid her face in her hands when she said the shirts were a bit embarrassing.
Nurse Leah Sinal has administered the Pap tests for the last four of the event’s 10 years. Sinal said feedback from participants, who range in age from 40 to 60, has been positive.
“They say they have had a really fun time and we’ve taken a thing that can be really uncomfortable, especially for women of the community who have experienced sexual abuse at a young age and throughout their lives and some women who work in sex work, not wanting anyone to touch their private areas … and [made] it OK,” she said.
If anything of concern is found during the exam, staff follow up to ensure appropriate medical care is available, said Sinal.
The event’s growing popularity highlights its importance for the community. The year Sinal got involved, four women attended. Last year, 15 women were tested at the afternoon event, and about 70 more got rainchecks to come back at a later date.
Since she first came to the clinic in the early 1990s, and discovered she was HIV positive, Campbell, of the Saulteaux First Nation, has worked hard to turn her life around. She credits the doctors and the staff at the clinic with showing her she deserved good health and self-love. She took workshops and courses, offered through VNHS, and is now employed by the society as a peer support worker.
For Papalooza (Nov. 27), Campbell will help set up and then head out on the street to encourage other women, who are as reluctant as she once was, to come to the event.
The event costs $2,500 to $3,000 for education, pamphlets, poster boards, and prizes and is funded by POP, individual foundation donations and an anonymous donor. For information, go tovnhs.net.
(Note: This story has been corrected since it was first posted Nov. 12)
