AN ADVOCATE FOR
“One of the most eye-opening things we learned was that the Pap test is a screening tool, not a diagnostic test,” says Rob. He notes that cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women worldwide, and HPV is one of the leading causes. In some countries concurrent Pap and HPV testing is a standard practice, he says. “In Ontario you have to request the HPV test— it’s not usually recommended—and pay for it. All Grade 7 students are now vaccinated free of charge, but there are quite a few women who were past Grade 7 when that was introduced.”
WOMEN’S
People who knew Karla Van Kessel, former Director of the Fanshawe College Library, were shocked when she was diagnosed with Stage 4 cervical cancer in 2018. “Karla was fit and healthy and in tune with her body,” says her husband Rob Whitmill. “If something was off, she would get it checked out, and she was her own best advocate.” Despite the fact that Karla got regular checkups and Pap tests, and contacted multiple health care professionals to try to determine the cause of the pains that started plaguing her in 2017, in the end the current screening system failed her.
A N N U A L _
25
Before her death in February 2020, Karla publicly shared her story through the media, hoping to raise awareness and to educate women and their doctors to better recognize symptoms of cervical cancer, and to take preventative measures that might have saved her life. And after her death, her message will live on through the establishment of the Karla Van Kessel Fund at St. Joseph’s Health Care, which will help ensure all women have access to concurrent Pap and HPV (human papillomavirus) testing, and the HPV vaccine.
HEALTH Karla also advocated for all women to receive the results of their pap tests directly. That would have made a huge difference for her. “Doctors are human, and humans make mistakes,” says Rob, which is what happened with Karla. The results of her pap test in 2017 should have triggered a referral to diagnostic testing, but that referral didn’t happen. “That’s the tough part,” says Rob, describing their frustration and feelings of helplessness while they searched for answers and tried to remain optimistic. Karla is survived by her husband, their two sons Tom and Ben Whitmill, and a large extended family, as well as many friends. The celebration of life for the 43-year-old was held in February, just before COVID isolation measures were in place. “There were more than 1,000 people there, and we feel fortunate that we were able to have that,” says Rob.
