Vaccinations and cancer screenings

Vaccinations are important and they are free for children at all primary care clinics in Iceland.

To find more information about child vaccinations in various languages, please visit this site by island.is.

Cancer screening is an important way to prevent serious disease later in life and by early detection the treatment is likely to be minimal.

With a quick and simple screening, it´s possible to prevent cervical cancer and detect early-stage breast cancer. The screening process takes just about 10 minutes, and the cost is only 500 ISK.

The Cancer Screening Coordination Centre encourages foreign women to participate in cancer screenings in Iceland. The participation of women with foreign citizenship in cancer screenings is very low.

Only 27% undergo screening for cervical cancer and 18% undergo screening for breast cancer. In comparison, the participation of women with Icelandic citizenship is almost 72% (cervical cancer) and 64% (breast cancer).

All women receive invitations for screenings via Heilsuvera and island.is, as well with a letter, as long as they are of the right age and it has been long enough since the last screening.

Example: A 23-year-old woman receives her first cervical screening invitation three weeks before her 23rd birthday. She can attend the screening at any time after that, but not before. If she doesn’t show up until she is 24 years old, she will next receive an invitation at 27 (three years later).

Women who immigrate to the country receive an invitation once they have received an Icelandic ID number (kennitala), as long as they have reached the screening age. A 28 year old woman who immigrates to the country and gets an ID number will immediately receive an invitation and can attend the screening at any time.

Information about where samples are taken and when, can be found on the website skimanir.is.