Cervical screenings can save your life

Don’t ignore your cervical screening invitation, it could save your life! Here are the facts you need on screenings and symptoms from Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust, the UK's only charity dedicated to women, their family and friends affected by cervical cancer.

Three women a day in the UK die from cervical cancer whilst each year around 2,800 are newly diagnosed, facing an uncertain future. In addition around 300,000 women a year are told they may have a cervical abnormality that might require treatment.

Cervical cancer is a largely preventable disease thanks to cervical screening, yet the charity has just announced results of a survey commissioned for Cervical Cancer Prevention Week (22-28 January) which revealed that women over 50 are rejecting cervical screening because they believe it is "unnecessary" and "irrelevant". Results of the survey include:

• 31% of the women aged 50-70 asked failed to realise that cervical screening was a necessary health test for all women with that figure more than doubling (64%) amongst those who never attended screening.
• 68% were unaware that the main cause of cervical cancer is HPV (the Human Papilloma Virus).
• Single, separated and divorced groups were most likely to say the screening invitation seemed irrelevant.

The charity is also concerned because screening uptake in women aged 50-64 has been dropping whilst an NHS report last year found 56% of women aged 50-64 with fully invasive cancer hadn’t been screened within seven years, compared to only 16% of women without cervical cancer.

Causes and symptoms

• The majority (99.7%) of cervical cancers are caused by persistent human papillomavirus (HPV) infection which causes changes to the cervical cells.
• HPV is an extremely common virus; around four out of five people are exposed to the virus. Anyone who is sexually active can be infected with HPV at some time. The body’s immune system will usually clear it up.
• Generally, most people don’t even know they have contracted the virus at all.

Symptoms

There are usually no symptoms with abnormal cells (in their pre-cancerous state) and sometimes also no symptoms with early stage cervical cancer. However, there are some recognised symptoms associated with the disease. These include;

• Abnormal bleeding: after or during sexual intercourse, or between periods
• Post menopausal bleeding, if you are not on HRT or have stopped it for six weeks
• Unusual and/or unpleasant vaginal discharge
• Discomfort or pain during sex
• Lower back pain.

Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust (www.jostrust.org.uk) is the UK’s only charity dedicated to women, their families and friends affected by cervical abnormalities and cervical cancer, offering a range of support and information both online and face to face.