North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood is supporting Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust’s call for action to increase cervical screening uptake rates.
Cervical screening uptake is declining and more women each year are being diagnosed with cervical cancer.
Speaking in Cervical Cancer Prevention Week, Mr Isherwood said:
“I am very concerned that more than one in five of eligible women in Wales did not attend cervical screening last year. Cervical cancer is the most common cancer in women under 35 and is on the rise in women over 50. However, screening can detect cervical abnormalities and women can receive treatment before cancer develops.
“We need a step change in awareness about the importance of cervical screening and I am proud to support Cervical Cancer Prevention Week.”
Robert Music, Chief Executive of Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust, said: “We have one of the best cervical screening programmes in the world which saves approximately 5,000 lives a year across the UK. However, the number of women attending their screening is falling. If we do not increase investment in prevention we will be faced with more women facing the physical and psychological cost of cervical cancer, increased burden on the NHS and state, and more lives lost.”
ENDS
Note to Editors:
Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust (www.jostrust.org.uk) is the UK’s only charity for women dedicated to women affected by cervical cancer and cervical abnormalities. Our vision is a future where cervical cancer is a thing of the past. The National Helpline is on 0808 802 8000.
Cervical Cancer Prevention Week runs from 22-28 January and Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust is launching their enormously successful cervical screening awareness campaign #SmearForSmear at 11am on Sunday 22 January. The campaign asks women (and men) to share smeared lipstick selfies with the message “Attend your smear test, reduce your risk of cervical cancer”. www.jostrust.org.uk/smearforsmear
About cervical cancer
- 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 will contract the virus in their life time and anyone who is sexually active can be infected with it. The body’s immune system will usually clear it up.
- 220,000 UK women are diagnosed with cervical abnormalities each year.