If you watched Strictly Come Dancing in 2023, you may remember Bobby Brazier dancing a beautiful Partner’s Choice dedicated to his late mum Jade Goody who died aged just 27 from Cervical Cancer; he and brother Freddy were both young children when they lost their mum. Jade’s untimely death led to a phenomenal increase in 25–29-year-old women accepting cervical screening.
Cervical screening:
- Is also known as a smear test
- is a test to look for HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) to identify whether you are at higher risk of developing cervical cell changes or cervical cancer.
- can prevent cervical cancer, the 14th most common cancer amongst women in the UK.
- is offered to all women aged 25-64.
- is offered 3-yearly if you are aged 25-49.
- is offered 5-yearly from 50-64.
The highest risk of Cervical Cancer is in women under the age of 45 years, with the peak age for diagnosis being between 30-34. Sadly, the Jade Goody phenomenon has dropped off with 25–29-year-olds being the lowest take-up age group.
Cervical screening is not advised during pregnancy and for at least 12 weeks following the birth of your baby, so if you are due a smear either during or just after pregnancy ensure you wait at least 12 weeks before making your appointment. However, if you have been called for a re-test because of an abnormal cervical screening result or treatment for cell changes, you may need to have this whilst pregnant; your healthcare team will explain more about this on a case-by-case basis.
