Cervical Cancer Prevention Week

Did you know this week (21-27 January) is Cervical Cancer Prevention Week?

The awareness campaign, run by UK charity Jo’s Trust, aims to increase the percentage of women attending their cervical screening test.

Cervical cancer can be prevented. A smear test lasts five minutes. The impact of cervical cancer lasts a lifetime.

You can help by ensuring every woman knows how they can reduce their risk of the disease by attending a smear test.

Did you know?

• A person’s risk of developing cancer depends on many factors, including age, genetics and lifestyle factors.
• 1 in 142 UK females will be diagnosed with cervical cancer in their lifetime.
• 99.8% of cervical cancer cases in the UK are preventable.
• 99.8% of cervical cancer cases in the UK are caused by infections.
• 21% of cervical cancer cases in the UK are caused by smoking.
• There are around 3,200 new cervical cancer cases in the UK every year, that’s nearly 9 every day (2013-2015).
• In females in the UK, cervical cancer is the 14th most common cancer, with around 3,100 new cases in 2015.
• Over the last decade, cervical cancer incidence rates have increased by a twentieth (5%) in females in the UK.
• When diagnosed at its earliest stage, around 95% of women with cervical cancer will survive their disease for five years or more, compared with 5 in 100 of women when diagnosed at the latest stage.

Local data for west Essex CCG (2017/18) shows 74% of women invited attend cervical screening. The national target is 80%.

Find out more, and how you can support the week, on the Jo’s Trust website.