Cervical Screening Wales launches its social media awareness campaign

Over a third of women aged 25-29 years old in Wales are not attending for cervical screening, research from Cervical Screening Wales has found.

Women that attend for cervical screening when they are invited aged 25 are more likely to attend when invited in the future, therefore significantly reducing their risk of developing cervical cancer.

Every year around 160 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer in Wales. It is the most common type of cancer in women under the age of 35.

In order to encourage more women to attend, Cervical Screening Wales is launching a social media campaign today (12 March 2019) called #loveyourcervix.

Louise Dunk, Head of Programme for Cervical Screening Wales, said: “The fall in cervical screening uptake rates is a serious public health issue facing the whole of the UK.

“Cervical screening saves lives. It’s as simple as that. By not making an appointment you are missing the chance of preventing cervical cancer from developing, or picking it up at an early stage when it is more treatable.

“We know that women aged between 25 and 29 are the least likely age group to have their smear. The reasons behind this are complex but issues around embarrassment and body shame are commonly cited.

“We are calling for women to be more body-positive and love every part of themselves – even those parts they can’t see like their cervix. And the best way to take care of their cervix is to attend for regular cervical screening.”

Over 99 per cent of cervical cancers are caused by high-risk strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV).

In September 2018, Wales became the first UK nation to fully adopt high-risk HPV testing as the first test done on every cervical screening sample. This has been proven to be a more reliable and sensitive method to help prevent women from developing cervical cancer.

Louise continues: “HPV is very common – at least 80 per cent of us will have had HPV in our lifetime.

“Although there are many strains of HPV, only certain high-risk ones can cause cervical cancer. There is no treatment to get rid of HPV but for most women, their immune system will deal with the virus

“It can be passed on through any type of sexual contact, including intimate touching, with a man or woman. You or your partner could have had HPV for some time without knowing about it. Regardless of whether you’re in a long term relationship or haven’t had sex, you may still have HPV.”

Women aged 25 to 49 years are invited for a smear test every three years, and women aged 50 to 64 years are invited every five years.

Dr Ardiana Gjini, Consultant Lead for Cancer Screening Programmes for Public Health Wales, said: “In Wales, girls aged 12-13 have been offered the HPV vaccine since September 2008, with a further catch-up campaign for girls up to 18 from 2009-11.

“This vaccine protects against high-risk types of HPV that cause over 70 per cent of cervical cancer cases. However, some cervical cancers are caused by types of HPV that the vaccine doesn’t cover. Therefore, it is still important for women who have received the HPV vaccine to attend for their cervical smear tests when they are invited.”

Read the latest Cervical Screening Wales Annual Report.

Cervical Screening Wales website.