Local MP, Maggie Throup supported Cervical Screening Awareness Week which ran from 12-18 June by urging all women to attend their cervical screening appointment when invited.
Cervical cancer currently claims two lives every day in the UK and it is the most common cancer in women under 35. Cervical screening prevents up to 75% of cervical cancers yet the number of women attending is at a 19- year low in England and one in four women do not attend their screening appointment.
Maggie Throup MP said: “Cervical screening saves around 5,000 lives in the UK each year yet many women don’t understand the importance of attending screening regularly. During Cervical Screening Awareness Week I encouraged women to talk to their friends, mothers and daughters about the steps they can take to reduce their risk of cervical cancer. It’s such an important five-minute test that really could save lives.
“Derbyshire women are more diligent than the remainder of the East Midlands with 79.1% of women opting for the screening test as opposed to 75.9%. However this still means that 1 in 5 women are not taking up their screening invitation and therefore putting their lives at risk.”
Robert Music, Chief Executive of Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust, said: “We cannot afford to see cervical screening attendance fall any further. Diagnoses of cervical cancer in the UK are worryingly high and will only increase if more women don’t attend screening. We want to encourage women to look after their health, including the health of their cervix and that means attending cervical screening. By not attending, women are significantly increasing their risk of a life-threatening disease.”
Find out more about Cervical Screening Awareness Week at www.jostrust.org.uk/csaw