WARRINGTON North MP Helen Jones is supporting Jo’s Cervical Cancer trust’s call for action to increase cervical screening uptake rates.
Cervical screening uptake is currently at a 19-year low, and more women each year are unfortunately diagnosed with cervical cancer.
With Cervical Cancer Prevention Week taking place this week (January 22-28) Helen said: “I am very concerned that over 1 million women in England did not attend cervical screening last year. Take up in the North West is only 72.3% meaning that one in four eligible women do not attend their screening appointment. Both local authorities and clinical commissioning groups need to do more to encourage a greater take up.
Cervical cancer is the most common cancer in women under 35 and is on the rise in women over 50. However, screening provides the best protection against the disease and can detect abnormal cells which if not treated or monitored, could develop in to cervical cancer.
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. However, the number of women attending their screening is at a 19 year low. 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 the state, and more lives lost.”
