The charity believes the awards scheme will provide the opportunity to share best practice with all professionals working in the field of cervical screening, as well as rewarding excellence for increasing awareness and uptake of cervical screening in local communities.

Robert Music, director of Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust said, “We know there is fantastic and really creative work happening at a local level. We felt setting up and launching the awards would be the perfect way to highlight and reward that quality and, of course, share it, so that others can learn from the winners and take these examples back to their own communities.”

“Developing creative and targeted cervical screening education campaigns is still so very important. Twenty percent of women still do not take up their invitation to attend cervical screening, with uptake figures for women under 35 even worse where around one in three do not attend screening.  What is also a worry is that the increase in screening attendance last year due to Jade Goody’s diagnosis with cervical cancer may already be going back to levels before Jade was diagnosed.”

Leading London Medical Expert Advice

Cervical cancer is a largely preventable disease where people can take proactive steps to reduce risk. Anyone seeking the latest evidence based guidelines on diagnosing and treating cervical cancer should see the articles by UK leading medical expert Miss Adeola Olaitan.

Walker goes on to explain that the introduction of a national screening programme in 1988 meant the rates of cervical cancer fell year on year. But in the last few years, women – particularly young women aged 25–29 years – have been more reluctant to be screened. “In 1998, 80% of those invited for a smear test responded – now the figure is down to 70%”, regrets Walker. “It was a positive outcome of the sad death of Jade Goody that more young women came forward for screening.”

So why did that rise happen – and why the fall thereafter? Walker concludes that young women became more anxious during the media attention surrounding Jade’s illness, but “while this anxiety undoubtedly made them go for screening, scaring people isn’t a long-term solution”. Susan Quilliam, author and advocate for cervical cancer issues, adds: “The test is simple, straightforward and can identify women who are vulnerable to cervical problems. We shouldn’t need to be scared into having one – we should rush to be screened!”

Is there a long-term solution? The good news medically is the recent introduction of a vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV), the virus that is the main cause of cervical cancer. Patrick Walker is convinced this will help: “Hopefully, the next generation of women will not only be better protected, but also better informed about HPV and cervical cancer risks”.

Miss Adeola Olaitan has prepared in-depth, plain English information for anyone seeking the latest expert advice.

The ‘Sugababes’, have been selected as the faces of ‘Fight Cervical Cancer in Style’, a national campaign to educate girls and women about cervical cancer so they can better understand their risk and how to reduce it. The campaign, developed by the makers of one of the vaccines (Cervarix), is being run in association with Jo’s Trust, the UK charity dedicated to cervical cancer.

Heidi Range of the ‘Sugababes’ says: “Having performed at Jade Goody’s wedding, cervical cancer is a subject we feel passionately about. We are proud to be supporting the campaign as it is important that girls and women realise how they could catch the virus that causes cervical cancer, as well as the steps they could take to reduce their risk.”

Many women believe that cervical cancer is hereditary, however, almost all cases are caused by a common virus HPV (human papillomavirus). The virus can be passed on through sexual contact, therefore girls and women are at risk as soon as they start having intimate relationships. The virus is usually cleared naturally by the immune system but sometimes it persists and can lead to cervical cancer.

Currently, eight women are diagnosed with cervical cancer and nearly three women die of the disease every day in the UK. It’s the most common cancer in women aged 20-29 and the second most common cancer in women under 35 years old. It is therefore important that girls and women are made aware of the risks of cervical cancer and the best ways to reduce their risk include a healthy lifestyle, cervical screening as well as vaccination.

Gynaecological Expert Comment

London’s leading female gynaecologist, Miss Adeola Olaitan says: “For several years cervical cancer has been regarded as one of those things you do not talk about or admit to having. It has been somewhat stigmatised because of its association with sexually acquired infections. The press coverage, compared to breast cancer, was negligible. Yet it remains an important cause of death and illness in young women.”

Adeola goes on to say: “Jade Goody’s decision to share her story has raised the profile of this potentially preventable disease and led to more women attending for cervical screening. I hope that the SugarBabe’s support for cervical cancer will continue to increase awareness and encourage more women to attend for screening and where appropriate, the vaccine.”

Anyone seeking expert medical advice including choice of vaccine can contact Adeola Olaitan by clicking on this request.

UK cervical cancer expert Adeola Olaitan warns of the dangers of screening women too young.

The American College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology has announced a change in screening policy for the prevention of cervical cancer. The previous policy recommended screening from within three years of first sexual intercourse but no later than the age of 21. Current guidelines recommend delaying the onset of screening until the age of 21.

These guidelines reflect the increasing awareness of the potential to cause harm by screening very young women. The difficulty with screening teenagers is that normal changes of the immature surface of the cervix can resemble pre-cancerous change. These changes can be wrongly diagnosed as pre-cancer and treatment can put women at risk of miscarriage and other pregnancy complications. If indeed precancerous changes occur in young women, they are most unlikely to progress to cancer before screening starts and appropriate treatment can be administered.

It was with this in mind that the National Health Service Cervical Screening Programme raised the minimum age of screening to 25years in 2003. This change in policy has not been without controversy particularly as there have been highly publicised deaths from cervical cancer of at least two women in their early twenties. Despite the intense media reporting of these cases, it is important to realise that cervical cancer remains an extremely rare disease in women under 25 years of age.

The important message is that women too young to be screened do not ignore symptoms that might suggest cervical cancer. They should report bleeding after sex and bleeding between periods to their general practitioner and appropriate investigations should be undertaken. The screening services both here and in the USA should carefully monitor the effects of the changes in screening policy.

• There are different strains of HPV known to cause cervical cancer
• There are currently two different types of vaccine
• The different vaccines offer different levels of protection against the strains
• Only one vaccine is currently provided by the NHS
• Only certain groups are being offered the vaccine
• The vaccine may not protect women who already have an HPV infection, but it will prevent subsequent infection from other strains (depending on the type of vaccine you have)
• Effects of vaccination will take some time to show
• Vaccination will prevent at least 7 out of 10 cancers
• Women should continue to request cervical screening after vaccination
• Vaccination provision is safe in the right hands

Click the link for further information on HPV vaccination options.

Update Nov 20th.

Cervical cancer jab information from the NHS

Anyone seeking vaccination needs to ensure that they get help from the relevant expert, this should also be an opportunity to combine the appointment for a vaccination with a screen and to get specialist health advice. If you are concerned – please click here to fix an appointment or to request further information.

I very much welcome the news from NHS Information that there has been an increased uptake in cervical cancer screening in England and entirely agree with Robert Music from Jo’s Trust that this is likely to be as a direct consequence of the media coverage of the Jade Goody Story. The increase in screening uptake was reflected by an increase in colposcopy referrals, up by up to 60% earlier this year in some NHS trusts. Patients who have neglected their screening invitation for several years tell me that they attended this year because of Jade Goody.

Cervical cancer is potentially preventable and screening offers significant protection. Figures from the NHSCSP indicate that if an overall coverage of 80% is achieved (i.e 8 in 10 of women from the 25-64 age group take up screening), this can lead to a 95% reduction in deaths from cervical cancer in the long term.

It is rather disappointing therefore that screening uptake has fallen year on year from 1999 to 2008. In 1999, coverage was well above 80% but 2008 was the third consecutive year in which coverage fell to under 80%. In March 2008, coverage was 78.6%. There is a geographical variation, with some areas in London reporting coverage of under 60%.  Uptake of screening is lowest in the 25-29 age group and was still under 65% in 2009, despite an overall increase in coverage. This is of concern as this is the group with the highest proportion of abnormal smears. The reasons are multi-factorial but essentially indicate low awareness amongst the less well informed, less well educated and more difficult to reach groups.

So while the increased uptake this year is a welcome trend, it is important that health care providers are not complacent. The press has typically been reluctant to cover cervical cancer as the disease unfortunately remains stigmatised. Jade Goody is no longer in the headlines and attention has turned to other events. The challenge therefore is to implement strategies to maintain ensure that coverage remains above 80%, particularly in the most vulnerable groups.

Adeola Olaitan has summarised the latest factual information on screening, prevention and treatment of cervical cancer in her series of ‘plain English’ articles on in Capital Health.

In addition there was an increase in coverage among 25 to 49-year-olds who had undergone screening in the previous three to three and a half years increasing from 69.3 per cent at 31 March 2008 to 72.5 per cent at 31 March 2009.

Robert Music, director of Jo’s Trust, the UK’s only dedicated cervical cancer charity said, “The increase in women deciding to take up their invitation for screening is extremely positive news.  Cervical cancer is a largely preventable disease thanks to the cervical screening and HPV vaccination programmes.  It is great that more women have been proactive about looking after their health.”

University College London, Consultant Gynaecologist Adeola Olaitan provides an in-depth explanation for anyone interested in the latest information on screening, vaccination and treatment options for cancer of the cervix.

As previously discussed on this blog by senior London gynaecologists Prof John Studd and Adeola Olaitan, although the major impact is on women’s health, there are also important implications for men’s health. Professor zur Hausen won the Nobel Prize for his discovery of HPV as the cause of cervical cancer. He says:  “If we wish to achieve eradication within a reasonable period of time, we will need to vaccinate both sexes, and research has shown that boys respond to vaccination in the same way as girls. The main risk of developing cancer after HPV infection is with women and, because of the cost of vaccines, it has been decided to start with girls. But other cancers associated with HPV infection, such as anal and oral cancer, are more common in men, and genital warts occur in both sexes. So there is good reason to vaccinate boys before the onset of sexual activity as well”.