A quarter of young girls are "embarrassed" to have cervical cancer smear exams

Jo’s Believe in is operating Cervical Cancer Prevention Week from 19 to 25 January to raise awareness of the illness and the value of screenings.

The charity has launched a campaign, Place By yourself In The Picture, which aims to put females in the picture on why they want to attend cervical screening.

Robert Music, chief executive of Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust, explained: “Every day in the Uk, eight girls are diagnosed with cervical cancer and almost 3 die of the illness. A cervical screening test only takes five minutes but could save a woman’s lifestyle.

“With uptake for cervical screening declining we want to put females in the picture when it comes to cervical cancer prevention and reverse this downward trend. Sadly we support too a lot of ladies who have had to go by way of a lot more invasive treatment due to a later diagnosis which might have been prevented had the lady attended screening when invited.”

The campaign asks girls to upload a selfie into a personalised digital image frame on the Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust web site or Facebook web page, share it with close friends and family members and pledge to attend cervical screening.

It is supported by Fresh Meat’s Sara Stewart, who stated: “Having had breast cancer myself, I have come to realise the significance of early diagnosis – the place mammograms are there to detect breast cancer, cervical screening is essential for helping girls, the two younger and old, to catch cervical abnormalities early just before they produce into anything a lot more serious.”

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland all women in between the ages of 25 and 64 are eligible for cervical screening. In Scotland screening is at present amongst the ages of twenty and 60 and will be raised to 25-64 in 2015.

Ideas for attending a cervical screening:

· Very first time or nervous? Tell the sample taker.

· Anxious about discomfort? Inquire the sample taker to use a smaller speculum.

· Feeling embarrassed? Wear a skirt as you can preserve this on throughout the check.

· Consider to unwind and distract your thoughts.

· Do not want to go alone? Get a pal to wait in the waiting room with you.

· Not positive what to anticipate? Go to the Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust site or call their helpline (0808 802 8000).

A quarter of young girls are "embarrassed" to have cervical cancer smear exams