A lot has changed since last Cervical Cancer Prevention Week. However your year has panned out, it’s safe to say most of us have had a lot on our plate. There have been new stresses and challenges to contend with and finding the positives hasn’t always been easy. 

There are many reasons which can make attending smear tests difficult. Things such as fear, embarrassment, anxiety and a previous bad experience can all mean even taking the first step to book an appointment can be hard. However another barrier to smear tests is physically being able to access the test and more and more women are telling us that they are struggling to get appointments.

Today the NHS in Scotland has announced that it will be introducing HPV testing as the primary method for cervical screening from 2019, but what does this actually mean and how will it save lives?

As a charity we are focused on the day that no woman dies from cervical cancer. We know that day can come and we want to get there as soon as we can, so that no woman has to face a life threatening cervical diagnosis, no woman has to endure invasive treatment, no woman has to suffer from the long term physical and psychological effects of treatment. 

While we work towards this day, we know that many woman are not receiving the support, information and care that they need. This is not acceptable.

The number of people talking publicly about smear tests in the last week has quite literally blown us away.