A woman who avoided her cervical screening for nearly 20 years went on to discover she had cancer after her GP practice offered her screening during an appointment for an unrelated matter.
Penny (pictured), aged 50, avoided her cervical screening for almost two decades because she felt uncomfortable with the idea of the procedure. "I didn’t want everything out on show," she recalls. "It made me feel uncomfortable."
However, looking back, she wishes she had gone for her screening appointments, when invited.
The mother of two from Kent wants her story to be a powerful reminder of the importance of regular screening, with early detection saving lives, as this week marks Cervical Cancer Prevention Week (22 to 28 January 2025).
It was during a visit to her GP for hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in May 2023 that Penny's nurse noticed she hadn't come forward for her cervical screening for several years and encouraged her to take up the offer. Reluctantly, Penny agreed.
"The nurse was amazing," Penny says. "She made me feel at ease. It wasn’t bad at all. No pain or discomfort." After the screening, Penny realised, "It isn’t as bad as I thought. Just five minutes compared to what I am going through now, which is far worse."
Penny was diagnosed with cervical cancer stage three following her screening in July 2023 and underwent a series of treatments. She reflects that if she had gone for screening earlier, the cancer could have been detected sooner, and her treatment might have been less extensive. "Looking back, I think I had symptoms but put them down to menopause," she admits.
Cervical cancer is one of the most preventable cancers, yet two women die every day from cervical cancer. It is most common in women aged between 30 and 35, but it can happen at any age. Anyone with a cervix can get it.
Nearly all cervical cancers are caused by high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV), a common virus that's spread through skin contact (usually when having sex). Most types of HPV are harmless. But some types are linked to an increased risk of cervical and other types of cancer.
According to latest published data for Q1 2024/25, 71 per cent of all eligible women and people with a cervix, aged between 25 and 64, attended their cervical screening in the South East. Of the 2.48 million people eligible, more than 1.76 million took up the offer. More than 719,000 did not.
NHS South East’s Chief Nurse Andrea Lewis said: “The NHS has pledged to eliminate cervical cancer by 2040, which could save thousands of lives each year.
We want women and people with a cervix to take charge of their health, take-up their invitation to attend cervical screening and develop the healthy habit of regular screening for the rest of their lives.”
NHS cervical screening helps prevent cervical cancer by using a highly effective test to check for HPV, which is found in over 99 per cent of all cervical cancers and which may cause abnormal cells to develop in the cervix. These abnormal cells can, over time, turn into cancer if left untreated.
Those who are due a cervical screening appointment will receive invitation letters by post when it’s time to book. Appointments can be booked through GP practices and some sexual health clinics also offer the service. Anyone who has previously received an invitation and been unable to attend shouldn’t wait for another invitation – you can still book a cervical screening appointment even if invited weeks, months or years ago.
More details on NHS cervical screening and how to book an appointment is available at www.nhs.uk/conditions/cervical-screening.