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• 9 women a day are diagnosed which is around 3000 a year
• 2 will lose their life every day
• It is the most common women’s cancer in those aged 25-29, it is the second-most common cancer after breast between the ages of 30-44
• It is most common in women aged 30-34
• It is usually symptomless, but the most common symptom is bleeding in between periods or after sex
• Other symptoms include post-menopausal bleeding, unusual discharge, unexplained pain between hipbones and pain during sex.
• While in most age groups, cervical cancer diagnoses are decreasing, they are on the rise in over 60’s.
• In England in 2017, there were 2591 diagnoses of cervical cancer which rose from 2347 a decade earlier in 2007.
• In England, deaths from cervical cancer are falling, there were 674 in 2017 which fell from 755 a decade earlier in 2007.

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• Cervical screening prevents around 75% of cancers from ever starting
• Cervical screening identifies people who are at a higher risk of develping cervical cancer
• Screening saves thousands of lives every year. It is the best protection against cervical cancer
• 5 million women are invited to have cervical screening every year
• In England and Northern Ireland, you are invited every 3 years between the ages of 25-49, and every 5 years between the ages of 50-64
• In Scotland and Wales, you are invited every five years regardless of your age
• Throughout the UK, almost 1 in 3 do not attend when invited and only 1 in 2 young women do not attend
• Attending screening is not easy for everyone; there are lots of reasons for which some find it difficult. These include, to name a few, getting an appointment, a previous bad experience, past trauma, embarrassment and not understanding what the test is for. 

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HPV primary screening

• In Wales, England and Scotland the cervical screening programme uses HPV primary screening. We hope to see it implemented in Northern Ireland as soon as possible
• Cervical screening tests for high-risk HPV, which can cause cervical cell changes to develop into cervical cancer over time
• HPV primary screening is a better test than the old method (called cytology). It is more sensitive and a more accurate way of identifying those at higher risk of developing cervical cancer
• If you are found to have high-risk HPV, your sample will be tested for cell changes

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• 99.7% of cervical cancers are caused by high risk strains of HPV, particularly types 16 and 18. There are hundreds of other strains
• 8 out of 10 sexually active adults will get HPV at some point in their lives 
• 9 out of 10 people clear a HPV infection within two years
• It can be passed on through any intimate contact including penetrative sex, oral sex, anal sex and touching in the genital area. This includes protected sex, so it is not possible to fully prevent getting HPV
• HPV can be dormant in your body for a long time before it becomes detectable which means it’s almost impossible to know who you got it from

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• 220,000 women are told they have cervical cell changes (abnormal cells) every year
• This is not cancer, but could go onto become cancer if not treated or monitored
• We avoid using the term ‘pre-cancerous cells’ – not every diagnosis of cell changes would go on to become cancer
• Not all cell changes require treatment 
• Cell changes are looked at in more detail at a colposcopy clinic where a doctor or nurse use a microscope called a colposcope to look at your cervix.
• The most common treatment to remove them is a LLETZ procedure (large loop excision of the transformation zone)

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• The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine is offered to schoolchildren aged 12-13 (in Scotland 11-13) 
• Find out more about who can have it, including if you're under 25 and missed having it at school > 
• It protects against at least 70% of cervical cancers making it highly effective, however it's still recommended that you attend cervical screening too
• Vaccine coverage is generally high at over 80% in all 4 countries in the UK
• However, there is wide regional variation in HPV vaccine uptake, ranging from 94.3% in North Yorkshire to 65.3% in Hammersmith and Fulham.

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Cervical screening is the best protection against cervical cancer and can save lives. However, it is not an easy test for everybody. We urge journalists to be sensitive and supportive when talking about screening and acknowledge that there are many barriers to attending, some traumatic and complex. We believe that encouragement, support and inclusive language is the best way to help everyone who wants to attend a smear test do so.

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