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07 Mar 2026

Concern about the number of women not coming forward for a smear test which could save their lives

smear

Reporter:

Michael Heverin

21 Jan 2017 8:30 PM

Northern Irish women are not up to date with their cervical screening (smear test), with almost one in four not attending the test which could save their life. Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust is concerned that if this does not change then the number of lives lost will increase. Cervical Cancer Prevention Week runs from 22-28 January and Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust is particularly concerned about women aged 25-29 in Northern Ireland as almost one in three women in this age group do not attend cervical screening when invited. The charity is calling on the public to get involved with their #SmearForSmear campaign which encourages women to post a smeared lipstick selfie on social media with the message: Attend your smear, reduce your risk of cervical cancer; while nominating their friends to do the same. New research by the charity has also found over half (51%) of 25-29 year olds in the UK have delayed or not attended cervical screening with almost one quarter (24%) admitting they have delayed for over one year and almost one in ten (9%) having never attended the test which provides the best protection against cervical cancer. Reasons for not attending included simply putting it off (33%), worrying it would be embarrassing (27%) and worrying it would be painful (25%). Robert Music, Chief Executive of Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust, said: “We have one of the best cervical screening programmes in the world saving approximately 5,000 lives every year. However at a time when the number attending is falling, we need to be seeing increased investment in targeted awareness campaigns to encourage women to take up their invitation for cervical screening and not delay attending. “Cervical screening prevents 70% of cervical cancers from developing and if we do not prioritise and increase investment in prevention, there will be more women facing the physical and psychological cost of cervical cancer, an increased burden on the NHS and state, and more lives lost.”  

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