ONE in three women would prefer to take a self sample than attend a cervical screening, and two in three say they would do so if it was easy and reliable, says the charity Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust.

The charity is concerned that the number of women attending smear tests has dropped over the last two decades and is likely to have fallen further during the pandemic.

This week (18-24 January) is Cervical Cancer Prevention Week (18-24 January).

Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust is concerned that existing inequalities in attendance are increasing, with those who found it harder to attend before the pandemic disproportionately affected. The charity has carried out research showing that 88% of women with a physical disability say it is harder to have cervical screening and among survivors of sexual violence, only half attend.

In its research it found one in 10 (9%) said they definitely wouldn’t attend cervical screening now and 22% felt less likely to attend. Higher levels of fear or concern was found among those who have been shielding or living with someone shielding, women from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds and those overdue screening.

Rebecca Shoosmith, Chief Executive (Acting), Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust: “The pandemic has shown that our NHS is able to innovate quickly and we want to see that extended to cervical screening. More and more people find the current test challenging and coronavirus has accelerated this trend adding more barriers.

“Self-sampling would be a game-changer. We have a roadmap to eliminate cervical cancer and self-sampling is a key part of this, one that will save lives.”

Dr Edward Morris, President at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists: “It’s clear from the survey by Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust that women are concerned about the safety of attending smear tests during the pandemic. We want to stress that it’s incredibly important women do still attend their cervical screening appointments as they can be lifesaving.

“We fully support calls to make cervical screening more accessible and would welcome the introduction of HPV self-testing kits as part of the cervical screening programme. In countries where this is already offered there has been significant success and has increased the screening uptake amongst all women.”

Dr Philippa Kaye, GP and Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust ambassador: “It’s worrying to think that a further impact of the pandemic could be even lower cervical screening attendance. We want to make it clear that the NHS is open. If you have been invited to make a cervical screening appointment, that’s because your GP has put measures in place to make it safe to attend. Please don’t put it off – if you need more information or support, Jo’s are there for you.”

Amanda had stage 1b2 cervical cancer when she was 27 in 2018:

“I had shrugged off going for my smear test – I was embarrassed, I thought the nurse would judge my appearance, and I was scared that the test would be painful,” she said.

“ I put it off for a couple of years. When I went, I was referred to the gynaecologist, and eventually diagnosed with cervical cancer. I’m now coming up to the third year since my diagnosis and currently waiting for a PET scan to check for residual disease. The experience has had a huge effect on my mental health. The treatment I had (chemotherapy, and internal and external radiotherapy) means that I’ll never be able to carry my own children and I’m now going through the menopause before the age of 30. If I had been able to do my own test at home, by myself, in just 2 minutes, I might have done it sooner and who knows if my cancer could have been caught at an earlier stage.”