Be Cervix Savvy is message

Roadshow coming to town

Monklands women are encouraged to attend a cancer awareness event in Coatbridge this week.

The Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust Be Cervix Savvy roadshow will be available tomorrow and Friday in the Quadrant shopping centre.

It aims to educate the public on the disease, including prevention through cervical screening, how to spot symptoms, and the role of the HPV injection.

Screening prevents 75 per cent of cervical cancers, yet the charity found two- thirds ( 62 per cent) of Scottish women were unaware that not attending for screening was one of the biggest risk factors.

Attendance has fallen among certain groups to only 63.1 per cent of 25 to 29-year-olds and numbers were low among women with learning disabilities, those living in areas of deprivation and from black, Asian and minority ethnic communities.

Cervical cancer can be prevented. However, last year in Scotland 339 women were diagnosed – the highest number in 18 years – and 116 women lost their lives to the disease (a 32 per cent increase from 2014).

Robert Music, chief executive of Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust, commented: “We are delighted to be working with the Scottish Government and visiting Lanarkshire with our Be Cervix Savvy roadshow this week.

“Our new research shows many Scottish women are unaware of how they can best protect themselves from cervical cancer and we want this to change.

“Through the roadshow we hope to be able to talk to as many women as possible about the steps they can take to reduce their risk of the disease.”