One in three women fail to show up for vital cancer test
NEARLY a third of women failed to turn up for a life-saving cancer test last year – leaving the number who do at the lowest for 20 years.
More than 1.2million women aged 25 to 64 missed their cervical cancer smear test in 2016/17, with just 72 per cent of those who qualify being tested, down from 75.7 per cent in 2011.
Among the youngest group, aged 25 to 29, just 62.1 per cent attended, figures from NHS Digital reveal.
However, participation fell across every age group and in every local authority in England in the past year.
Health bosses last night urged GPs to provide more morning and evening screening appointments to make it as easy as possible for busy women to attend.
Cervical cancer affects 3,200 women a year in Britain, and kills around 900, but rates of the disease are projected to rise by nearly 40 per cent in the next 20 years. The smear test involves taking cells from the neck of the womb.
Women aged 25 to 49 are invited for screening every three years, while those aged 50 to 64 are asked to attend every five years.
If the regular tests spot pre-cancerous cells, they can be treated before they develop into tumours that can spread throughout the body. The national screening programme has been credited with slashing cervical cancer rates by 44 per cent since the Seventies.
Experts think another 2,000 women would die from the disease each year without the tests.
The death of reality TV star Jade Goody from cervical cancer in 2009 caused a spike in the number of women attending screening.
But that effect has faltered since, with numbers gradually falling.
Many women are thought to be put off because the smear test involves an intimate swab.
The fact that a positive test at the initial screening leads to them being recalled for a potentially painful biopsy to confirm the result could also deter women.
The figures suggest that younger women in particular are not getting themselves tested.
A total of 4.45million were invited for screening in 2016/17, but only 3.18million attended.
Robert Music, of the charity Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust, said: ‘I am extremely disappointed. However, sadly, I am not surprised. The Jade Goody effect has long gone.
‘We have spoken out time and time again about the need for investment and action to improve cervical screening attendance. However, this is not happening.
‘ We are leading busier lives, therefore these statistics must surely serve as a call to action to make the screening programme more accessible.’
Public Health England said lack of access to convenient appointments was a major cause of low attendance, along with embarrassment, fear and poor awareness.