Denying young women like tragic Amber smear tests just beggars belief
AMBER ROSE CLIFF was just three years older than my daughter.
She died of cervical cancer aged 25, despite begging medics to take her symptoms seriously and give her a smear test.
Because she was so young, doctors dismissed her symptoms and, despite numerous visits to her surgery, she was never given the test which could have detected the disease and perhaps even have saved her life.
Amber was just 18 when she first experienced sickness and abnormal bleeding but she wasn’t given a smear test because on the NHS they are only provided for over-25s.
After repeated visits to her local health centre in Sunderland, her family eventually arranged for her to have the test done privately when she was 21.
Tragically, they found that she’d had cervical cancer for years and, despite being given treatment, the disease spread to Amber’s lungs and throat. She died last Sunday. Her devastated family is convinced that if she had been given the smear test when she first went to the doctors at 18, the cancer would have been detected and she would at least have stood a fighting chance.
That’s because if you detect cervical cancer early enough the chances of a recovery are high.
Sadly, Amber never got that opportunity.
She was a bright, beautiful young woman and, even when she was desperately ill, she continued to live life to the full.
We all know about the financial constraints on the NHS, but surely a young woman showing symptoms like Amber should have been given an inexpensive smear test?
Even if you examine her case with cold logic, it would have cost almost nothing to give her the test, compared with the amount of money which was eventually spent to provide her four years’ treatment for cancer.
Much as I’m uncomfortable looking at a young woman’s life in terms of cold, hard cash, the argument that it’s not cost-effective to give under-25s smear tests simply doesn’t add up.
It’s absolutely tragic that Amber died, but her family is determined to fight for tests to be given to women aged 18-25. Her relatives would like this change to be called Amber’s Law.
They obviously don’t want her to have died in vain, and hope that other families can be spared the trauma of losing a loved one at such a young age.
No woman looks forward to having a smear test, but it’s over in the blink of an eye and it is absolutely vital to attend.
Far too many women put off making an appointment or don’t bother to attend, which is madness.
We are incredibly lucky to be offered this test in the first place.
However, I wholeheartedly agree with Amber’s family and think that smear tests should definitely be provided for women aged under 25 who have similar symptoms or concerns about their health.
My sincere condolences to everyone who loved Amber. Her death really should never have happened.