Daily Mail

Bring in DIY smear tests NOW, says charity

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DIY smear tests should be introduced as soon as possible to reduce cases of cervical cancer, a charity has said.

Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust made the plea in a bid to diagnose the disease at an earlier stage. The latest NHS figures show only 71 per cent of women are up to date on screening – the lowest rate since records began – and around five million women are overdue.

Robert Music, chief executive of the charity, said self-testing could not come soon enough.He said Australia and Demark, which already use home testing, are seeing ‘fantastic results’ in prevention and the number of early diagnoses.

He added that it could be a ‘game changer’ for those with physical or psychologi­cal difficulti­es with the usual test. The scheme – where HPV testing kits are sent in the post then returned to the NHS – will be trialled in England with a view to national implementa­tion.

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