Grazia view

don’t fear the smear! We’ve all pretended we’re too busy to get around to attending our smear test, when really we’re too afraid or embarrassed to go. But new figures show the number of women going for cervical screenings is at its lowest since records began. Nearly a third of us aren’t bothering with the potentially life-saving swab, and 1.28 million women didn’t take up their invites in 2017/2018. This is worrying, especially as cervical cancer diagnoses are on the rise. So next time you get that letter, remember the procedure only takes a few minutes and is nothing the nurse hasn’t seen before. Book it in – that smear could save your life.