Cervical screening aims to prevent cervical cancers by detecting early precancerous changes in the cells that line the cervix. Women aged 25-49 should be called for a smear test every 3 years and women aged 50-64 should be called every 5 years. You can watch a short video of what happens at a cervical screening appointment here .
Consider these ways of reducing your risk of cervical cancer:
Be aware of the symptoms associated with cervical cancer:
Be aware of the symptoms of cervical cancer and talk to your GP if you’re concerned. Cervical cancer often has no symptoms in the early stages and so it is vitally important to attend for screening when invited.
Before taking part in WRDA’s Cervical Screening Awareness programme only 69% of women surveyed understood what their cervical smear test result meant. This increased to 99% after the programme.
WRDA’s ground breaking Breast, Cervical and Bowel Screening Awareness programme was developed to tackle the low uptake of screening invitations by women living in some areas of NI. The programme is delivered by Community Facilitators who have completed our accredited Level 3 Certificate in Learning and Development. The programme consists of three sessions and aims to raise awareness of the screening available, encourage participants to attend for screening and explores and addresses any fears surrounding the screening process. The programme can also be tailored to meet the requirements of groups with additional needs such as sight impairment, learning disability and speakers of other languages. The programme is available free for community groups, if you would like to find out more call the office on 028 9023 0212.
WRDA’s Breast, Cervical and Bowel Screening Awareness Programme is funded by the Public Health Agency
