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January is Cervical Cancer Awareness Month

   

January is Cervical Cancer Awareness Month. This year, Cervical Cancer Awareness Month aims to highlight the importance of increasing access to HPV vaccines, regular screening, and state-of-the-art treatment for cervical cancer in its early stages. The objective is to dramatically reduce the occurrence of cervical cancer by 2030 and to eliminate the disease as a public health problem by 2120.

Cervical cancer is preventable and curable, as long as it is detected early and managed effectively.
Yet it is the 4th most common form of cancer among women worldwide, with the disease claiming the lives of almost 350,000 women in 2022.

Between 2014 and 2016, around 3,200 UK women were diagnosed with cervical cancer each year – that’s around nine new cases every day. Unlike most other cancer types, where risk increases with age, the rates of cervical cancer are highest in the 25-29 age group, and more than half of cases are in women under 45.

The good news is that cervical cancer can be easily prevented through vaccination against HPV and regular screening.

To all girls and women, the messages of Cervical Cancer Awareness Month are clear:

Get informed – Find out the facts about HPV and cervical cancer, including what signs to look out for. Help educate other women in your life too.

Get screened – Cervical cancer screening typically starts at 30 years of age and is repeated regularly.

Get vaccinated – The HPV vaccine is given in 1 or 2 doses that should begin when a girl is aged 9–14 years.

You can learn more from the Macmillian website, click here which also has useful information about services within Milton Keynes, click here or the World Health Organisation website.

The Eve Appeal has more information about cervical screening for trans and non-binary people. This includes some tips to help attending a cervical screening appointment.