Cervical Screening Awareness Week!
Hi everyone, hope you’re all well and enjoying life! The 20-26 June marks Cervical Screening Awareness Week 2022. One in three women and people with a cervix do not attend cervical screenings – yet 220,000 people are told they have cervical cell changes after their screening. Join us as we give you all the information and support that you need so you don’t have to fear the smear!
What is cervical screening?
Cervical screening (a smear test) checks the health of your cervix. The cervix is the opening to your womb from your vagina. It’s not a test for cancer, it’s a test to help prevent cancer.
What does it do?
Cervical screening checks a sample of cells from your cervix for certain types of human papillomavirus (HPV). These types of HPV can cause abnormal changes to the cells in your cervix. If these types of HPV are found during screening, the sample of cells is then checked for abnormal changes. If abnormal cells are not treated, they may turn into cervical cancer. HPV’s are common and you can get them from any kind of skin-to-skin contact of the genital area.
What happens at your appointment?
The test itself should take less than 5 minutes. You’ll need to undress, behind a screen, from the waist down and will have a sheet to put over you. The nurse will ask you to lie back on a bed, usually with your legs bent and knees apart. They will gently put a smooth, tube-shaped tool (a speculum) into your vagina. A small amount of lubricant may be used. The nurse will open the speculum so they can see your cervix. Using a soft brush, they’ll take a small sample of cells from your cervix. The video below explains this in more detail.
