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.
DIY smear tests should be introduced as soon as possible said Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust
Robert Music, chief executive of the charity, said self-testing could not come soon enough. He said Australia and Denmark, 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.
By December 2019, authorities plan to make a postal DIY smear test, that also checks for HPV, available to all women across the country.
Officials hope it will boost screening coverage by reaching women who have ignored invitations for tests because of embarrassment or difficulties getting an appointment.
The pilot scheme was announced as NHS England revealed that cervical screening administration will return ‘in-house’ from June.
Rebekah Vardy has been praised after she highlighted the importance of smear tests, as the number of women being screened for cervical cancer hit an all time low
The decision follows a series of screening blunders, including outsourcing firm Capita’s failure to send invitations or test results to 50,000 patients last year.
Uptake rates for cervical screening are the lowest in 21 years, with nearly a third of women ignoring their last appointment letters.
Professor Sir Mike Richards, who is leading a review of cancer screening, told MPs that the DIY tests will follow a scheme tried in the Netherlands, where postal kits boosted uptake.
‘We may get to a different segment of the population by offering HPV self-sampling sets through the post,’ he told the Commons public accounts committee.
Home testing has been made possible by the creation of a more sensitive cervical test which uses a swab to test for the HPV virus.
Health officials said the self-sample pilot schemes are likely to involve women who have missed screening, with a kit sent to them within a month of a failure to respond to an appointment.
Studies have found the tests were nearly as accurate as those done in a clinic. Women who had missed screening appointments were twice as likely to provide a sample for testing as they were to respond to reminders to come to a clinic, Belgian research found.
Around 3,200 British women are diagnosed with cervical cancer every year and 1,000 die with the disease annually – but rates are projected to rise by nearly 40 per cent in the next 20 years.
Officials hope that making the test available in the post will mean that more women get checked for cervical cancer
Experts say another 2,000 women would die every year without the screening programme.
Charities said the introduction of self-sampling could benefit thousands of women who are too embarrassed to go for tests as well as those with a disability and survivors of sexual violence.
Robert Music, chief executive of Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust, said: ‘We have been calling for this for a long time and believe this could be a game-changer.
‘Other countries are already seeing very positive results of HPV self-sampling, with those who have delayed attending for many years choosing to take the test.
‘It is now crucial that this pilot moves forward quickly to ensure we are not left behind in our vision of eliminating cervical cancer.’
Link hienalouca.comhttps://hienalouca.com/2019/03/22/bring-in-diy-smear-tests-now-urges-charity-as-nhs-figures-show-that-five-million-women-are-overdue/
Main photo article 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 ...
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
Dianne Reeves Online news HienaLouca
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