Cervical Screening Saves LIves

Last week, as I reported here, a report to Cumbria health scrutiny committee described how health outcomes vary enormously between different parts of Cumbria.

Or in plain English, if you get cancer and you live in Copeland you are more likely to die soon from it than you would be if you lived in Eden. 

There are also significant variations between health outcomes in different parts of Copeland.

There are various reasons for these differences, some of which related to lifestyle, and some to health service issues that the local NHS is seeking to address.

But two of those reasons are

1) Residents of the areas with better outcomes for cancer patients tend to go to their doctor sooner, e.g. at an earlier stage of the disease when there is more chance of successful treatment, and

2) Residents of the areas where more people survive cancer are more likely to accept invitations to be screened for cancer.

This is the Cumbrian context relevant to today's announcement by Public Health England, unveiling a new 'Cervical Screening Saves Lives' campaign, part of the government's Long Term Plan which provides an extra £20.5 billion for the NHS.

Key facts: 

• Public Health England has launched the major new national campaign ‘Cervical Screening Saves Lives’, to increase the number of women attending their cervical screening across England. 
• The campaign will encourage women to respond to their cervical screening invitation letter, and if they missed their last screening, to book an appointment at their GP practice. 
• Around 2,600 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer in England each year, and around 690 women die from the disease, which is two deaths every day. 
• It is estimated that if everyone attended screening regularly, 83 per cent of cervical cancer cases could be prevented. 
• Regular screening, which only takes a few minutes, can help stop cervical cancer before it starts, as the test identifies potentially harmful cells before they become cancerous, and ensures women get the right treatment as soon as possible. 

Why this matters

• If more people take up cancer screening - cervical screening or many other types of screening - it will save some of those people from dying well before they need to.
• For example, if every woman took part in the cervical cancer screening programme, more than 2,250 women a year would be spared from suffering this form of cancer and 570 families a year would no longer suffer the premature loss of a mother, wife, sister or daughter, often years before they needed to die.
• It will also not just prolong lives but mean a higher quality of life by reducing the impact of cancer.