The cervical cancer screening debate: should the age for routine smears be lowered?

Following the recent and tragic death of her 25 year old daughter Cathy, Wendy Campbell has been admirably and tirelessly campaigning for the age of routine cervical smear tests to be lowered in England.
There is no dispute that death of a young person is particularly heart breaking and leads to grief, a sense of injustice and as in this case, the desire to make a change for others. Unfortunately, the changes needed are rarely clear. Too often when discussing cancers we debate how and when we screen to find the disease, not how we prevent it happening in the first place and what can be done to ensure treatment is considered, appropriate and caring.

From our work at Cancer Recovery Foundation, we believe that screening women under 25 does not save lives and that lowering the age is not the answer. This already happens in Scotland, but England still has a lower mortality rate. And in the Netherlands and Finland where women aren’t routinely screened until the age of 30, they have some of the lowest mortality rates from cervical cancer in Europe.

Not routinely screening women under the age of 25 is a policy designed to protect young women’s future health. At this age, 1 in 3 of them will receive an abnormal test result. This does not mean that they are at an increased risk of developing cancer, but the result will lead to investigation of the cervix and this is incredibly upsetting and worrying. Many will receive treatment they do not need, and this often involves removing tissue for examination. This procedure can weaken the cervix and affect the woman’s ability to carry a baby to full term, increase her chances of having a premature baby and affect her baby’s birth weight. Nearly all of these women and their babies would be 100% healthy had it not been for the screening.

Women, of all ages, need to be vigilant when it comes to cervical cancer so they know what to look for. If they do present symptoms- such as irregular bleeding, they shouldn’t simply be offered a smear test as this is a screening process, not a treatment or check for other possible causes. GPs and other health professionals similarly need to increase their knowledge here and ensure anyone presenting symptoms is referred and treated appropriately. At the Cancer Recovery Foundation, we also encourage girls offered the HPV vaccination to prevent cervical cancer to have it and their parents to support the decision; we let women know what lifestyle choices they can make to help prevent cervical cancer, such as not smoking; and we tell women who are over the age of 25 to attend their smear tests as that is when the benefits begin to outweigh the risks. We hope that by following these guidelines, rather than lowering the age of routine screening, lives can be saved and heartbreak prevented.

Previous Blogs:

New Year. New You?
Collecting our thoughts
Walking The Talk – Weeks 3 and 4
Walking The Talk – Week 2
Walking The Talk – Week 1

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