Cervical screening
Who is eligible?
If you are between 25 and 64, you will be invited every three to five years to take part in the NHS Cervical Screening Programme.
- Women aged 25 – 49 will be invited every 3 years
- Women aged 50 – 64 will be invited every 5 years
- If you are no longer sexually active or have gone through the menopause, you still need to be tested to check that your cervix is healthy.
Useful leaflet
Cervical screening - The facts
Why go for the cervical screening (smear) test?
- Cervical screening is a test to check the health of the cervix, which is the lower part of the womb (neck of the womb). Cervical cancer can develop when cells on the surface of the cervix begin to grow and divide abnormally.
- The test can help to find any changes in the cervix before they have a chance to develop into cancer. Regular cervical screening is the best way to detect changes to the cervix early.
- The test is very simple and only takes around five minutes. It is done in private at your doctor’s surgery or local health clinic. You can ask to see a female doctor or nurse.
- Research suggests that Cervical screening saves up to 4,500 lives each year in England.
- Watch the NHS Smear Test Campaign video
Useful websites:
www.cancerscreening.nhs.uk
www.pants.nhs.uk/
www.nhs.uk/
www.macmillan.org.uk