Cervical Screening Awareness Week 20-26 June 2022

Cervical Screening

Cervical screening is available from 25 years to 64 years in England and, currently, people aged 25 to 49 receive invitations every 3 years and those aged 50 to 64 receive invitations every 5 years.

Cervical screening is a free health test available on the NHS as part of the national cervical screening programme. It helps prevent cervical cancer by checking for a virus called high-risk HPV and cervical cell changes. It is not a test for cancer.

According to Jo’s Trust, the UK’s leading cervical cancer charity, one in three women and people with a cervix don’t attend cervical screening. We’re working to change that statistic.

We wan to raise awareness of the importance of cervical screening and are pleased to share some resources below.

What is cervical cancer?

Cervical cancer is when abnormal cells in the lining of the cervix grow in an uncontrolled way and eventually form a growth (tumour).

If not caught early cancer cells gradually grow into the surrounding tissues and may spread to other areas of the body.

Read more about Cervical Cancer on the Cancer Research UK website or Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust

Resources for everyone

• Cervical Screening – Helping You Decide are translated leaflets available from Public Health England. The leaflets are available to download in the following languages: Arabic, Bengali, Traditional and Simplified Chinese, English, Gurati, French, Polish, Portugese, Punjabi and Urdu.
• Jo’s Trust – has information about cervical cancer, screening, HPV and more, along with a support helpline, forum and Ask the Expert service.
• You can view a symptoms of cervical cancer poster

Resources for people with a learning disability

• GOV.UK has an easy read guide to cervical screening
• Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust has information and a film about cervical screening if you have a learning disability, and an easy read guide to having a smear test

Resources for LGBT people

Trans men and non-binary people aged 25-64 are eligible for cervical screening if they have a cervix.

• The LGBT Foundation has information and support about cervical screening for LGBT people
• GOV.UK has leaflets on cervical screening for lesbian and bisexual women and cervical screening for trans and non-binary people