- Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust closed after twenty years due to financial problems
The number of people getting screened for cervical cancer could fall after the closure of one of Britain’s leading charities, doctors have warned.
Last week, Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust closed after twenty years due to financial problems.
The charity has been vital in encouraging the use of the HPV vaccine and routine screening tests for cervical cancer, which check for pre-cancerous changes – considered the best way to protect against the disease.
According to the latest figures, the number of women coming forward for routine smear tests has fallen to a record low following the Covid pandemic.
Now doctors say the NHS will struggle to increase screenings without the charity’s resources and campaigns.
Doctors fear the number of people coming forward for cervical cancer screening could fall after the closure of Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust (file photo)
London-based GP Nisa Aslam called the closure “a huge loss for women’s health” and said she often referred patients to the charity’s website for information, which she said made them more likely to get tested.
She added: ‘The closure will have a huge impact on the number of women being screened and receiving early diagnoses.’
Professor Peter Sasieni, one of Britain’s leading experts on cervical cancer screening, said Jo’s Trust ‘will certainly be missed. It is truly tragic that the charity could not continue.”
The NHS last year announced its intention to eradicate cervical cancer by 2040. But NHS data in November showed that only 69 per cent of women aged 25 to 64 in England had had cervical cancer screening the year before.
The NHS last year announced its intention to eradicate cervical cancer by 2040, but data showed only 69 percent of women aged 25 to 64 had signed up for screening (file photo)
The test looks for changes in the cells in the cervix caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), which can cause cervical cancer.
Women aged 25 to 49 are offered screening every three years. Those between the ages of 50 and 64 can get the test every five years.
If the early signs of cervical cancer are noticed, patients may undergo treatment to remove the abnormal tissue from the cervix.
According to Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust, early screening can prevent more than seven in 10 cancer diagnoses.
