One in four women in Northern Ireland fail to get screened for cervical cancer, according to the UK’s only dedicated cervical cancer charity.

Jo’s Trust have released the statistics to mark the launch of national Cervical Cancer Prevention Week, which runs from 20 – 26 January.

77% of women in Northern Ireland take up their health clinic invitations - a number which drops to 72% in Belfast.

The most common explanations given by women as a reason for not taking advantage of screenings are embarrassment, fear and a lack of convenient appointment times, according to the Trust.

Every day in the UK, nine women are told they have cervical cancer and three lives are lost.

Robert Music, director of Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust, said: "Through research commissioned by the charity we have found several barriers to cervical screening uptake including misinformation, confusion, a lack of convenient appointment times from GP surgeries (especially for working women) as well as embarrassment and fear of the procedure which all contribute to a lower uptake.

"This is why we are running adverts on the side of Belfast buses - both to stress the importance of cervical screenings but also to raise awareness of the charity as an information resource.

"We urge all women in Northern Ireland to make a cervical screening test a priority and get in contact with us if they have any concerns."

Cancer survivor Michelle Roe is to co-lead the Belfast support group. She delayed cervical screening for five years, but was reminded to make an appointment after visiting her doctor for a skin complaint.

She said: "If I had known that cervical screenings were to detect abnormalities before they turned cancerous, and could potentially save your life, I would never have ignored the invite that fell through my letterbox time and time again."

(IT)