Cervical cancer symptoms and treatments as many miss crucial tests

The Human Papilloma Virus vaccine was made available to younger women (Alamy/PA) (Image: Alamy/PA) Many individuals continue to miss their smear test appointments. However, cervical cancer screening tests could soon be conducted at home - a development experts are hailing as revolutionary. NHS chiefs are considering the introduction of quick and user-friendly self-testing kits in England, which could result in approximately 400,000 additional people being tested annually.

The test identifies human papillomavirus (HPV), a group of symptomless viruses that can lead to cervical cancer. Around 13 high-risk HPV types are responsible for 99.7% of all cervical cancers.

Statistics reveal a decline in cervical screening uptake, especially among younger women. Tests may be skipped due to inconvenient appointment times, embarrassment, or fears about pain during the procedure. In the largest trial to date, the King's College London YouScreen trial, women used a vaginal swab - similar to a long cotton bud - to collect a sample themselves, either at home or at their GP surgery, before sending their kit to a laboratory free of charge.

Other nations such as the Netherlands, Australia, Denmark, and Sweden have already implemented these self-testing kits, reports Gloucestershire Live . function loadOvpScript(){let el=document.createElement('script');el.

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