Cervical Screening Awareness Week (15 to 21 June) is an opportunity to talk about the importance of cervical screening and eliminating cervical cancer, feeding into the wider work around cervical cancer elimination in the South West.
About cervical screening
- Cervical screening is one of the best ways to protect from cervical cancer.
- Cervical screening, also known as a smear test, is offered to women and people with a cervix (including trans, non-binary and intersex people) aged 25 to 64.
- The screening process checks for the presence of high-risk HPV and early detection of abnormal cells, which if left untreated may lead to cervical cancer.
- Currently around one third of eligible people do not come forward for their screening.
- Cervical screening – NHS
- Data for cervical screening can be found at: NHS population screening programmes: KPI reports 2025 to 2026 – GOV.UK
About HPV and HPV vaccination
- HPV is the name for a very common group of viruses, and most people will get some type of HPV during their lives.
- Some high-risk types of HPV can cause certain types of cancer, including cervical cancer.
- In most cases the body will get rid of HPV without it causing any problems. But sometimes HPV can stay in the body for a long time.
- If high risk types of HPV the in your body, they can cause changes to the cells in the cervix. These changes may become cervical cancer if not treated.
- Human papillomavirus (HPV) – NHS
- The HPV vaccine helps protect against human papillomavirus (HPV). It’s recommended for children aged 12 to 13 years old and people at higher risk from HPV.
- The HPV vaccine works very well in reducing the risk of getting HPV. However, people should still attend their cervical screening even if they have had the HPV vaccine.
- HPV vaccine – NHS
