The Facts
Cervical cancer kills almost 3 women every day in the UK.
1 It is the most common cancer in women aged 20-29 and unless caught early could mean that you are no longer able to have children.
12,13 Almost all cases are caused by a common virus.
2 You could catch the virus, called HPV, as soon as you start having intimate relationships - either through sexual intercourse or from intimate skin-to-skin contact in the genital area. It is possible to catch it from just one sexual experience.
3 The virus is usually cleared naturally but sometimes it persists inside the cells of the cervix and could cause abnormal cells to develop. If these cells are left undetected and untreated, they could go on to develop into cervical cancer.
4
What you can do
You can reduce your risk by leading a
healthy lifestyle, going for regular
cervical smear tests when invited by your GP surgery (at age 25 in England, 20 in the rest of the UK) and vaccination.
5-7,17 HPV
vaccination is available through the NHS if you are aged 12-18 i.e. all girls born on or after 1st September 1990. If you can, it makes sense to get vaccinated against HPV well before you plan to have your first intimate relationship.
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