• What is cervical cancer?
• What are the symptoms?
• Can I prevent cervical cancer?
• Cervical Screening

• Liquid based cytology
• How can the Cobalt Appeal help?
• Fact Sheets

What is cervical cancer?

Cervical cancer usually starts in cells on the surface of the cervix. These cells begin to grow and divide out of control. They can spread into the tissue of the cervix and then to the vagina, womb or bowel.

What are the symptoms of cervical cancer?

There are often no symptoms but you may notice the following signs:

• bleeding between periods
• bleeding during or after sex
• bleeding after you have been through the menopause
• any unpleasant vaginal discharge
• discomfort or pain during sex

These symptoms may be signs of other common conditions and do not necessarily mean you have cancer but you should report them to your doctor.

Can I prevent cervical cancer?

You can minimise your risk by having regular smear tests and:-

• by giving up smoking – smoking doubles the risk of developing cervical cancer
• by not having unprotected sex - use a condom, cap or diaphragm – these protect your cervix from sexually transmitted infections
• by reducing your number of sexual partners – the more sexual partners you have the greater your risk of HPV infection. If your partners have had sex with a lot of people this increases your risk

Most people do not know that cervical cancer is linked to a common sexually transmitted virus.

Over 95 % of cases of cervical cancer are associated with the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). HPV infection is extremely common, affecting 70% of the sexually active population at some time in their lives. It is usually cleared by the body’s immune system without causing problems but in some women it can eventually lead to cervical cancer.

It is possible to catch the virus from just one sexual partner and be unaware of it for years but the risk of getting an HPV infection increases with the number of sexual partners.

Cervical Screening

Cervical screening can detect early cell changes in the cervix that are caused by HPV. Treating these cells prevents cancer developing. Treatment is easy and effective. Cervical screening saves the lives of thousands of women every year.

The test is simple and only takes around five minutes. It should not be painful although some women do find it slightly uncomfortable. A speculum is inserted into your vagina and then eased open so that your cervix can be reached with a spatula/brush. The cells collected on the spatula or brush from the cervix are smeared onto a slide or the brush is put into a pot of liquid and sent off for analysis.

Liquid based cytology

The NHS screening programme is bringing in a new way of preserving the cells taken in smear tests. It is called liquid based cytology and women in Gloucestershire are benefiting from this new more reliable technology. The cells are collected from the cervix in the same way but using a very small brush instead of a spatula. The head of the brush is broken off into a small pot of liquid, or the cells rinsed off into the pot, instead of putting the cells onto a slide.

The cells are better preserved, so the results of the smear test are more reliable. The NHS pilot had repeat smear rates of 1-2% with liquid based cytology (LBC), compared to 9% when smears are put straight onto slides. So you are less likely to be called back to have the smear done again with LBC.

How can the Cobalt Appeal Fund help?

The Charity is aware that early diagnosis of a cancer is the key to successful treatment and the cervical screening programme detects cell changes before they become cancer which makes treatment easier and effective. The Cancer Prevention Team encourages women of all ages to regularly take part in the Cervical Screening Programme.