Fourteen women in Galway were diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2005.

Cervical screening detects changes in the cervix, which might eventually lead to cancer. Approximately one in six women (17 per cent) reported that they had never had a cervical cancer smear test. The EU guidelines recommend that smear tests should be repeated every three to five years. 

Galway television presenter, Sίle Seoige, commented: “It is so important that Irish women are aware of cervical cancer and ways to prevent it. Cervical smear testing is so important in ensuring that you are regularly checked for cervical cancer, so it is shocking to see that one in six Irish women have never had a cervical smear test. I hope that my ongoing involvement in this campaign will help to educate women on this subject and to encourage women to speak to their GPs or log onto www.tellher.ie to find out about cervical smear testing.”

Ireland has one of the highest rates of cervical cancer in Europe, with an estimated 2,900 women living with the disease. The earliest stage (called cervical carcinoma in situ) is diagnosed at the average age of 32 years.

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