CervicalCheck is encouraging women in Donegal who have never booked a screening test, or who may have stopped attending for screening for various reasons, to register or book for screening.
It comes as CervicalCheck has reported a ‘bumper’ year for cervical screening uptake nationwide in 2021, when women who were unable to attend for screening due to Covid-19 measures were able to access CervicalCheck.
Indeed 14% more women attended for screening in 2021 than predicted.
CervicalCheck is inviting women aged between 25 – 65 when their screening test is due at intervals of either 3 years or 5 years. They say this means there is a natural variance in the number of women who are eligible for screening in each year. CervicalCheck only invites those who are eligible each year.
CervicalCheck say they are up to date with invites nationwide since December 2021 and remained up to date throughout 2022. They say they are issuing results within four weeks in over 95% of cases.
Donegal Action for Cancer Care say they welcome the latest figures, despite being initially concerned at what they say appeared to be a considerable drop in the number of women availing of their free CervicalCheck screening in 2022.
According to a spokesperson for DACC: “Donegal Action for Cancer Care can’t stress enough the importance of availing of your free CervicalCheck screening.
“If you are registered and used to go but then stopped please make an appointment for yourself. If you’re in the relevant age group and have never had your smear, get yourself registered and go have it taken.
“The life you save could be your own.”
CervicalCheck is Ireland’s screening programme to prevent cervical cancer. The programme provides free, regular cervical screening tests to women and people with a cervix between the ages of 25 and 65.
If you are aged between 25 and 65 and have never attended for screening, you can register via the CervicalCheck website or the Infoline, 1800 45 45 55, or call your GP to book a test.
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