GLOBAL, 21-25 January – The penultimate week of January marked Cervical Cancer Prevention Week, which encouraged individuals and organisations alike to reflect upon risk awareness of this common yet preventable disease which claims the lives of so many women, even those as young as in their 20s.
75% of cervical cancers can now be prevented by cervical screening (smear tests) yet the rates of this procedure in Europe are declining. Despite that, in 2012, 58,348 women across Europe were estimated to suffer from and approximately 24,397 died from cervical cancer.
The World Health Organization (WHO) states that "Cervical cancer profoundly changes a women’s life and her future. Over 28 000 women die every year in the WHO European Region of cervical cancer, and many more suffer long-term health consequences."
This was an important week for organisations, MPs and the public to come together to spread this important message that no more lives should be risked due to limited access or irrational stigma attached to the life-saving HPV vaccination or smear test.