When did you last go for a smear test? Be honest. Mine was five years ago. Considering that I fall into the category of 25-45 year olds who are invited for a cervical screening every three years, that's not great. But I’m not alone. The latest figures show that uptake for check-ups is at a 10-year low, with only 65% of us booking in.
Having grown up in the era of the ‘Jade Goody effect’, I’m all too aware of the importance of going for this potentially life-saving test. So, what’s my excuse for being overdue? Well, life. Multiple house moves and doctor surgery changes coupled with the fact that spreading your legs for a stranger to pop a clamp up there isn’t exactly a thrilling prospect, means it's fallen to the bottom of the ever-growing to-do list.
What would make me actually turn up for my smear test? Well perhaps it’s not having to turn up anywhere. That’s the theory behind the NHS’s latest plan to roll out at-home cervical cancer screening kits.
In collaboration with King’s College London, the NHS have carried out a trial sending 27,000 women in north London vaginal swab kits to use at home. The easy to use YouScreen kits can then be posted back to medical professionals for screening. No doctor appointment necessary.
The response was impressive. 56% of participants returned the sample which has led experts to predict that by rolling out self-sampling smear tests, the number of women screened for cervical cancer could increase by around 400,000 women a year. That’s a jump in screening of over 77%.
According to Dr Anita Lim, lead investigator from King’s College London, rolling out at-home smear testing could be a ‘game-changer.’ She said:
‘The YouScreen trial has given us the evidence we need to demonstrate that self-sampling helps get more women screened in England. Women who don’t come for regular screening are at the highest risk of developing cervical cancer. It is crucial that we make cervical screening easier by introducing innovations like self-sampling, alongside the current cervical screening programme, to help protect more people from this highly preventable cancer.’
My initial response was that I’d worry that it wasn’t as accurate as visiting a professional. Although, any self-test is going to be more accurate than swerving my appointment. But, according to the scientists behind the trial, the simple cotton swab test is as effective as an in-clinic check up for detecting human papillomavirus, or HPV. It's necessary to get regularly tested for this because it is the virus that causes cervical cancer but it presents no symptoms.
During the trial there were two ways to get hold of the test. Women who had seen a GP for something different, and were due a test, were offered a DIY kit either through the post or by picking it up from their GP. Interestingly, only 13% of women returned the sample when they’d received it through the post compared to the 56% who had received it directly from their GP.
Off the back of the trial, published in the Lancet’s journal, eClinicalMedicine, the NHS is now considering how to roll out the self-sampling kits more widely. If successful the move could be a huge contributor to the NHS reaching its target of eliminating cervical cancer by 2040.
While we wait to see whether in the future we will all be able to self-sample for cervical cancer from the comfort of our home, for now the advice is to check when your smear test is due and book in for that appointment.