Local AM, Rhun ap Iorwerth, is supporting Cervical Screening Awareness Week this week (CSAW, 12-18 June) by urging all women to attend their cervical screening appointment when invited.

Cervical cancer currently claims two lives every day in the UK and it is the most common cancer in women under 35. Cervical screening prevents up to 75% of cervical cancers yet the number of women attending is at a 10- year low in Wales and more than one in five women do not attend their screening appointment.

Rhun ap Iorwerth AM said: “Cervical screening saves around 5,000 lives in the UK each year yet many women don’t understand the importance of attending screening regularly. During Cervical Screening Awareness Week I want to encourage women to talk to their friends, mothers and daughters about the steps they can take to reduce their risk of cervical cancer. It’s such an important five-minute test that really could save your life.”

Robert Music, Chief Executive of Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust, said: “We cannot afford to see cervical screening attendance fall any further. Diagnoses of cervical cancer in the UK are worryingly high and will only increase if more women don’t attend screening. We want to encourage women to look after their health, including the health of their cervix and that means attending cervical screening. By not attending, women are significantly increasing their risk of a life-threatening disease.”

Find out more about Cervical Screening Awareness Week at www.jostrust.org.uk/csaw