Cervical cancer is the most common cancer in women under the age of 35; according to The Eve Appeal, 55 women in the UK are diagnosed with gynaecological cancer every day and 21 will die from it - but it's actually one of the few cancers that can be prevented. Scientific evidence has shown that if women are screened every three years, more than 90% of pre-cancer cases are picked up and can be treated with very little inconvenience. Our regular smear test can hugely increase our chance of leading a happy, healthy, problem-free life, but so many of us are skipping them altogether because of the fear factor. Shockingly, a third of women between the ages of 25 and 29 do not take up their smear test invitation, while 1 in 5 don?t actually attend their appointment after it's been booked. Not only is that a complete waste of the surgery's time, but it could be causing so much unnecessary distress later on down the line. Although smear tests aren't exactly enjoyable, they're so quick and painless that we should all be making the time to get tested and look after our health; it's only ten minutes out of your day and only sixty seconds of mild awkwardness, so in my book there's no valid excuse not to pop along and see the nurse.
The lack of clarity about exactly what happens during a smear test can cause a huge amount of anxiety if you've never experienced one before; after all, none of us take particular pleasure from letting a complete stranger near our nether-re...