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LIVE CHAT
Learn Live with Cervical Cancer Awareness
Learn Live with Cervical Cancer Awareness
*This broadcast is suitable from ages 13 and above*
This broadcast featured a video from Karen Hobbs, a cancer information officer at The Eve Appeal, Dr Neil Smith from East Lancashire Clinical Commissioning Group and Kath Lewis, a Screening and Immunisation Coordinator who discussed the importance of your cervical screening test and help explain the process of the test.
The best way to protect yourself from cervical cancer is by attending cervical screening (previously known as a “smear test”) when invited.
The NHS Cervical Screening Programme invites all women from the age of 25 to 64 to attend cervical screening. Women aged 25 to 49 are offered screening every 3 years and those aged 50 to 64 are offered screening every 5 years.
About The Eve Appeal
The Eve Appeal is the only UK national charity raising awareness and funding research into the five gynaecological cancers – womb, ovarian, cervical, vulval and vaginal.
We were set up to save women’s lives by funding ground-breaking research focused on developing effective methods of risk prediction, earlier detection and developing screening for these women-only cancers. We have played a crucial role in providing seed funding, core infrastructure funding and project funding in addition to campaigning to raise awareness of women-specific cancers.
The world-leading research that we fund is ambitious and challenging but our vision is simple: A future where fewer women develop and more women survive gynaecological cancers.
For more information on The Eve Appeal please visit their website below:
About East Lancashire Clinical Commissioning Group
As a CCG we commission (buy) local health services for Burnley, Hyndburn, Pendle, Ribble Valley (excluding Longridge) and Rossendale. We receive a budget from the Department of Health to plan and pay for most local NHS services.
This includes commissioning planned hospital care, rehabilitative care, urgent and emergency care, most community health services, and mental health and learning disability services. We do not manage local NHS hospitals, which are independent trusts, however we do pay for many of the services they offer.
Our CCG is run by local GPs. We aim to buy high quality, safe, and effective health services that meet the needs of residents in East Lancashire. To do this we use local clinical expertise, evidence of good practice and also draw on the experience of patients who use the services we commission.
For more information on East Lancashire Clinical Commissioning Group please visit their website below:
Karen Hobbs
The Eve Appeal
I was diagnosed with cervical cancer in November 2014, when I was 24.
I now spend my time performing stand-up comedy about my experience and working for The Eve Appeal, a charity dedicated to raising awareness and funds for research into earlier detection and prevention of the five gynaecological cancers.
I’m trying to spread the message about gynaecological health as widely as possible and hopefully with humour. I have written articles for The Independent, The Huffington Post, iPaper and The Telegraph.
I have been by BBC Radio 1, Radio 4 Woman’s Hour, Radio 5 Live, Sky News, London Live and The Evening Standard, taking every opportunity to talk about signs, symptoms and squash the stigma that surrounds cervical cancer.
I didn’t know anything about cervical cancer or gynaecological health in general until my diagnosis. We need to educate ourselves about our own bodies. If we don’t know what is normal for us, then how can will we notice when something changes?
Dr Neil Smith
GP and cancer lead, East Lancashire Clinical Commissioning Group
Neil has been a G.P. in Blackburn for 24 years. He has always had a portfolio career and was previously Associate Dean at Manchester Medical School. He is currently a partner in a busy practice, a G.P. appraiser and trainer as well as stadium doctor for Blackburn Rovers. He has cancer roles for CCGs, Cancer Alliance, CRUK, RCGP and UCLan.
In 2015, he won the National Macmillan Excellence in Innovation Award for Cancer. In 2016 he and the team he leads won the HSJ National Patient Safety Award for Cancer. Neil was RCGP NW GP of the year in 2017 and was nominated as a local health hero for the NHS 70 awards 2018.
Dr Smith has a particular interest in improving uptake in cancer screening and the earlier diagnosis of cancer. He has been working on ⋕25itstimeproject to support more young women have their first smear. He has recently launched the “Lets Talk Cancer” campaign.
Outside work he coaches a youth football team. He is a keen swimmer, cyclist and runner and is the current and four time NHS senior triathlon champion.
Kath Lewis
Screening and Immunisation Coordinator
I qualified as a nurse 25 years ago and have worked in women’s health ever since, first on a gynaecology ward in Manchester and then as a midwife and sexual health nurse.
I have been a cervical sample taker for around 15 years and have seen many changes in the programme.
I now work in the Public Health commissioning team in NHS England and have a lead area in the cervical screening programme both in the delivery in GP practices and sexual health, the laboratory and the colposcopy services who provide treatment to women.
I am very passionate about improving the knowledge that young women in particular have around cervical screening, to enable them to be informed about attending for screening and to reduce inequalities in screening. I am involved in a number of national workstreams around cervical screening and HPV.
Away from work I am a busy mum of 2 teenage daughters – one at university and one currently sitting her GCSE’s. I have 2 new rescue dogs who enjoy long walks no matter what the weather! I enjoy going to the gym and have become addicted to spin classes and to counter balance I enjoy going out for meals with my husband and friends (minus the teenagers!)