You may have seen and heard quite a bit in the media over the years about cervical cancer.

In most cases this has involved young women being diagnosed or sadly dying of the disease, such as celebrity Jade Goody who died at the age of 27 back in 2009. But the chances of women getting cervical cancer at a young age are very rare. That is one of the reasons why currently in England women are screened for any cervical abnormalities from the age of 25. Women aged 25-49 are tested every three years and aged 50-64, every five years.

There is often some confusion on what cervical screening actually tests for. This is just one of the issues that we hope to address with our ‘myth busters’ on cervical screening.

1. Cervical screening is a test for cervical cancer.

No it isn’t. It’s a test to check for any abnormalities, which if left untreated, could develop into cervical cancer at a later stage.

2. There have been a few cases in the media where women under the age of 25 have been diagnosed or died of cervical cancer. So should women under the age of 25 be screened?

Evidence shows that cervical cancer is extremely rare in women under the age of 25. Abnormalities in young women go away by themselves in the great majority of cases. Therefore, the consequences of screening younger women are that many would test positive for abnormalities and would be sent for unnecessary treatment to remove the affected cells. This treatment may increase the likelihood of a woman having a pre-term delivery if she goes on to have children. Therefore, the harms of screening women under the age of 25 are currently thought to outweigh the benefits.

3. Women with symptoms should be offered a smear test on request

Cervical screening isn’t used as a test for symptoms, and this is something that is often not understood. If a woman has any symptoms screening is not the answer, in fact it can possibly delay her being referred. If a woman has any concerns about her cervical health it is worth her speaking to her GP. This is even more important if she has any symptoms, such as bleeding between her periods, bleeding during or after penetrative sex and bleeding at any time following the menopause. Any woman with symptoms needs to talk to their GP immediately, who can arrange for an urgent appointment with a specialist, if necessary.

4. It’s not known what causes cervical cancer

It’s true that the exact cause of cervical cancer is not known. However, almost all (over 99%) cases of cervical cancers are caused by the human papilloma virus (HPV) – a very common sexually transmitted infection which is linked to the development of the disease.

Since 2008, girls in England aged 12 and 13 have been offered the HPV vaccination, which immunises them against the most high risk strains of HPV.

To start with, girls up to 18 were also vaccinated so the first girls to be vaccinated will be coming into the cervical screening programme this year (2015) as they are 23 and 24 now.

This vaccine will reduce the already low rates of cervical cancer in these young women and mean they will be protected for many years.

5. You don’t need to be screened if you have never had sex or have not had sex for a while

Only women who have never had sex at all may be advised that the risk of them developing cervical cancer is so low, that screening is not necessary. Even then, a woman should not be refused screening if she requests it. As long as they are aged 25-64, and have a cervix, then women are eligible for screening.

6. The best way to prevent cervical cancer is to not have sex

The best preventative measure is for eligible women to attend their routine cervical screening appointment, when invited, and we encourage them to do so.

7. Cervical screening is not offered to women over the age of 65

Women aged 65 and over are no longer automatically invited for screening unless they need ongoing surveillance or follow up. This is generally required if a woman has had an abnormal result in any of her three most recent tests or is recommended for early repeats owing to a previous abnormality.

Generally speaking, the natural history and progression of cervical cancer means it is highly unlikely that women of 65 and over will go on to develop the disease. Women aged 65 and over who have never had a test are entitled to one.