'Why can't cervical cancer screening age be 21?'

A woman who was told she had cervical cancer at 26 after putting off her first smear test for a year, is calling for the screening age to be lowered.

Cat Russell, now 33, and living in Telford, had the HPV vaccine when she was a teenager in school, but nine years later received her diagnosis.

At the moment, women are invited for monitoring every five years between the ages of 25 and 64.

I wouldn't be here if I didn't go for my smear test," she said. "The [eligible testing] age is 25. Why can't it be 21? Some countries have changed the age on it, but not us in the UK."

Austria, Germany and the Czech Republic are among countries where screening is offered to women younger than 21.

However the NHS does not screen younger women because it says the disease occurs only "very rarely" in this age group and would lead to unnecessary treatment.

Russell is backing a petition calling for the change, which has been started by another cervical cancer survivor who is part of a group of women she met on TikTok.

She feels being screened younger might have made a difference to the lifelong consequences of her cancer treatment.

The hotel receptionist had suffered from irregular periods for a long time, but had not experienced any other symptoms before her diagnosis in 2019.

As part of her treatment, she had a large part of her cervix removed and a stitch put between her cervix and womb, which means she will not be able to give birth naturally.

She was also later told she had Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), which has led to insulin spikes and struggles with her weight.

"I'd like to have children. If it happens it happens. I've got my health and I'm here", she said.

Russell is still monitored every six months at Wolverhampton NHS Trust, and remains negative for high-risk HPV.

According to Cancer Research UK, the most recent figures show 3,299 new cases of the cancer each year.

It is thought HPV, a virus spread through close skin-to-skin contact, causes 99% of cases.

Russell said she was "so happy" the HPV jab was working for so many, following research published earlier this week showed those who had it aged 12-13 had a "close to zero risk of dying" from cervical cancer.

But she recalled an allergic reaction when she had her jab, which led to both arms swelling up.

"There is a percentage of women who have already had it and it didn't work for them" she added.

"Clearly it didn't work [for me], because nine years later I was diagnosed."

The UK Health Security Agency said on its website the side effects of the vaccination were usually quite mild, with soreness, swelling and redness in the arm common, but wearing off in a couple of days.

It said millions of doses had been given to children around the world and it had been shown to be "a very safe vaccine".

Cancer Research UK pointed the BBC towards research from 2014 which estimated lowering the screening age to 20 would only prevent between three and nine cancers per 100,000 women, and lead to 8,000 unnecessary referrals.

Russell remains passionate about encouraging women to book a smear test.

"Ok, it's not the nicest of things… but it's literally five minutes of feeling uncomfortable.

"It's that five minutes of finding out if you're going to be ok."

The BBC have contacted the UK Health Security Agency for comment.

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