healthmedicinet

• Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust has launched the selfie app this week
  
• It is part of the Put Yourself In The Picture cervical cancer campaign
• It allows people to take a selfie and share it on Facebook and Twitter
  
• It also allows women to pledge to attend a cervical screening
• After Jade Goody’s death from the disease attendance soared
• It has now dropped back to about 80% of those who are eligible
  

By
Emma Innes

PUBLISHED:

05:42 EST, 21 March 2014

|
UPDATED:

10:11 EST, 21 March 2014

Facebook is already awash with selfies of makeup-free women – and makeup-wearing men – attempting to raise money for breast cancer charities.

Now, a cervical cancer charity has launched a new app in a bid to raise awareness of the importance of attending cervical screenings.

Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust has released the app as part of their Put Yourself In The Picture campaign.

When Jade Goody was diagnosed with cervical cancer the number of women attending cervical screening soared. It has now dropped to ‘pre-Jade Goody’ levels with 80 per cent of women taking up their invites

The campaign is aiming to raise awareness of the screening which is thought to save 5,000 lives a year.

It has been launched to coincide with the five year anniversary of the death of Jade Goody.

When the reality television star died of cervical cancer in 2009, more than 400,000 extra women in England were screened for the disease.

However, the number of people attending screenings has now fallen back to ‘pre-Jade Goody’ levels.

Cervical cancer is largely preventable thanks to the screening programme and the HPV vaccine.

The screening aims to pick up pre-cancerous cells which can be treated before they even become cancerous.

However,
one in five women who are eligible for screening – that is those
between the ages of 25 and 64 – do not take up the offer.

A new app allows people to upload selfies and to share them with family and friends on social media while pledging to attend cervical screening. Jade Goody is pictured arriving at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital

For women aged 25 to 29, the figure rises to one in three.

On average, younger women wait for 15 months after receiving their
invitation before they attend, while among older women the average delay
is 33 months.

The Put Yourself In The Picture app
aims to get people talking about cervical cancer again and to encourage
them to attend a screening.

It
allows people to upload a selfie into a digital picture frame and to
share it with friends and family on Facebook and Twitter.

The app, which has been launched by a cervical cancer charity, aims to encourage women to attend cervical screening. Image shows how the selfies look when they are uploaded using the app

Through the app women can also pledge to attend cervical screening and to encourage their friends and family to do the same.

The app’s release comes after research revealed that the main reason young women do not attend screening is that they keep putting it off.

However, 26 per cent of non-attenders say they do not attend because they are worried it would be painful or embarrassing, and 10 per cent say they put it off because they are worried about what the results might say.

The charity hopes the app will be successful as the research also showed 30 per cent of young women said they felt a friend reassuring them about the procedure would encourage them to attend.

Enlarge

 

Cervical screening aims to pick up pre-cancerous cells which can be treated before they become cancerous. Image shows the homepage of the app

Robert Music, Chief Executive of Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust, said: ‘It’s very worrying that five years after Jade Goody’s death 20 per cent of women still don’t attend a cervical screening which can prevent cervical cancer.   

‘By launching an app which enables people to literally “put themselves in the picture” on cervical screening, we hope to put cervical screening at the forefront of women’s minds so that they don’t ignore their incredibly important screening invitation.  

‘The app has been designed so that people can share their pictures and pledges on social media, so together we can address the decline in uptake of cervical screening in the UK.’

Every day in the UK, eight women are diagnosed with cervical cancer and almost three die of the disease.

To download the app, visit www.jostrust.org.uk/selfie

or comment on this article

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Comments (38)

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The comments below have not been moderated.

Janey,

London,

1 hour ago

Yes but insist on condoms girls-stupid not to cos you do not know where he’s been!

beccibaxter,

lancashire, United Kingdom,

1 hour ago

I have been having smear tests since I was 14 years old. I assumed every girl/woman had too.
I only found out about the age limit through jade goodys’ death.

Surely we should be given smears from when we first begin our periods? Wouldn’t that make sense?

linda91,

Aberdeen,

1 hour ago

They’re excruciating though, I’ve never had a cervical smear but have speculum exams fairly regularly and find them horrible. End up shaking and crying. Last time it took the GP six attempts. I had to be given anaesthetic for exams/coil fitting and all sorts. I wish there was a way to make things less invasive and painful!

Kklass23,

Carlisle, United Kingdom,

1 hour ago

I went for my smear a yr late and only went because of jade dying it saved my life as cancerous cells were found and luckily removing affected area was all I needed

WhatHappened,

RAMSGATE, United Kingdom,

1 hour ago

At the age of 38 I had my first ever smear test after watching an episode of Embarrassing Bodies which gave me the confidence to do so. They found abnormal cells and I went for further tests. Thankfully I got the all clear. But I urge women to go, it really isn’t as bad you imagine, it doesn’t hurt and you get peace of mind. Better to get in front of cancer than waiting until it is too late.

katie,

brimingham,

2 hours ago

The change in the screening age from 20 to 25 in England was taken by the National Screening Programme on grounds of cost effectiveness and the unnecessary treatment of young women. Take up the issue with the government and the screening programme. Don’t blame the doctors. They are just doing what they have been told to do.

Astonished,

Guildford,

2 hours ago

I think it has warn off by now!

miker1,

Beverly Hills,

2 hours ago

“Warn off?” Another example of “award-winning” journalistic skills at the DM. Why don’t you hire true journalists with experience, instead of the three-year-olds currently in your employ???

Sandra,

Peterborough,

2 hours ago

Is it really so hard to alter a headline when you’ve just demonstrated the low-grade journalists you have on your staff? Or are you perhaps still not understanding the point your commenters are making????

the way it goes,

yes, United Kingdom,

2 hours ago

Warn?

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