Two women from Humber and North Yorkshire are sharing their experiences of cancer, to encourage people to take up NHS cancer screening when they are invited.
Their stories are being highlighted as Humber and North Yorkshire Cancer Alliance launches the latest phase of its Get Ahead of Cancer campaign, focusing on breast, bowel and cervical screening and HPV vaccination.
The campaign aims to encourage eligible people to take up their screening invitations, while helping people understand what screening involves and the important role it can play in preventing cancer or finding it earlier.
Cancer screening is offered to people who do not necessarily have symptoms. It can help find cancer at an early stage, when treatment may be more successful, while some screening programmes can identify changes before they develop into cancer.
For Haley Jones, 57, from Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, attending her routine breast screening appointment led to a diagnosis of stage 2 invasive breast cancer, even though she had no symptoms.
Further tests found the cancer had spread to two lymph nodes. Haley said: “Please, to anyone who hasn’t been for their routine screening appointment or thinks they are too busy, just go. Screening saves lives.
“It’s over in minutes and it’s there for a reason. I go to my screenings as soon as I’m invited, so thank goodness for that.”
Emma Jones, 41, from Hull, was diagnosed with stage 2B cervical cancer after seeking medical advice when she noticed changes in her health.
Emma said: “I went to the GP as something wasn’t quite right with my body.
“I had a cervical screening test done and they discovered I had HPV with abnormal cells.
“They sent me to get a biopsy, where I was told I had stage 2B cervical cancer.
“After chemotherapy, radiotherapy and three rounds of brachytherapy, I received the ‘all clear’ from cancer.”
As well as encouraging people to take up breast, bowel and cervical screening, the Get Ahead of Cancer campaign is raising awareness of HPV vaccination and the protection it can provide against cancers caused by HPV.
Dr Tami Byass, GP at Eastgate Medical Centre, Hornsea, East Riding of Yorkshire, said: “Screening and HPV vaccination are important tools in preventing cancer and finding it early.
“Taking up your screening invitation, even when you feel perfectly well, could make a real difference.
“Screening can detect changes or signs of cancer before you notice any symptoms, giving people the opportunity to get the right care as early as possible.
“We want people to have clear and reassuring information that helps them take the next step to protect their health.”
- Bowel cancer screening is offered to people aged 50 to 74 every two years and involves completing a test at home.
- Breast screening is offered to women aged 50, up to their 71st birthday. Everyone registered with a GP as female will also be invited.
- Women aged 25 to 64 are invited for cervical screening every five years. Everyone with a cervix should have cervical screening, and people who do not receive routine invitations can speak to their GP or sexual health clinic.
- The HPV vaccine is routinely offered to all children aged 12 to 13 in school Year 8. It is also available free on the NHS to some young people who missed vaccination at school, men aged 45 and under who have sex with men, and other people at higher risk from HPV.
The latest Get Ahead of Cancer campaign shares information about screening and HPV vaccination across Humber and North Yorkshire, helping people understand which programmes are relevant to them and encouraging them to take up screening when invited.
People can find out more about cancer screening and HPV vaccination through the Cancer Alliance’s Get Ahead of Cancer webpage, getaheadofcancer.co.uk