Women over 50 more likely to develop cervical cancer due to non-attendance at screenings

Women of menopausal age are less likely to go for cervical screenings, putting them at increased risk for the development of cervical cancer. 

That's according to a new HSE public attitudes survey published ahead of Cervical Cancer Prevention week, which runs from January 17 to January 23 this year. 

According to the survey, women of menopausal age face a number of barriers in accessing cervical screenings.

This reportedly includes a fear of the process, finding the process more uncomfortable at their greater age, and finding screening embarrassing. 

Half of all women surveyed also said a fear of finding something wrong would deter them from getting screened, while 1 in 5 women said their concerns were due to Covid-19. 

Primary Care Clinical Advisor with CervicalCheck, Dr Sarah Fitzgibbon, said, "Once women have finished having periods they often feel, ‘Screening is not for me, I don’t have a period, why would I need a screening test?’ In fact, we do encourage women to continue attending screening up to the age of 65. 

"If women aged in their 50s haven’t ever had a cervical screen done through CervicalCheck, the programme is 'actively' encouraging them to take part. We are letting women know that just because you haven’t had a test done before, and you’re 55 say, you absolutely can come in and have a test done. Once you’re in the eligible age category, you can come any time, and to any registered screener." 

Women and people with a cervix between the ages of 25 and 65 are entitled to free cervical screening every three to five years, depending on previous history and age. 

According to the HSE, a recent Australian study found women aged 50-59 who had an abnormal smear test (and who later had no test between 60-64 years of age) had a higher risk of developing cervical cancer. 

The risk of developing cancer for women who had no screening test in their 50s and one between 60-64 years of age was reportedly halved from 8.4 per 1000 people to 3.5 per 1000 people. 

Clinical Director of CervicalCheck, Dr Nóirín Russell, is urging women to talk to their GP or practice nurse about any concerns they have about screening. 

She said, “Cervical cancer is typically slow growing – it typically develops over 10 to 15 years – so it is important for women to continue to come for screening at regular intervals pre- and post-menopause. We know that for some women the screening test can be more uncomfortable after menopause, and this might put them off coming. However, there are things we can do to alleviate this. We’d ask these women to consult their GP on ways to make the test more comfortable for them." 

Elsewhere, the final review of revisions to CervicalCheck are nearly completed. 

The news was announced yesterday (January 18) by the Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, who has asked Dr Gabriel Scally to conduct a final progress review. 

Minister Donnelly said, "Significant progress has been made in implementing Dr Scally’s recommendations since his last progress review report in April 2020. Just 6 of the 170 actions arising now remain to be completed, and these are all in progress. I believe it is now timely and feasible to proceed with a final progress review, and Dr Scally has confirmed his availability to commence this work in January 2022. 

"I’d like to acknowledge Dr Scally’s continued commitment to this important work, and my department looks forward to engaging with him and key stakeholders in completing this review in 2022."