Tina Tunnicliffe was diagnosed with stage 3c cervical cancer in August 2023.
After a course of radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatments, the Warwickshire grandmother was given the all clear and is now urging all those eligible to not put off their potentially life-saving screening appointments.
“I had a year of intermittent bleeding in 2022/23, and my daughter advised me to go to my GP. Once there everything happened really quickly – a biopsy within a week and then my diagnosis,” said Tina.
“I should have gone for screening in 2022, and I should have gone to the GP earlier. Cancer treatments are harsh by necessity, and I could possibly have avoided much of this if I had acted earlier.
“As it is, I feel well and have the time and energy to continue being a mum to my two children and a grandmother to my grandchildren.
"I consider myself lucky.”
Cervical screening is a free NHS health test that is available to women and people with a cervix between the ages of 25 and 64. The test checks the health of the cervix and looks for high risk human papillomavirus (HPV), a group of viruses that cause nearly all cervical cancers.
Julia Grace, Deputy Director of Vaccinations and Screening for NHS England in the Midlands said: “More than 99% of cervical cancer cases are caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) infections. Cervical screening is a sensitive and highly accurate test for high-risk HPV which identifies those who are at a higher risk of developing cell changes that could lead to cervical cancer.
“Cancer Research UK (CRUK) says that 99.8% of cervical cancer cases are preventable – through increased uptake of the HPV vaccination among secondary school age boys and girls as well as cervical screening and NHS England aims to eliminate all cervical cancer within two decades.”
CRUK says there are around 3,300 new cases of cervical cancer each year, but uptake of free screening is reducing, with fewer people coming forward for their appointments.
Figures from June 2024 show that just over 70% of those eligible for screening in the West Midlands took up the offer of an appointment.
Background
Anyone with a cervix who is aged between 25 and 64 should be attending cervical screening.
If anyone finds screening uncomfortable, please talk to the sample taker who can support making it less uncomfortable.
From 1 July 2025, people with a cervix who are aged between 25 and 49 will be invited to screening every five years rather than every three years IF they test negative for HPV and have no recent history of HPV.
Those aged 50-64 are already invited every five years.
Find out more about cervical screening