Are you a smear test dodger?

When a letter arrives in the post, inviting you to your next smear test, it's not uncommon to feel a sense of dread. But shocking new research released today has found that 5,346,000 women are not up-to-date with their cervical screening appointments.

Incredibly, 1.1 million women admit they have never had the potentially life-saving test, with pain, embarrassment and struggling to get an appointment chiefly to blame. 1 in 4 women said they feel embarrassed getting undressed in front of a doctor, 3 in 4 have had a bad experience in the past and 1 in 2 women can't even get an appointment when they try to book in for their smear. The research, commissioned by GynaeHealth UK to launch their Target100,000 campaign, reveals the average UK woman is 672 days late for her smear test appointment. Target 100,000 aims to involve all women in the UK in cervical cancer screening, whether through NHS screening, or a new at-home test, called GynaeCheck.

Read more: Are you a smear test dodger?