For the third consecutive year, West Ham United players have taken to social media to encourage women to attend their smear test during Cervical Cancer Prevention Week.
One of the priorities of West Ham United’s Players’ Project is to improve the health of residents in local communities, and the players’ support for this campaign comes at a vital time.
To help drive awareness, West Ham women's players Esmee de Graaf, Lucienne Reichardt, Erin Simon and Brianna Visalli appeared in our video above.
Here are the facts you need to know;
- The number of women attending smear tests is at a record low.
- Fewer than two thirds (62%) of women in Newham attend their smear test appointments.
- This number drops further for 25 to 29 year olds, to just under 45%.
The reasons women do not attend smear tests are wide ranging with embarrassment, fear and not understanding who or what the test is for often preventing them from going, while others simply forget. Seeing the hashtag could be just the reminder or encouragement a woman needs to go for her smear test. It is a hashtag that could literally save a life.
- Cervical cancer is the most common cancer in women under 35.
- It is also one of the only cancers that can be prevented.
- Smear tests prevent 75% of cervical cancers from developing and save thousands of lives every year.
Quite simply, smear tests are the best protection against cervical cancer.
West Ham United want to improve smear test attendance rates, and are supporting #SmearForSmear, a campaign by national charity Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust in Cervical Cancer Prevention Week – starting today, Monday 21 January.