More women come forward for screening
Jade Goody's decision to share her fight against cervical cancer so publicly has had a huge impact on the number of women coming forward for screening. *
While considered controversial by some, there has also been tremendous public backing for the former Big Brother star, saying her actions and courage could ultimately save many lives.
Since Jade’s story hit the headlines, the number of young women coming forward for cancer screening has increased dramatically, according to experts.
Julietta Patnick, Director of NHS screening programmes, said some laboratories are reporting a 20 per cent increase, and others as much as 50 per cent.
Professor Karol Sikora, Medical Director of Cancer Partners UK, recently spoke about the future of cancer care and treatment at the prestigious Westfield Health Annual Lecture, entitled: ‘Cancer – A Disease of Our Time’
During his presentation, Professor Sikora told the audience that, as new technology develops, cancer will be detected earlier – meaning a diagnosis will no longer be something to fear.
Professor Sikora also believes that Jade’s honesty has encouraged more people to go for screening.
He said: “My wife is a primary care nurse and does cervical smears as part of her job and she says that she has never had so many people ask for a screening before.
“It is rare for a young person to do what she has done, and I think it is very positive.”
Professor Sikora said that out of the 3,000 cases of cervical cancer diagnosed in the UK each year, two thirds would be cured. He stressed that getting treatment early would improve prognosis.
“Cervical screening is a very successful programme because screening is not just picking up early cancer, it is also picking up pre-cancerous cells.”
Westfield Health’s Advantage and Good4you Plans offer cash back, up to set limits, towards the cost of health screening for policyholders with level four or five cover, while the Westfield Flex Plan offers the benefit from level one.
Westfield Flex also includes a highly valued scanning benefit, which gives peace of mind by offering fast access to MRI, CT and PET scanning facilities. These state-of-the-art machines can help to diagnose cancer early at a treatable stage, which is vital to long-term prognosis.
More than 100,000 Westfield policyholders are now covered by the scanning benefit.
For more information about the Advantage Plan, visit www.westfieldhealth.com/advantage
For more information about the Good4you Plan, visit www.westfieldhealth.com/good4you
For more information about the Foresight Plan, visit www.westfieldhealth.com/foresight
For more information about the Chamber Plan, visit www.westfieldhealth.com/chamber
For more information about the Westfield Flex Plan, visit www.westfieldhealth.com/westfieldflex
© Westfield Health Insurance 2012
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