Embarrassment makes for the major reason for women to avoid smear tests

Millions of women across the globe are diagnosed with cervical abnormalities each year. However, a recent research conducted by charity Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust found that almost 220,000 British women are diagnosed with cervical abnormalities each year. Shocking, right? The study also suggested that a third said that embarrassment caused them to delay getting a smear test, which can prevent 75% of cervical cancers.

Lauren Bennie said she put off having her smear test until the age of 30 because she was "naive, embarrassed and uneducated about the female body." "I worried about the nurse being able to take one look at my bits and have some magic skill to be able to determine the number of sexual partners I'd had. I thought a lot about what kind of underwear and clothes to wear," she added.

"I didn't know it at the time, but the embarrassment I felt around going for a smear was actually doing my body damage," said the 33-year-old Glaswegian."It was when I was faced with words such as dyskaryosis, high-grade and colposcopy that I realised the severity of the situation," she added. "It was terrifying. I felt angry rather than sad that I had left it so long to go for a smear test," she stated.

The study stated that of the five million women in the UK invited to cervical screening each year, one in four does not attend. This rises to one in three among women aged 25 to 29 and is particularly bad in some geographic areas, such as Glasgow. The good bit? Lauren was well in time to catch the issue as she took the test. Lauren's smear test allowed her to catch the pre-cancerous cells before they developed into cancer. She said, "I had to have surgery to have a piece of my cervix removed. "Luckily I received the all-clear but if I had delayed my smear test any longer it could have been much worse. "My smear test could have saved my life, please don't put yours off."

Women, we urge you all to do away with the embarrassment and get on with taking the tests. It could save your life!