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Cervical Screening Awareness Week 15th - 21st June 2020


Early cervical cancers and pre-cancerous cell changes don't usually have symptoms. Not everyone diagnosed with cervical cancer will have symptoms, that's why it's important to attend regular cervical screening.
The most common symptoms of cervical cancer include:
  • unusual vaginal bleeding
  • pain or discomfort during sex
  • vaginal discharge
  • pain in the area between the hip bones (pelvis)

Cervical screening is a way of preventing cancer. It tests for a virus called high risk human papilloma virus (HPV). High risk HPV can cause cervical cells to become abnormal. Most cases of cervical cancer are linked to high risk HPV.
The cervix is part of the female reproductive system. It is the lowest part of the womb and is at the top of the vagina. A nurse takes a sample of cells from the cervix using a small soft brush (smear test) and sends the sample to the laboratory.
For more information surrounding cervical screening please visit the Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust, Cancer Research UK and NHS Choices websites:

RELATED LIBRARY RESOURCES
For anyone studying the importance of improving both the awareness and knowledge of and supporting those who have been affected or suffer from cervical cancer, the Health Libraries both at the Royal Stoke and County Hospitals offer resources related to the subject. In the lists below you’ll find a variety of items as well as information on materials recently added to our collection and available periodicals. To locate these items, simply go to our online catalogue or ask at the counter.
BOOKS:
  • Handbook of gynecologic oncology / Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.; University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.; Barakat, Richard R.; 2000 [London : Martin Dunitz].
  • Taking cervical smears / British Society for Clinical Cytology; Craddock, Penny, 2003; 3rd ed, rev. and enlarged [Uxbridge: British Society for Clinical Cytology].
  • Sexual health / French, Kathy, 2009 [Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell] - NHS and Keele ebook also available.
  • Obstetrics and gynaecology / Impey, Lawrence; Child, Tim, 2017; 5th ed. [Chichester, West Sussex, UK : Wiley Blackwell]  - NHS and Keele ebook also available.

JOURNALS:
  • Women's Health / [London, UK : Future Medicine Ltd.] [Available as a Keele & NHS ejournal 2005 onwards.]
  • American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology / New York : Elsevier. [Available in print 1984 – 2012, as a Keele ejournal 1995 onwards & as a NHS ejournal 2007 onwards].
  • Journal of midwifery & women's health / Malden, Mass. : Wiley. [Available in print 2000 – 2013, and as a Keele ejournal 2000 onwards].
  • Cancer / New York : John Wiley and Sons. [Available in print 1984 – 1996, as a Keele ejournal 1995 onwards & as a NHS ejournal 1997 onwards with 1 year embargo].
  • Public Health / New York : Elsevier. [Available a Keele ejournal 1995 onwards & as a NHS ejournal 2007 onwards].

Access these and more journals via our Journals webpage https://www.keele.ac.uk/healthlibrary/find/journals/
JOURNAL ARTICLES:
  • Bethune, G.R.; Lewis, H.J.; “Let’s talk about smear tests: Social marketing for the National Cervical Screening Programme”, Public Health, 2009 Vol 123, Supplement 1, pp. e17–e22. [Available via Keele & NHS ejournals].
  • Gravitt, Patti E ; Landy, Rebecca ; Schiffman, Mark; “How confident can we be in the current guidelines for exiting cervical screening?”, Preventive Medicine, 2018, Vol.114, September, pp.188-192. [Available via Keele & NHS ejournals].
  • Simonellaa, Leonardo; Canfell, Karen; “Development of a quality framework for models of cervical screening and its application to evaluations of the cost-effectiveness of HPV vaccination in developed countries”, Vaccine, 2015, Volume 33 (1), pp..34-51. [Available via Keele & NHS ejournals].
  • Patel, Hersha ; Moss, Esther L. ; Sherman, Susan M.; “HPV primary cervical screening in England: Women's awareness and attitudes”, PsychoOncology, 2018, Vol.27(6), pp.1559-1564. [Available via Keele & NHS ejournals].
  • Umuago, Ibiyemi J ; Obiebi, Irikefe P ; Eze, Godson U ; Zini, Mudiaga ; Okoacha, Innocent; “Bridging the gap in health systems through task-sharing: A model of PHC workers’ competency for cervical screening”, Journal of Cancer Research and Practice, 2018, Vol.5(4), pp.141-148. [Available via Keele & NHS ejournals].

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