DIY smear testing kit receives mixed response from experts
A year after the death of Jade Goody, a do-it-yourself smear testing kit has received a mixed response
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By Adam Leveridge
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Monday, 15, Mar 2010 02:54
A year after the death of Jade Goody, a do-it-yourself smear testing kit has received a mixed response from experts on cervical cancer.
The £115 one-hour test is hoped to encourage woman to get tested for the early signs of cancer, after testing shot up in the wake of Jade Goody's death.
The former Big Brother celebrity died a year ago yesterday from cervical cancer at the age of just 27.
While some have deemed the new DIY testing kit, launched by DrThom online pharmacy, as a 'life-saving' measure for women who feel uncomfortable having a smear at their GP's surgery or who are too young to qualify for the test - the age of testing starts at 25 in England - others have said it could spark unnecessary worry.
The new test detects changes in genetic material in cells affected by human papillomavirus (HPV), which causes most cases of cervical cancer.
Dr Anne Szarewski, a clinical consultant at the Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine in London, was reported as saying: "In young people, everyone is going to test positive. The rate of HPV is high but it's transient...it comes and goes.
"Women will be paranoid and they will not be eligible for an NHS colposcopy. So, they are going to be paying a few hundred pounds more for a colposcopy privately, which is unnecessary."