Recently, a campaign led by MPs Mark Spencer and Andrew George, has called for the screening age for cervical cancer to be lowered. This was prompted by the sad case of a young lady who died from cervical cancer under the age of 25. While the fear and concern that this has raised is understandable, it is important for young women to understand the facts behind the decision to start screening at 25 years.

Gynaecological cancers are not common, particularly in the UK. If we add all the gynaecological cancers that occur each year together, they account for less than half of the cases of breast cancer. However, women may be concerned about the possibility of gynaecological cancers because, unlike breast cancer, the gynaecological organs are not easily visible. It is therefore important for women to be aware of the various screening programmes for gynaecological cancers that exist and to also be aware of symptoms so that disease can be detected early when a full cure is usually possible.

Endometrial cancer is cancer of the lining of the womb and it is the most common gynaecological cancer in the UK. It is most common in post-menopausal women aged 50 to 60 years, although approximately 7% of cases are in younger women.

Endometrial cancer is much more common among women who live in the developing world, particularly Europe and North America compared with women who live in less developed countries. This is likely to be because endometrial cancer is linked to obesity, with obese women three times as likely to get this disease as women who have a body weight in the healthy range. A healthy balanced diet and an active lifestyle can help to reduce the risk of this cancer.

The Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) or Wart Virus as it is more commonly known is a family of viruses that can infect humans. The viruses are divided into sub-types according to their characteristics. There are over 100 subtypes of HPV. Most do not cause significant disease in humans. However, some subtypes, notably types 16 and 18, 31 and 33, have been confirmed as agents which cause cervical cancer. These sub-types, known as 'High risk' HPV (HR HPV), have been found to be present in close to 100% of all cervical cancers. Of the different types of HPV, types 16 and 18 cause about 7 out of 10 (70%) cancers of the cervix. Most of the remaining 30% of cervical cancers are associated with other HR HPV types.

Many patients emailed us their questions after reading Adeola Olaitan's article on cervical cancer. Here are just a few of them together with Adeola's responses.

Cervical cancer is usually treated in a specialist unit by a team of experts, known as a multidisciplinary team. The doctors who specialise in this disease are gynaecological oncologists (surgeons) or clinical oncologists (radiotherapy experts). Other members of the team include a Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS or MacMillan Nurse), and a psychologist who are available to support you and look after your social and psychological needs throughout treatment and beyond. Not all hospitals have this expertise available and you may have to be referred from your local hospital to a designated cancer centre.

The cervix is the lower part of the womb. It is sometimes referred to as the neck of the womb. Cervical cancer, is the second most common cancer in women world-wide, second only to breast cancer and in some developing countries, it is the most common. An estimated half a million women are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year, approximately 80% of whom are in the developing world. About 300 thousand women die of this condition every year.