Pearl of Wisdom

Cork Fine Gael TD Deirdre Clune believes that European Cervical Cancer Prevention Week can help save lives by ensuring Irish women are better informed about Cervical Cancer.

European Cervical Cancer Prevention Week runs from the 24th to the 30th January. The European Cervical Cancer Association has organised events across Europe this week to raise awareness of the dangers of Cervical Cancer.

In Ireland the Irish Family Planning Association has linked up with CervicalCheck to promote the week and ensure that Irish women become better informed about Cervical Cancer.

The Pearl of Wisdom is the international emblem of cervical cancer prevention. This week the IFPA will distribute 20,000 Pearl of Wisdom badges to women around the country to encourage women to discuss the importance of regular smear testing, which can save women’s lives through early detection and prevention.

This year the IFPA is teaming up with the Irish Hairdresser Federation and all 300 member salons will help distribute the Pearl of Wisdom badges and information leaflets about CervicalCheck to women who come into their salons this week.

Across Europe 50,000 women develop Cervical Cancer and 25,000 die each year from what is a preventable disease. In Ireland some 250 Irish women are diagnosed with Cervical Cancer and over 1,500 women are diagnosed with pre-cancerous lesions of the cervix each year. Over 90 women lose their lives each year to this disease.

The introduction of a new cervical cancer vaccination programme together with the CervicalCheck screening programme will go a long way towards reducing the rate of Cervical Cancer in Ireland. For this to be as successful as possible Irish women must be well informed about Cervical Cancer and the European Cervical Cancer Prevention Week can help this.