Jade Goody: Cervical cancer need to know guide

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Jade Goody's tragic battle against cervical cancer shocked us all. It might have even made you worry about your own health. Cervical cancer is actually quite rare, and when caught early it's very treatable too.

Here we've got the facts about the disease, advice on lowering your chances of getting it and information on how you can help other people who may suffer from cervical cancer.

Understanding cervical cancer

Get the facts

Cervical cancer rarely affects women under the age of 30, Jade Goody has actually been incredibly unlucky. Read our medical explanation of cervical cancer from Patient UK, including its symptoms, causes and treatments.

Smear tests are embarrassing and a bit uncomfortable, and this is probably why many women still aren't having them. You've got much more chance of beating cervical cancer if it's found early and hasn't had chance to spread, so it's best to bear the embarrassment and book a test. If there's a history of cervical cancer in your family your risk of the disease is increased, so it's even more important to get tested.

Cervical cancer is caused by the HPV virus, which most women get without knowing it and without it causing any harm. For a very small number (around 2,800 per year) it can lead to cancer. The vaccination now being offered to teenage girls could get rid of the virus completely and stop the next generation of women from being at risk of this type of cancer.

Find out what Jade's cancer battle can teach us, including survival rates and how using condoms can prevent the HPV virus from spreading.

Read other cancer stories

- 'Jade Goody's cancer battle saved my life'
It's not all bad news, one goodtoknow user tells us how hearing Jade's story encouraged her to get a smear test, which showed she had pre-cancerous cells.

- 'I wish people would talk more about cancer'
Sara Brooks talks about how she battled cervical cancer, and how she wants people to talk about it more openly.

Learn about other cancers

Cervical cancer is very high profile at the moment but unfortunately there are more than 200 types of cancer altogether. The good news is that many people now survive the disease due to the treatment available, but knowing the symptoms and causes could save your life.

Keep yourself healthy

Experts say that a third of cancers can be prevented with lifestyle changes such as getting more exercise and eating well.

Join the discussion

Share your stories and let us know what you thought about Jade's battle on our chat forum

Sign the petition

Look magazine have joined up with Jo's Trust to campaign to lower the advised age of smear tests from 25 to 20. Cervical cancer can affect women from the age of 19 (although this is rare), and the age for smear tests used to be 20 - but it was raised to 25 by the government 2 years ago. Go to www.look.co.uk to sign up.

Jo's Trust was set up by James Maxwell, whose wife Jo died of cervical cancer at the age of 40 in 1999. The trust aims to raise the profile of cervical cancer and smear tests.