Leitrim on track to make cervical cancer a ‘rare’ disease by 2024

The HSE is advising Leitrim to play a part in the drive towards eliminating cervical cancer as part of the International HPV Awareness Day, calling everyone to share their views and experiences through a new online public consultation survey. 

According to the HSE, this is the first step in developing Ireland’s action plan to eliminate cervical cancer by 2040. The survey takes five minutes to complete and seeks:

• your views and/or experience of HPV vaccination in Ireland
• your views and/or experience of cervical screening in Ireland
• your experiences if you have had cervical cancer treatment
• your views on how services can be improved
• the top 3 things you would like to see included in Ireland’s action plan to eliminate cervical cancer.

Director of Public Health, HSE National Screening Service and Head of the HSE’s Cervical Cancer Elimination Strategy Group, Dr Caroline Mason Mohan, said: “We want to ensure that everyone’s voices are heard to build an inclusive and effective action plan. 

“Some groups of people are more affected by cervical cancer and experience higher rates of illness and death than the general population. Approximately 250 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer every year in Ireland, and sadly, 82 women will die from it. When we reach our elimination goal, the number of cases will reduce significantly.”

Everyone over the age of 18 is invited to take part in the survey. 

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines elimination as fewer than 4 cases per 100,000 women. The HPV infection can be prevented through HPV vaccination, and HPV cervical screening can find cell changes caused by HPV and treat those changes before they become cancer. 

Cervical cancer elimination can be achieved by making sure that everyone has access to three important tools such as vaccination against HPV, which causes most cervical cancers; HPV cervical screening and treatment for cervical pre-cancer and cancer when appropriate.