Almost 15 per cent of women in Bolton are not taking up their appointments for cervical smear tests. CLARISSA SATCHELL looks at the importance of not putting off that visit to the clinic

DELAYING an appointment at the doctor's is something many of us have done. With the pressures of busy modern life it is all too easy to put off going, or to phone and cancel at the last minute, making a mental note to book again soon.

But that decision can cost dearly when the appointment is for a cervical smear and the patient is one of the thousands of women who take their lives in their hands when they fail to take up appointments each year.

Michaela Laithwaite, aged 34, of Vale Avenue, Horwich, was one such busy young woman with two children, Paul, aged 16, and Jane, aged 11, to care for.

Tragically, she lost her three-year battle against cervical cancer this autumn, leaving behind her family and partner, Phil, aged 40.

Michaela had been 10 months overdue for her smear test when she went to see her doctor suffering from period problems.

Now her sister, Samantha Warburton, from Harper Green, is campaigning to warn other women of the need to get regular smear tests to detect problems early on.

Last year, out of 65,413 women who were eligible to have smear tests at GPs in Bolton, only 56,503 actually went -- an uptake rate of 86.3 per cent.

This year, that figure dropped, to 85.5 per cent.

The figures, supplied by Bolton Primary Care Trust, show that the vast majority of women do get regular smears, which is certainly good news.

But what about the 9,000 women in Bolton alone that don't?

Women aged between 20 and 64 should have a test every five years, according to health guidelines. The Royal Bolton Hospital aims to get women screened every three years.

Bolton Primary Care Trust has a register of eligible women and reminder cards are sent out for them to make an appointment with their GP.

The tests are then studied at the hospital to see if they contain any pre-cancerous cells, which can then be treated.

Dr Mark Pearson, consultant histopathologist, said it was these women who were due for tests that they wanted to encourage to make appointments.

"I suspect there may be a degree of fear about the procedure and about what happens if the test is positive.

"What women should remember is that the health care professionals screening the tests have the same health concerns and fears that they do.

"Cervical screening is very effective. If a sample is positive, there are intervention procedures to stop the pre-cancer developing into cancer.

"No screening programme is perfect, but if you do have a pre-cancer it is much more likely to be detected with the test than if you ignore the invitation to have a smear test."

Dr Pearson added: "What we don't want to do is panic women and be inundated with people wanting tests unnecessarily.

"The message is that if you are invited for a test we would encourage you to take it up, but there is no benefit from having tests done every few weeks.

"However, if anyone experiences worrying symptoms between tests, or feels something is wrong, I think most GPs would be sympathetic and we would never refuse to test a sample."

One mother-of-two, aged 41, from Farnworth, who has had pre-cancerous cells detected, urged women to make sure they had regular checks.

The woman, who does not wish to be named, went to her GP between her scheduled tests and pre-cancerous cells were discovered.

She underwent surgery to remove part of the cervix to get rid of the cells and is now has six-monthly smear tests.

She said: "I would insist on a test if you are not due and have any concerns, like I did. I believe you should go with your gut feeling.

"Women should definitely make sure they get tested if they are due because if something is found early on there is treatment available. Your health is too important to put it off."

For more advice about cervical screening, go to www.cancerscreening.nhs.uk

Cervical screening began in Britain in the 1960s, but the NHS Cervical Screening Programme was not set up until 1988.

Almost four million women are screened in England each year.

Of the 12.6 million women aged 25-64 eligible for screening, 83 per cent have been screened in the past five years.

Screening has been estimated to cost around £132 million a year in England, or about £34 per screening.