Jade Goody: celebrity's fatal illness changed cervical cancer attitudes.

(From Guardian Unlimited)

Jade Goody's illness and the shocking news that it was fatal had a major impact on the NHS cervical cancer screening programme. It caused an upsurge in women asking to be screened and -- in response to a tabloid newspaper campaign - triggered a review of the evidence to establish whether screening women before the age of 25 would save lives.

Sad though the cause, the new interest in cervical cancer has been welcomed by cancer charities and those involved in the screening programme. The proportion of women taking up the invitation to go for a screening test has been steadily dropping for about a decade. The latest figures, from …