We should get paid time off for a smear test | Emma Kay

At the forefront of this campaign is the importance of cervical screenings and being tested regularly. It is estimated more than 4,500 lives are saved each year through screening.

However, one in three people do not attend their appointments. This can be for myriad reasons ranging from discomfort, fear and, most shockingly, the inability to get an appointment that falls in line with home or work commitments.

Being unable to take time off work for a lifesaving appointment makes no sense but sadly it is a real reason. Not everyone has flexitime and can mean a smear test is left by the wayside. Those with zero hour contracts and minimum wage earners too. Forced by employers to use annual leave or risk their job calling in sick. Losing a day’s pay or simply staying away? It is a problem worsened by the pandemic. It’s reckoned that 2.5m appointments have been delayed or are not happening.

The way forward must be legislating for paid time off for Pap smears to enable women and those with a cervix guaranteed time off for a possibly lifesaving screening. It is a messed society where attendance for jury service is a certainty, yet an important medical procedure is not.

It’s a small ask. Not only is it fair in a civilised society, but it can prevent death, the ultimate sacrifice for not being able to attend a screening.

Stage one of cervical cancer means if caught early there’s a 95 per cent survival rate. But if untested and it reaches stage three, the survival rate plummets to 40 per cent. At stage four, it drops to 15 per cent. Screenings also detect those more at risk.

Legislation will mean more screenings, making the procedure more normalised. This will encourage more to follow suit. Our government should not ignore the barrier of paid time to attend screenings. These are not small numbers. The severity of this disease needs attention now.

LIFE SKILLS CAN BE GAINED FROM SUCH A SIMPLE PARTY GAME

Pass The Parcel has always been my favourite game because it means everyone can take part.

As a youngster I was always guessing what was inside the next layer. There was the novelty too, of being allowed to unwrap a present when it wasn’t your birthday and being OK when you don’t win the prize in the middle.

Around each major celebration – Christmas, Easter or birthday – we would always play Pass The Parcel adjusting the theme accordingly. It may seem outdated but the game can teach an important lesson in early years, in that it is OK for others to be happy to receive a present when you do not, when the music stops at the person next to you.

It is vital for children to develop these skills as it helps them develop empathy.

I WISH I’D INVESTED IN PROPERLY-FITTED BRAS MANY YEARS AGO

I wish I had ditched cheap store-bought bras years ago. Ill-fitting and unsuitably sized we are likely to be wearing one that is far from comfortable.

Buying cheap keeps us cheerful about money and proud of our endurance. It’s so easy to fall for the exploitative advertisements trying to convince us to buy and buy cheap. Buying cheap can impact our posture. A bad bra can rub and cause abrasions. It can make your shoulders sore.

Yet so many of us don’t get properly fitted bras despite the fact it is investing in something we use every day. It’s hard wired into us to always browse for bargains. We need to change and not be afraid to step out of our cash comfort zones.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron.

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