Whanganui District Health Board promoting the fight against cervical cancer

Talei Morrison (right) and Nikki Douglas promoting the Smear Your Mea campaign in 2018. Photo / Supplied.

Leading up to Cervical Screening Awareness Month in September, the Whanganui District Health Board (DHB) is urging women to have regular cervical screening.

Kylee Osborne, health promotion officer at the Whanganui DHB Public Health Centre, said cervical screening, like all screening, may not be 100 per cent effective but it could reduce a woman's risk of developing cervical cancer by 90 per cent.

"All women who have ever been sexually active should have regular cervical screening from the age of 20 up to 70 years," Osborne said.

During September, some medical centres will support the "Smear Your Mea" campaign by offering women in the Whanganui region free screening.

Every Monday from 5pm to 6.30pm, the outpatients department at Whanganui Hospital will provide free cervical screening with no appointment needed.

In Hiruharama, Te Puke Karanga Hauora is hosting a houora on August 30 with free screening.

The Ngati Rangi Community Health Centre in Ohakune offers free screening all year round at its weekly clinic.

The National Cervical Screening Programme is urging women to screen every three years as it is the best way to prevent cervical cancer.

It is also the best way to find and treat abnormal cell changes.

If women have previously had abnormal results, they may need to be screened more regularly.

Women who are unsure about when they last had their cervical smear should contact their family doctor or practice nurse.