Cervical cancer campaign ads to run on Tinder

A new cervical cancer campaign is running across Tinder to encourage daters to swipe right to find out more. Great British Bake Off star Laura Adlington is fronting the campaign with This Morning’s Dr Nighat Arif to encourage younger Londoners to attend an NHS cervical screening appointment when invited.

Cervical screening is offered to women and all people with a cervix, between the ages of 25 to 64, and helps prevent cervical cancer by checking for human papillomavirus (HPV.

The four NHS Cancer Alliances in London and charity Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust say that only 60% of 25 to 49-year-olds living in London currently attend screening. The attendance is significantly higher for 50 to 64-year-olds living in London at 72%. (Source: NHS Digital).

Although HPV is the leading cause of cervical cancer, it is important to note that most cases of the virus do not result in a cancer diagnosis. However, there are certain types of the virus that can cause abnormal cells to develop in the cervix, which can turn into cancer if left untreated.

The campaign coincides with Cervical Cancer Prevention Week and aims to debunk common misconceptions about cervical cancer and screening.

It is often wrongly assumed that never having penetrative sex or having one sexual partner means you are not at risk of developing cervical cancer and exempt from screening. However, the virus can also be passed from skin-to-skin contact of the genital area, not just from penetrative sex, and can also stay in the body for a long time.

Laura Adlington and Dr Arif star in a series of videos where they discuss the link between sex and cervical cancer and tackling common misconceptions about cervical screening. Shorter versions of the videos are being streamed on the popular dating site Tinder and across social media (Instagram, TikTok and Snap Chat).

Dr Nighat Arif said: "Cervical screening is the single most accurate way to detect HPV and very early cell changes at the cervix. Please attend your screening appointment when invited."

Caroline Cook, Early Diagnosis Programme Lead for North East London Cancer Alliance, says "This is the first time we have run a cancer campaign on Tinder, and we hope it will prove to be an innovative and effective way to reach as many Londoners as possible with life-saving messages.

"It’s great to partner with our neighbouring Cancer Alliances and Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust and we hope our joint campaign will help encourage more women and people with a cervix to come forward and book their screening appointment.”

Attending screening is the best way of preventing cervical cancer, which is why it’s important that you book an appointment when invited.

To find out more about cervical screening and how to book your appointment, visit https://www.cervicalcancerpreventionweek.com/