08/01/2025
Hair and beauty salons across the region trained to give cervical cancer the chop
Humber and North Yorkshire Cancer Alliance is training hair and beauty salon staff to help cut cervical cancer cases.
The scheme is to encourage salon customers to attend their cervical cancer screening appointments and educate them about the symptoms of the disease during Cervical Cancer Awareness Month.
The training is designed to equip the staff with the skills to have conversations about cervical cancer with their customers. By taking part, salon owners and their staff can break down the barriers that may stop one of their customers from booking a screening appointment.
Members of the Cancer Alliance have provided salons in the lowest screening take-up areas with posters and stickers, to help customers learn more about cervical screening. Every day, two women die of cervical cancer in England, yet 99.8% of cases are preventable. The best way to reduce your risk of cervical cancer is to attend your cervical screening appointment.
Louise Gibbon, 45, owner of Louise’s Beauty Retreat in Goole, East Riding of Yorkshire, said: “I think the Cancer Alliance’s approach to raising cervical cancer awareness and getting more people to have screening done is so important. I’m looking forward to taking up the training and telling my customers what I’ve learned. Hopefully, we salon owners can help to make a difference this January.”
Juliet McNab, owner of York House Beauty Clinic in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, was more than happy to help with the Cancer Alliance’s mission, as she and several members of her staff have all survived different types of cancer.
Juliet said: “My team and I have a very strong bond, having all dealt with cancer, and we consider ourselves lucky to still be here. We believe very strongly in the power of conversations about cancer already, so when the Cancer Alliance got in touch about their training, we jumped at the chance.”
Dr Tami Byass, a GP at Eastgate Medical Group in Hornsea, said: “My message to women and anyone with a cervix is to please attend your cervical screening appointment when invited and see your GP if you have any concerning symptoms. It is also important to know what is normal for you, so you can spot signs of cervical cancer in the earliest stages.
“Some of the main symptoms to be aware of are vaginal bleeding that is unusual for you – including bleeding during or after s*x, between your periods or after the menopause, or heavier periods than usual; pain during s*x; and changes to your vaginal discharge.”
Emma Jones, 39, an A&E housekeeper at Hull Royal Infirmary, received an HPV-positive result after her cervical screening in 2021, and was then diagnosed with stage two cervical cancer. Emma had lost her mother to cancer, but following chemotherapy, radiotherapy and brachytherapy, she was declared cancer-free in 2022.
Emma said: “I know how busy life can be, but please, don’t miss your cervical screening appointments. My body was telling me something wasn’t right. I was bleeding during or after s*x, and I was so tired. So, I went to see my GP and had a screening. Because of Covid-19 restrictions, I had to go through my treatment alone. It was hard, but if I hadn’t listened to my body and asked for a screening, I might not be here now.”
Visit hnycanceralliance.org.uk/cervicalcancerawarenessmonth/ for more info.
Cervical Cancer Awareness Month