The BBC is running a story that Stonewall and other campaigning organisations for gay and lesbian rights have been pushing for a number of years now. Research has shown that lesbian women are less likely to have a smear than heterosexual or bi-sexual women. As 80% of lesbian women have had at least one male sexual partner, they are at risk of developing cervical cancer but also at risk of it not being identified if they are not encouraged to take up the smear test.
With the sad news about Jade Goody and her very public battle with cervical cancer there has been a rise in young women seeking smears from their local surgeries, which can only be a good thing. I was pleased to see the BBC running the story to raise awareness that lesbian women also need to consider whether they need a smear. The advice is - as one GP bluntly put it to me:
"Unless you have lived the life of a devout nun - get a smear!"
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