One of the most common cancers among women, cervical cancer is considered the second most fatal cancer with almost 300 thousand deaths worldwide every year. The good thing is, with the advancement of technology, it is now easier to detect cervical cancer at its early stage by undergoing a smear test. Unfortunately, most women seem not interested to undergo such a test.
Given this reason, the 31-year-old actress Michelle Keegan wanted to become an inspiration to these women. She posted a series of Instagram updates and showed her 3.7 million followers how victorious she is in overcoming her fears by attending her appointment for her cervical cancer screen test. She also wanted the people to have a glimpse of the process and to show that it's not that scary after all.
"I think the thought of going for a smear for women puts them off more than anything. 1 in 4 women now don't turn up for their appointments apparently, so I'm going to do a video blog today to show you how simple a smear test actually is," the actress shared in her social media account.
The test took Keegan and her doctor just a few minutes to finish. She also admitted that though it is awkward to open your legs to someone you just met, the procedure isn't painful at all, as posted by Daily Mail. It might be a little uncomfortable to get checked, but she reminded her followers that it is okay. She said, "these doctors and nurses do it every single day."
Keegan admitted she used to ignore the invitations to undergo the procedure at first. According to BBC, she has three reasons why she's a bit reluctant to get checked. Her reasons include she doesn't have time, she finds it too embarrassing, and she thought it was going to be painful.
Since the actress has already overcome her fears, she wants others to do the same as well. She posted in her account, "My advice to you... STOP making excuses, book, and go for your bl**dy smear! A smear tests last 5 minutes the impact of cervical cancer lasts a life time!"
In China alone, as of 2015 records, the rate of cervical cancer incidents are on the rise. One of the reasons why was because only 1/5 of Chinese women were interested to get tested. Keegan wants this to change. She said, "Ladies, I'm urging you to book in for your smear. Go and get it done and tell all your family and friends to do the same."
