Screenings and symptom awareness

Regular check-ups and screenings are key to a woman’s health. Screenings are vital for monitoring our health and detecting abnormalities, conditions and diseases early, often before noticeable symptoms occur. 

The NHS offers a range of screening tests to different sections of the population, in this article we’ll explore the female lifetime screening pathway.  

Our Women’s Health campaign partners, the Lady Garden Foundation also share the symptoms of the five gynaecological cancers to be aware of. Together we believe that wider awareness of these symptoms is the key to prevention and early diagnosis, which can save lives. 

If you have any of the symptoms listed, particularly if they are not normal for you, are persistent, are reoccurring episodes or they do not go away, please consult a GP.

Simplyhealth’s 24/7 video GP service can provide the first step to discussing your symptoms and providing a referral if needed. You’re also able to upload photos or medical reports from past healthcare to share the GP ahead of your appointment to aid their understanding and inform their treatment suggestions.

Breast screening

Women in the UK are invited for breast screening between the ages of 50 and 53. Further screenings can then be requested by the individual every three years until the age of 71. Screening is performed using a mammogram, a type of x-ray that detects breast cancers when they're too small to see or feel.

Bowel cancer screening

At approximately 60 years of age, men and women in the UK are offered bowel screening. You are sent a home test kit, known as a FITT kit which is used to take a stool sample. The sample is checked for blood, which could be an early sign of bowel cancer. Further kits can then be requested by the individual every two years until the age of 75.

Bowel symptoms to look out for⁴:

• Rectal bleeding or blood in your stools
• Any changes in your regular bowel movement
• A rectal lump that your doctor can feel in your bottom or abdomen, more commonly on the right side
• A feeling of needing to strain your rectum (either during going to the toilet or after)
• Losing weight
• Pain in your abdomen or rectum
• Tiredness and breathlessness.

Sometimes cancer can block the bowel. This is called a bowel obstruction. The symptoms include:

• Cramping pains in the abdomen
• Feeling bloated
• Constipation and being unable to pass wind
• Being sick.

Symptoms of the four gynaecological cancers

The following conditions are not routinely screened for, so it’s even more important to be aware of their symptoms.

1. Ovarian cancer symptoms

Around 21 cases of ovarian cancer are diagnosed in the UK every day.5 Symptoms may be very vague but can include6:

4. Womb cancer symptoms

Womb cancer¹⁰, sometimes also known as uterine or endometrial cancer, is the fourth most common cancer in women in the UK.¹¹

Abnormal bleeding from the vagina is the most common symptom. Irregular bleeding can be after the menopause, bleeding that is unusually heavy or happens between periods or abnormal coloured vaginal discharge that is foul smelling.

Other symptoms vary depending on stage of diagnosis but can include:

• Pain or discomfort in the lower abdomen
• Pain during sexual intercourse
• Your womb is enlarged and feels swollen although this will be something which your doctor will be able to see
• Loss of appetite and weight
• Fatigue and / or weakness
• Feeling nauseous or being sick
• Constipation
• Feeling breathless
• Passing urine more often than usual.