Click to play videoLondon: Jade Goody is fighting a losing battle with cervical cancer. She's possibly the world's most high-profile victim, and yet every year at least 75,000 Indian women die of the disease that is fully treatable, if detected on time.
Although she is losing her own battle to the disease, Jade Goody has put cervical cancer on the international agenda. On Friday, British campaigners backed by her presented a petition to Downing Street for lowering cancer screening age limit from 25 to 20 years in England.
Jo's Trust Cancer Charity's Robert Music stated, "I think clearly Jade Goody's profile has made a difference. Many women are more aware and there's been a 20-30 per cent increase in women getting screened as a result."
The petition was started by the group called Claire's Message named after cervical cancer victim Claire Walker, who died at the age of 23. Her family now wants to help others.
Claire's husband, Colin says, "I just hope our message gets heard."
Cancer survivor Melissa Crawley adds, "I was 23 when I was diagnosed. Had I been detected earlier, I wouldn't have had to get a hysterectomy, which means I can't have children."
What started as a small campaign by a family has gained momentum ever since Jade Goody supported it. Thousands have signed the online petition and there has been an increase in the number of women getting screened. This perhaps will be part of the legacy Jade leaves behind.
Jade Goody is just 27. She won't live to see her 35th birthday and yet that's the age the Indian Council of Medical Research recommends women start screening for cervical cancer.
Doctors would disagree. If you're already sexually active, ask your doctor's advice on a Pap smear test today. Meanwhile, doctors estimate that eighty per cent of women in their lifetime are affected by the HPV Virus that's the prime cause for cervical cancer.
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