England offers free at-home cervical cancer testing kits

England’s publicly funded health care system has rolled out free home-testing kits to test for cervical cancer. NHS England says nearly 4 million women will be offered HPB self-testing kits if they haven’t responded to  invitations for cervical screening appointments. The UK counts more than 3,000 new cases of cervical cancer each year, with almost 900 deaths. Cancer Research UK notes that 99.8% of cervical cancer cases are preventable. “Offering millions of women an alternative test they can do form the comfort of their own homes will be a gamechanger,” says Dr. Sue Mann, national clinical director for Women’s Health at NHS England. “Screening saves thousands of lives each year, but only around two-third of women are attending cervical screening appointments when invited by the NHS.”