"DON'T put it off." That's the message from Suzie Garner urging women to get their cervical smear test.

Suzie, aged 42, has been diagnosed with incurable cervical cancer.

She said: "This has to be mandatory in your head - you have to get it done."

As previously reported in The Press, Suzie, of Sheriff Hutton, near York, has stage four cancer which has spread to her lymph nodes, and she has been told surgery is not an option.

Suzie said despite many visits to the doctors, blood and urine tests and an ultrasound, the cancer went undiagnosed until it was too late.

She said medics told her she was suffering from big fibroid and her pain and bleeding was normal.

Suzie said besides making sure women go for their smear tests she also wanted people to follow their instincts and challenge doctors if they felt they were not getting the tests and treatments they needed.

She said: "People need to take control."

And she urged women not to put off getting their cervical cancer tests.

The NHS website says women can still book a test even if they have missed their appointment. "If you were invited for cervical screening but missed or did not book an appointment, you can contact your GP surgery or local sexual health clinic to book now."

Women aged 25 to 49 are invited to have the test every three years and every five years from the ages of 50-64.

Tests for cervical cancer, also known as smear tests, have been falling in recent years.

Smear test rates plunged to a record low following the Covid pandemic, according to official data.

NHS figures shows only seven in ten eligible women took up the offer of free cervical screening last year.

Campaigners are also urging women who have had the HPV vaccine which targets the virus that can cause cervical cancer to also have their smear tests. They say some women have the false impression that the HPV vaccine means they do not need regular smear tests. But they do; the vaccine, while providing a high degree of protection, does not eliminate all risk.

Suzie said she missed regular smear tests because she it was never an issue that was on her radar.

"My upbringing was that we never went to the doctors. I was healthy and fit. I never talked about it with my family or friends. It was my fault - I should have gone."

And she urged women to go for their check-ups. "The only difference between them and me is that they can still get checked - it's too late for me."

Cervical cancer facts

Girls started getting the HPV vaccine on the NHS in 2008.

About 3,000 new cases of cervical cancer are spotted in the UK each year.

In Britain, an average of 850 women die from the cancer each year.