More than one in seven women are delaying vital cervical cancer screening because of work.
And the reasons cited include inflexible bosses who refuse them time off, shift patterns which do not fit in with appointments, and being too busy to attend.
A survey for Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust showed one in five women have had to use annual leave to get tested, while 17% have taken unpaid leave and 16% thrown a sickie.
And the consequences of delay can be devastating.
Mother of two Laura Flaherty, 36, a tropical fish shop manager of Leigh, Lancs put off her test for six months because of work.
When abnormal cells were found six years ago and a biopsy confirmed cancer she needed a hysterectomy. She has two children, Alex, 12, and Violet, 8, with her partner Ryan, 38.
Laura said: “I was busy and didn’t want to take time off. And I didn’t want to use annual leave I’d rather spend with the children.
“Ours is a family business and I’m the only woman there. I had it in my mind that I shouldn’t take time off for something the men wouldn’t.”
Ironically Jo’s says it is the NHS which can be the worst employer when it comes to allowing staff the time to get screened.
One health workers said she had to use annual leave for appointments and check ups after having cervical cancer four years ago.
She added: “The ironic thing is I even work in the hospital where I have my check ups.”
Another said: “Women shouldn’t have to fight or struggle to look after their health, especially when you work in the NHS.
“It means women are getting cancers that could have been prevented.”
Roisin Sheridan-Owens, 39, of Londonderry, Northern Ireland said: “I was a busy single new mummy and kept putting the test off.
“And then I started working again and didn’t like asking for time off in a new job.”
But after she went back to work at an accountancy firm following cancer treatment the real nightmare began.
She said: “They were very rude when I asked for a few hours off to go to appointments and shouted at me when I returned later than I predicted.
“They wanted me to arrange appointments out of work. It got to the point I was afraid to ask for time out.”
Roisin has now redone A-levels, got herself a degree and works in education. She added: “I had to get out of the toxic workplace I was in.”
Now the charity wants to use September’s Gynaecological Cancer Awareness Month to get bosses to give staff time off when asked.
The charity was founded by businessman James Maxwell in 2000 after wife Jo died of cervical cancer the previous year aged 40.
Jo’s chief executive Samantha Dixon said: “We’re calling on employers to offer their staff time to test.
“It’s worrying to see so many having to take annual or sick leave to attend a routine medical appointment. Employers can help stop this.”
Two women die of cervical cancer in the UK every day and there are 3,200 new cases each year.
But if caught early nine in ten women will survive compared to just 50% diagnosed in its later stages.
