What steps it is taking to ensure that there is sufficient public awareness (a) of the early signs of ovarian cancer and (b) that a cervica…

The Scottish Government continues to invest in our Detect Cancer Earlier (DCE) Programme, of which public education and empowerment is a key work-stream. We launched a new campaign – Be the Early Bird – in March 2023 to empower those with possible symptoms to act early. To coincide with this, a roadshow visited areas of deprivation across Scotland to further improve symptom awareness and encourage prompt action.
We will continue to work with the Scottish Cancer Coalition, as well as the primary care community, to raise awareness of symptoms of possible cancers, including ovarian. Work is also underway to redesign DCE’s website ( Get Checked Early ) and symptom checker, which includes signposting to Target Ovarian Cancer, a charity providing support to those affected by ovarian cancer.
The Scottish Government recognises the need to improve education around cervical screening and what it involves. We worked with Public Health Scotland (PHS) to develop a stakeholder toolkit to promote Cervical Cancer Prevention Week across partner channels earlier this year. We have also awarded £456,000 to Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust in support of their important campaign work on screening benefits including increasing awareness of how cervical screening works. Cervical Screening Awareness Week is also later this month and provides another opportunity for us to work in collaboration with partners to further increase awareness of the benefits of cervical screening.