A CHILDMINDER from Ewloe is offering free childcare support for women who are going to attend a smear test.

In a bid to get more ladies to see their doctors, Sadie Mossman is offering a free hour of childcare in order to attend these appointments that catch vital signs of cancer.

The mum-of-three said: “I know as a working mum that when that brown envelope from the GP arrives to say it’s time to arrange my routine smear test, like many others, I am tempted to leave it to one side and get around to it later.

“But, with the busy lives most of us all lead, we may not get around to it at all.”

At the age of 19, Sadie’s routine smear test showed up abnormal cells and thankfully, because it was caught early, she was able to get treatment.

Sadie added: “Almost 20 years later, I still find it hard to book in for the screening. I think ‘who’s going to watch my children’ and ‘when can I fit it in with work’.

“It shows how important these screenings are and if caught early are treatable.”

Cancer Research UK says that one in every 142 women will be diagnosed with cervical cancer in their lifetime, but 99.8 per cent of cases are preventable with smear testing.

A smear test is a method of detecting abnormal cells on the cervix and women aged 25 and over are required to have tests every few years. Despite this, it is estimated that one in four women skip the screening with the proportion increasing to one in three among those aged 25 to 29.

The NHS website states that it is a woman’s own choice if they want to go for cervical screening, but it is one of the best ways to protect themselves from cervical cancer.

A viral campaign, #SmearForSmear, took the media by storm this January in aid of Cervical Cancer Prevention Week (January 21-27) and encouraged women to smear their red lipstick to remind others to book their screening test.

Information about how to book a smear test with your GP is available on the NHS website.

Sadie will be offering the free hour to ladies from the Hawarden and Ewloe area. Her service runs from 7am until 8pm from Monday through to Friday.

She said: “All mums need to do is contact me and say they want to go for a smear, or they have booked a smear, and I will email them a short form to fill in and they can return the completed form back to me with a date and time of their appointment.

“So get your smears booked ladies because a child needs their mummy and now you have no excuse not to go.”

For more information, contact Sadie’s Facebook page, Giggletotz Childminding, or call 07518 099110.