Goody death lead to surge in HSE screening

THE Health Service Executive (HSE) has attributed an unprecedented surge in the demand for cervical screening in 2009 to the death from cervical cancer of Big Brother star Jade Goody.

The 27-year-old mother-of-two learned she had cervical cancer in 2008 while appearing in the Indian version of Big Brother.

She died in March 2009 and by October, it was reported that the number of women aged between 25 and 64 going for smear tests in Britain had grown by 12% during the previous year.