Member's statement: Women's Health: Ovarian Cancer

Member's statement by Miss Órlaithí Flynn on 22 September 2025.

MLA

Miss Órlaithí Flynn

Party at the time

Sinn Féin

Date

22 September 2025

Type

Member's statement

Business

Members' Statements

Heading

Women's Health: Ovarian Cancer

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5123356

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I will speak about an extremely important matter regarding women's health and some of the massive misconceptions that still exist among many, many women around smear tests and the detection of ovarian cancer. The most recent stats show that almost half of the women — a staggering 46% — in the North of Ireland believe, wrongly, that a cervical smear test will detect ovarian cancer. It will not. As a woman who likes to think that she is across looking after her health, I can throw my hands up and admit that, until my first encounter with the Target Ovarian Cancer charity, I did not know that that was the case. I commend that charity for leading the way in creating awareness of the fact that smear tests will only screen for cervical cancer. Many women have a false sense of reassurance that smear tests will pick up ovarian and cervical cancer. That is costing lives because many women still do not know that that is not the case. There is no routine screening test for ovarian cancer, as there is for cervical cancer. That makes the awareness of its symptoms absolutely critical. If women do not know what symptoms to look for and think that it will be picked up through the normal screening of the smear test, that is dangerous. Target Ovarian Cancer has repeatedly called on the Department of Health to update the public messaging around that. That needs to happen urgently. In July, NHS England made it clear that cervical screening does not detect ovarian or other gynaecological cancers, and the Health Service Executive in the South is also running a public awareness campaign. Women in the North deserve the same clarity and support, but, up until now, the Department has failed to act. Ovarian cancer is much more treatable when it is caught early, as is the case for many cancers. Right now, 31% of women in the North who are diagnosed with ovarian cancer will not survive for one year. That must change. We must ensure that women know the symptoms that they need to be looking out for: persistent bloating; abdominal pain; feeling full, quickly; and changes in bowel habits. Awareness saves lives, and early diagnosis will save lives. Too many women here are being diagnosed too late, when their treatment options are limited and outcomes poor. This is about our mothers, daughters, sisters and friends — real people who are facing this deadly disease. Often, diagnosis comes too late, because of the misconceptions around what a smear test can pick up. Please, spread the message to the women in your family, any woman in your life with whom you are in contact and, particularly, your constituents.

454 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 13:11 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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