Goody effect sends UK women rushing for cervical test

London (ANI): A record number of women have been rushing to the UK's National Health Service (NHS) for cervical smear tests since Jade Goody lost her life to the disease on March 22. According to Sara Hiom from Cancer Research UK, the tragic demise of the late reality star, who passed away aged 27, had sent the number of examinations soaring sky high.

"The Jade effect" had left waiting time for the tests leap from two weeks to as much as two months while the number of hits on the Cancer Research UK website's cervical cancer pages had also jumped from 100,000 in January to almost 400,000. "Jade's legacy will be to help save lives. Her tragic plight brought important cervical cancer awareness messages into living rooms across the UK," the Daily Star quoted Sara as saying.

She added: "Jade's story has led to hundreds of thousands of people wanting information on the disease." The NHS Cancer Screening Programme further said it was trying to keep up with the towering demand. A Department of Health spokesman said: "We are aware that there has been increased demand on cervical screening services due to recent media attention. "Some laboratories are experiencing backlogs but these are being dealt with at a local level."