NSW Cervical Screening Program Campaign

 ‘Don’t Just Sit There’

‘Don’t Just Sit There’ aims to increase awareness of the need for women to have regular cervical screening. The campaign encourages women 18-69 years to make an appointment for a Pap test with their doctor every two years.

The commercial demonstrates the difference between the feeling of being uncomfortable during a Pap test and the feeling of being uncomfortable during the treatments of cervical cancer which could involve chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery. It also reinforces the need for regular Pap tests for women who may have been recently vaccinated against cervical cancer.

Cervical cancer is a potentially fatal disease which is largely preventable if pre-cancerous cell changes are detected early enough and treated appropriately. Cervical screening, via two yearly Pap tests, is the most effective of all cancer prevention programs. The early detection of abnormal cell changes prevent around 90% of cervical cancers. Australia has the second lowest incidence of cervical cancer in the world among countries with comparable cancer registration systems. About two million Australian women have a Pap test for cervical cancer screening each year.

The ‘Don’t Just Sit There’ campaign, originally developed by the Cancer Council Victoria in 2004, has helped increase screening rates in several states across Australia. The number of Pap tests conducted in NSW during the 2007 campaign period increased by 21% in comparison to the same period in 2006. Due to this positive impact on women’s screening behaviour the campaign will run again in 2008.

Anne Norton’s story highlights the importance of regular Pap tests. Read her story.

Download Campaign Material

Before downloading any of our campaign material, please read the copyright notice.

Download the 30-second television commercial [MPEG | 3.78MB]

Download the 15-second television commercial [MPEG | 2.1MB]

Download the poster [PDF | 479KB]
To order the campaign poster visit www.csp.nsw.gov.au/women/womens_resources.html#gpres

Download the campaign backgrounder and FAQs [PDF | 113KB]