Cervical cancer charity praise for Eastenders storyline

23rd August 2011 - A charity's helpline has been receiving extra calls after Tanya Jessop received her cervical cancer diagnosis in Eastenders last week.

The soap's team and the actress who plays Tanya, Jo Joyner, met with the cervical cancer charity Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust to research the part.

In a news release, Eastenders executive producer Bryan Kirkwood says: "Eastenders has worked closely with experts in the field to ensure we accurately portray this sensitive issue. Viewers will see how Tanya, a mother of three, will use her inner determination to deal with what will be one of the toughest challenges of her life."

Cervical cancer

Figures from Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust show that around three women in the UK die each day from cervical cancer and more than 300,000 women a year are told they may have a cervical abnormality that could require treatment.

Survival rates for cervical cancer are high if diagnosed early. Estimates show that the UK Cervical Screening Programmes save around 5,000 lives every year by detecting abnormalities as early as possible.

Soaps' responsibility

The charity's director, Robert Music tells us it is vital that viewers get an accurate portrayal of the condition: "It's incredibly important. Soaps have a real responsibility when they cover any sort of health issue to make sure that they get the facts right, whether it's a diagnosis, whether it's the treatment. It's about educating the general public who perhaps aren't aware of the disease, but also with cervical cancer, there are thousands of women out there who have been diagnosed or are living with this. It's very important to get the storyline right for them as well so that they're also confident and comfortable that the programme is acting responsibly."

He says it is possible for soaps like Eastenders and Coronation Street to cover subjects like cancer in "a dramatic but entertaining way. Certainly with regard to the character Tanya and her storyline, I think Eastenders have done a fantastic job, being very responsible. They've listened to us, wanted to work with us and other experts to make sure that every stage of the process that Tanya's going through is accurate."

Positive response so far

Robert Music says it's not just the charity which has been impressed: "If you look at our forums, which are mainly used by women who are affected by cervical cancer or abnormalities, they have been very positive about how the storyline has gone so far. I think that's great news."

He says the actress Jo Joyner was "fantastic" when working with his team to prepare for the role, "really hungry to learn, to understand what the impact was and she felt a responsibility to get this right".

Jade effect

The Big Brother star Jade Goody’s very public fight, and eventual death, from cervical cancer in 2009 led to nearly 400 thousand extra women attending cervical screening. 

Could the Eastenders plot create a similar boost? "I'm not sure we'll have something like the 'Jade effect', which was quite extraordinary," Robert Music tells us, "With Jade, you had her story in the news 24/7, day after day, week after week. I can't see it being that sort of a level. We've already seen an increase in calls to our helpline, use of our forums, increased numbers of people visiting our website. So already at this stage, it's having that benefit."