Dumfries, Aberdeen and Dundee are early NHS pioneers in screening for cervical cancer. Edinburgh, under Forrest, does the same for breast screening in the 1980s culminating in his report.
Screening focuses attention on the disease. Helps to lead to better service provision by the NHS and support for patients by cancer charities, including Maggie’s Centres which were first established in Scotland.
Glasgow-born Ian Frazer and his colleague Jian Zhou at the University of Queensland in Brisbane develop the first vaccine against cervical cancer targeting the human papilloma virus (HPV). Frazer is named Australian of the Year in 2006.
The HPV vaccination programme is due to start in Scotland in September 2008.