TEN years since the early death of Jade Goody from cervical cancer was marked on Friday, in the midst of a twenty year decline in screenings.

Ms Goody found fame in 2002 on Big Brother and became a regularly featured face in the tabloids at the beginning of reality TV's reign.

Ms Goody's story found out publicly that she was suffering with cervical cancer at the age of just 27 while taking part in the Indian version of Big Brother. After rounds of chemotherapy and a number of emergency surgeries, her illness was declared terminal and Jade passed away a year later, on March 22, 2009.

The news of her death hit the headlines and an outpouring of grief from the public began.

Following her diagnosis and intense medical treatment in the public eye, cervical cancer specialists reported a sudden rise in the number of women going for screenings, which had previously been dropping. Figures show about half a million extra women attended smear tests in the months after her death. The phenomenon became known as the Jade Goody effect.