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The number of women asking about cervical cancer and booking pap smear tests has surged following the death of singer Anita Mui Yim-fong in December.

A spokesman for the Family Planning Association, the major organisation that provides the test in Hong Kong, said bookings for check-ups taken now will have to be scheduled for June because of the rise in numbers. 'We normally only had to take bookings for a month or two in advance before what happened with Anita Mui.'

Staff members at the Hong Kong Cancer Fund have also seen a rise in the number of women calling their hotline. Spokesperson Phyllis Cheng said the women had been influenced by the death of Mui.

'Our counsellors have also had to cope with more cancer patients asking for help because they feel scared after  learning that even Anita Mui, a strong and seemingly invincible idol to tens of thousands in Hong Kong, has died from cancer,' she said.

Mui revealed she had cancer on September 5 last year. She passed away on December 30.

In September 2002, the hotline only received 19 enquiries about the city's fifth most common cancer, compared with 154 in September last year, Ms Cheng said.

Staff answered  10 times more calls about cervical cancer in December last year compared with the previous year, and there was a 600 per cent rise in inquiries in January this year compared with January last year,  she said.

The Department of Health announced on Monday that women will have to pay $120 for a pap smear  under the government's expanded cervical cancer programme to be launched next month.

Pap smears are the major diagnostic test for cervical cancer. The disease is ranked by the World Health Organisation as the sixth deadliest cancer.



Singer's death spurs cancer awareness