One in five women in Scotland are not having regular smear tests that could save their life.

The figures released by the NHS on Tuesday showed that a third of the women who do not get the tests say they are too busy or embarrassed.

Regular check-ups can detect cervical cancer when it is still at an early stage and 75% of the cancers can be treated at this stage.

One survivor of the disease told STV News that it was a smear test that saved her life.

Michelle Henderson, 26, had to have a full hysterectomy after being diagnosed with cancer after a smear test last autumn.

She said that when she was told she had the cancer she was shocked.

She said: “I was really numb. I can remember sitting in the room, there was my mum and my dad and myself and the tears were rolling down my face."

Now recovering from the operation in her home in Broxburn, West Lothian, Ms Henderson is urging women to get tested. She faces more treatment and has been told she will lose her hair during chemotherapy.

She said: "I have remained really hopeful throughout this whole thing and it's what's helped me get through it and I'm positive that I will beat this, so I will keep going."