I’ve never had a smear test and I don’t want one either

I don’t think she has scaremongered anyone into not screening and she hasn’t ignored screening either. She has had an at home HPV test and the point of her post, which most people are missing, was to ask why the traditional test is still the only option when less invasive methods exist. The OP is autistic and finds the test difficult for sensory reasons.

There are many reasons why women don’t screen, from past trauma and pain to fear of the unknown and complex social reasons. From this month, women who have been unable to attend screening will begin to be be offered the option of an at home test on the NHS to increase accessibility. This would help people like the OP and the women in Liverpool that your daughter has mentioned to screen if they wish.

The OP has raised some valid points about accessibility for people who struggle with the test which have been misunderstood and she doesn’t deserve a lot of the judgement she has encountered.

https://eveappeal.org.uk/news/hpv-self-sampling-tests-will-now-be-available-for-those-who-havent-attended-cervical-screening/

I do understand that. Mine are very painful and take 2 people to do. My cervix is around a bend and I have cervical ectropion so I bleed dreadfully for days afterwards.
But in my mind it’s still a minor inconvenience compared to the trauma of getting cancer and needing treatment.

No-one ‘likes’ a smear test but I’m glad we have screening to check for potential cancer. Mine are always faffy as it points awkwardly (have to put hands under bum to tilt it) - but I’d never not go.
Also go for my mammograms - which I really hate.
You do you though, no-one can force tests on you, but if you get breast or cervucsl cancer, best of luck.

Canada too. I was offered home testing kit option few months ago.

It’s your decision, but they’re really not that bad to have done. I don’t have them now, but I find Mammograms more uncomfortable than smears.

So, don’t have one 🤷🏼‍♀️ I don’t care either way…

I must say, I do find it amusing that people think OP is arrogant, awful, stupid, scaremongering, or bound to die, for essentially doing herself what Australia and New Zealand's health systems now do as standard for national cervical screening.

DD is studying a healthcare related post grad degree in Liverpool. she attended a talk about health screening in one of the hospitals where she was doing a clinical placement.

Liverpool has one of the lowest screening uptakes in the UK and one of the lowest vaccination rates. As a result cervical cancer rates in Liverpool are significantly higher than the rest of the UK, and more children are contracting measles because of the low uptake of the MMR.

A PP said that encouraging people to take up screening was brainwashing. What utter nonsense. Do what you want, but please don't scaremonger other people to ignore screening.

I have stopped having them because now they only test for HPV, which I definitely don't have (due to total lack of risk factors). I don't see the point.

However, I don't really understand why you have posted about a personal decision, or why you expect the NHS to offer different tests? If you have no risk factors for HPV then the self tests are not going to find anything anyway.

The cash strapped NHS is hardly likely to continue to offer screening if it is as inefficient as you think it is.

Please stop peddling this nonsense.

I would most likely have died if I hadn't had it done, so I'm grateful for it.
It's your body and your choice but personally, I think you're being silly with your reasons.

I think it’s fair enough if you don’t want to do it.
The guidelines in Australia have changed and we get smears every 5 years but if you’ve never had an abnormal result, you get the self test for hpv.
Much better, can do at home and then drop the sample back to the dr.

But if she's self-testing for HPV at home, why can't she just tell her GP this so they stop sending her reminders for smear tests? The mind boggles.

Testing for HPV "in the past" doesn't really count, though.

That's terrible, your poor mum - it sounds utterly barbaric. But I'm not sure what it has to do with OP's choice, or why it makes her choice arrogant? Your mum choosing to have that treatment has nothing to do with OP's choice to self-test for HPV at home.

I hear you, I hear you. Sometimes I wonder if I should book myself in for a fake smear just to get my foot into the GPs surgery

Not controversial quite mundane, lots of people don’t participate.

The NHS are rolling out home swab testing soon I believe, it has been in pilot stages.

Several friends have needed surgery and one inoperable. It’s common and can be a difficult cancer to treat if not prevented.

Opt out if you want to.

I'm glad you're well and healthy! I'm not overly bothered by smear tests, and went for mine whenever I was reminded (every 3 years, and then they switched to every 5) until they changed to self-swabs being the standard.

I do have to point out though, that there is a real concern that doctors are over-treating younger women who present with precancerous cells, as this article says, and that less frequent screening, and 'watchful waiting' if abnormal cells are found in young women, would be better.

Some excerpts (emphasis mine):

"This “cures” the pre-cancer, but leaves a weakened cervix. Even though most abnormalities would resolve themselves, a few would not, so doctors treat them all."

"Physicians need better information to share with their patients, and should not routinely perform cervical screening tests on young women at least until their mid-20s.
Women who start sexual activity later in life can wait even longer, since the earliest cancers do not develop until at least four years after first sexual activity, and mostly not until 10 to 20 years later."

"But pelvic examinations look for an enlarged uterus or ovarian disease, which mainly affect older women. And urine tests detect STIs. So doing routine pelvic examinations is unnecessary."

@BravebutBroken You do know they're not testing for sexually transmitted infections right?

That's literally all they test for, actually.

Sounds reasonable to me. You're aware of your health choices, testing for HPV, and I'm sure will be alert to any changes in your vagina/vulva/menstrual cycle that could indicate an issue that needs investigating.

I think there's a big push to test for breast and cervical cancers because they're so common, and relatively easy to screen for. As far as I'm aware, men are just as strongly encouraged to get prostate exams as women are mammograms, but where women react positively to mobile units etc, I think men prefer to keep it quiet and private.

Anyway these days where I live smear tests are no longer standard, and the GP just gives you a swab kit to use on yourself to test for HPV, unless you have a concern and want them to do a visual exam.

Personally I don't think it's great that they don't routinely test samples for cancerous cells - it throws those who have non-HPV caused cancer under the bus entirely. But I suppose it's all about being cost-effective.

I think your reply is even stupider.

Not purely to make money, no. But partly, certainly. Always remember, the NHS is a business; it has vested interests just like any other.

It's widely accepted that GP surgeries etc receive cash incentives for everything from smear tests to IUD fittings. So they will push these, whether they are wholly necessary or not.

Not at my major medical centre. Just because it's available somewhere doesn't mean it's widely available. I asked the nurse at a different centre if I could do it myself, and she pointed out that she looks for other problems while doing the smear and if I did one myself I'd miss out on that, and if it came back positive then I would have to come in and do a repeat the smear test with her, so...

My sister and my best friend have both had it. BF aged 29, sister aged 44. Thank God for smears!
My friend had to have surgery to remove it and my sister had to have a radical hysterectomy, plus chemo-radio, which was brutal!
They are both here to tell the tale, there had never been anyone in our family to have cancer besides my uncle, which was asbestos related, and I come from a very large family.
You're free to make your own medical decisions though, and if you feel you have all the facts then that should be respected.

once was enough for me!

It doesn’t look at the cells if there isn’t HPV