The smear test campaign

[QueenOfIce]

There's been a lot of campaigning this week in particular to encourage women to go for their smear.

Does anyone find that these sorts of campaigns don't have any impact on them and don't encourage you in way to book an appointment?

And I think if people saw what we see, how seriously bad it can get, they might reconsider.

Shock campaigns work.

From BBC
"The NHS wants 80% of women between the ages of 25 and 49 to be tested every three years. It wants the same proportion of women aged 50 to 64 to be screened every five years."

Why does the frequency drop after 50?

No impact and not a bit of encouragement - you can only go for a cervical smear if it is longer than 3/5years since you had the last one and they have sent you a recall letter.

They are just annoying.

I can't see me goin g for another smear test, and as others have said, the narrative that us women are just silly to be embarrassed, that HCP's have seen it all before, is infantilising and misguided.

I was quite violently raped many years ago, including an assault with an implement, so smears are pretty hellish for me. Not just the speculum itself, but the language, the faces, my stress levels. It's just not worth it for me. So I choose to not go.

Brassica, evidence states that the protection offered by 5 year screening is nearly as good as 3 year in that age group

I went for mine recently; I always book as soon as I get the reminder, so the campaign has had no affect on me, other than being aware of it.

The nurse said I might have to wait a couple of months(!) instead of a couple of weeks for my result. This is because of there being a lot in the media at the moment about cervical screening and they've had many more women than usual booking an appointment.

So from this anecdotal evidence, I'd say that women have been encouraged to book an appointment on the back of this campaign.

THERE ARE NOT ALWAYS SYMPTOMS.

I had absolutely zero symptoms. Not sign of anything wrong. No pain or spotting.

I am astounded that people would rather deal with cancer than a smear test. Yes they're unpleasant, no one loves having them, but catching irregular cells early means maybe 3 months of treatment. Not catching them at all is pretty much certain death.

@SquareTriangle I wouldn’t attribute the wait to the campaign. I had mine done last spring and didn’t receive the results for about three months.

There is a wait anyway, because the labs are in the middle of major restructuring to bring in the primary HPV screening for the whole country.

I wish that all the money that is spent on these condescending and patronising campaigns could be used to develop a test that is acceptable to everyone. I’m sure most people would appreciate a simple blood or urine test over being cranked open and having their cervix swept with a plastic brush.

I find the Loose Women one patronising. Whether I go for my smear test or not, which I do, will not be influenced by anything they say.

I have anxiety so going for any doctors appointment sets me off.
My main symptom is an anxious tummy of you know what I mean, so then to have someone down there freaks me out.
I also worry that I’ve left it to late and it’s sort of a bury your head in the sand type of thing. Like what you know can’t hurt you. Which I realise is ridiculous but I’m petrified at the thought of it.
My mum died when I was 5 from breast cancer and I just can’t deal with thinking about it.
So it’s more than being embarrassed.
And yes that all seems like I should want to go but I can’t. I will eventually but it will take me a lot to get there.
Ive only had one and I ended up squeezing the speculum thing out because I was that tense.

For me to go it feels like penetration by coercion. I do not enthusiastic consent to an instrument being inserted into my vagina, I do so only due to social pressure.

Last time I went the ( female ) doctor was so dismissive of my worries and past sexual trauma that she rolled her eyes.

I won't go again.