Went for a smear after ten years..

[Grobagsforever]

I'm a responsible 40 year old woman and should 100 percent know better than to ignore the letters. I have health anxiety due to husbands death and avoided this test as I was scared of the results. Ridiculous I know, as of course the test is there to pick up potential cancer before it occurs! Absolutely illogical but that's how healthy anxiety works, I thought getting cervical cancer would be my punishment for not getting smears for ten years..

Anyway it came back clear.

So if you're avoiding the test for the same reasons as me, please don't. I feel SO much better without the niggling worry and panic if I get a twinge in that area!!!

Good for you, people say its easy takes minutes etc etc but it isn't easy for everyone and the all clear you did good

Good decision. Glad you’re ok.

I persuaded the girl I sat next to at work to go by reminding her that she had three small children and it was her duty as a parent to do everything she could so she could be there for them for many years to come.

Like you she went for the first time in a decade and was clear.

I hope your thread encourages others.

Why die of something when a test is available and could reassure you that you’re fine.

Or if it shows up the initial stages of something and a very slight treatment at outpatients could prevent it turning into anything dangerous, why wouldn’t you want that. Nip whatever in the bud.

I went for mine a week ago. I hadnt been in about 7 years. I was told it could take up to 6 weeks for the result. With health anxiety I wasnt looking forward to the wait but got the results back and it was clear. Such a relief and ill need to remind myself in 5 years time how ok it was.

I have had abnormal smears in my time and a cone biopsy taken.
I would never miss my smears!
Yes it’s a little uncomfortable but done in minutes and can save your life.

I had mine done a month or two ago after ignoring it for 3 years - I'd had one back then and they couldn't get results so needed to redo it and I put it off - I've not changed partners for 25 years either so wasn't t worrying too much, then worried afterwards til I got the result in case it was bad - it wasn't, all fine

It absolutely isn’t easy for everybody. It’s incredibly ignorant and infantilising when women are made to feel ‘silly’ or even worse ‘vein’ for mor wanting to attend their smear test (anybody else remember those awful adverts in the U.K. about a labia resembling a kebab and the nurse not caring? Nice body shaming/misogyny). Men are not pressured into attending health checks and made to feel selfish or irresponsible for not.

Women can make their own decisions and know what is best for their own body.
Try ‘a few quick minutes’ as a victim of sexual trauma or intense body shaming and recovering from an eating disorder.... it’s not about being vein because the perfect Hollywood wax isn’t done etc. It’s far deeper.

So pleased your result was reassuring and you are conquering your health anxiety, also for losing your DH.

If women feel able to attend then great, but the infantilising/patronising of women who do not is horrible. It only seems to be a thing in the U.K. too, even where I live in the Middle East (where women have very few rights to bodily autonomy) it isn’t pushed in the same way as it is in the U.K.
I hope somebody will be along soon to articulate this far better than I!

@Catcrazy008 I'm sorry you had to have treatment. The mad thing I don't even mind the discomfort, especially after having 2 babies.

It's the anxiety around booking the appointment, waiting for the results etc.

I did the same, and to anyone reading it’s much more comfortable now than I remember it.

@DesperateInTheGulf

It absolutely isn’t easy for everybody. It’s incredibly ignorant and infantilising when women are made to feel ‘silly’ or even worse ‘vein’ for mor wanting to attend their smear test (anybody else remember those awful adverts in the U.K. about a labia resembling a kebab and the nurse not caring? Nice body shaming/misogyny). Men are not pressured into attending health checks and made to feel selfish or irresponsible for not.

Women can make their own decisions and know what is best for their own body.
Try ‘a few quick minutes’ as a victim of sexual trauma or intense body shaming and recovering from an eating disorder.... it’s not about being vein because the perfect Hollywood wax isn’t done etc. It’s far deeper.

So pleased your result was reassuring and you are conquering your health anxiety, also for losing your DH.

If women feel able to attend then great, but the infantilising/patronising of women who do not is horrible. It only seems to be a thing in the U.K. too, even where I live in the Middle East (where women have very few rights to bodily autonomy) it isn’t pushed in the same way as it is in the U.K.
I hope somebody will be along soon to articulate this far better than I!

@DesperateInTheGulf

I one hundred percent agree with you. The way we are pushed or shamed into going is extremely misogynistic. It is never presented as a choice and it really should be, especially to women who test negative for HPV and haven't changed partners.

I'm still glad I went, but did resent how ashamed all the propaganda had made me feel about myself before going.

I understand your concerns but most women I would think would have normal smears.
The point is if you do get abnormal smears the earlier you catch the better.
I had not missed any appointments and dread to think what would have happened if I had left my smears for 10 years.
No one likes going. I find the best thing to do is not over think it, get it done, tick it off the list and forget all about it.

I never have smear tests or any other tests. They are optional.

www.google.com/amp/s/www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/features/why-i-m-saying-no-smear-7577967.html%3famp

@Catcrazy008

I know. But anxiety isn't rational. So I posted in case anyone was feeling the same.

I have never felt pushed or shamed into looking after my own health. I do fine the smear tests less painful these days as it no longer feels as though an umbrella has been inserted and opened up, thanks to medical advances.

Hand on heart I've never felt ashamed about needing to go. For me it was all around health anxiety and the what if this is finally it and i have cancer. A good work friend of mine battled Cervical cancer for 3 years before passing away and I hope I never have to go through what she did.

I did the same in February. Hadn't been for years. I had cervical cancer. Luckily stage 1b2 but had spread down a bit.

Chemo and radio got rid of it and I got the all clear in September.

Never will I be so stupid again. And I always encourage others to go for theirs.

[quote KarenMarlow3]I never have smear tests or any other tests. They are optional.

www.google.com/amp/s/www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/features/why-i-m-saying-no-smear-7577967.html%3famp[/quote]
Of course they're optional.

They changed smear tests about 5 years ago or so. They don't actually check for abnormal cells now, they only do a HPV swab. If that comes back positive then they will check the cells. The problem is not everyone with abnormal cells has HPV (although there is a general correlation). I still get them done but I dont trust them any more, especially as I had abnormal cells and treatment about 7 years ago when they didn't check for HPV and I know someone in their early 30s who recently died from cervical cancer even though her smears cake back clear. I'm going to pay privately for a proper one next year.

At 42 my dm's GP mentioned she had missed a few smears... She needed a radical hysterectomy..
My ds learned to walk on her ward cheered on by many!

Just a note which might help some people now.

Smear samples nowadays are tested for HPV before abnormal cells. If you're HPV negative, you sample isn't tested further as it's almost impossible for you to have cervical cancer.

Because of this, you have the option of buying a private, home HPV testing kit, which will be analysed for HPV just like a smear sample.

I had been putting my smear off for 2 years (so 5 years since last one) for the same reason as you - I didn't want bad results! Plus due to previous trauma, anyone but DP touching me 'there' terrifies me.

The longer it went the more scared I was. One of my close friends is a GP and she's the one who mentioned that the test had changed so the private DIY test - if I could afford it - would mean I didn't need a smear if it came back negative.

I bought it, it arrived the next day, I sent it off the day after, and got results (clear!) within 6 days.

I am so relieved. I'm not saying it's an option to everyone as obviously not everyone has the spare cash for private testing, but for me it meant I could have my peace of mind without having to do what I was so scared of.

If it comes back positive you will still need to attend a regular smear so it doesn't solve everything BUT it will - for the majority of women - show a negative result. They also offer you advice about screening in the future, for me a test in 3 years.

There are pilot studies in London at the moment of exactly these kinds of self sample tests so it seems this is the way the NHS screening service will go in the future, but we don't know how many years off that will be. I fully recommend the private sample if you're scared of going for your smear - it's not free but can help either put your mind at rest or let you know that you really do need a smear test if you have HPV!

Smears maybe optional but my life insurance doesn't share that sentiment.

Yes it’s a little uncomfortable but done in minutes and can save your life.

It can be excruciating and lead to treatment you don’t necessarily need. It’s a personal choice ever woman is entitled to make and not be harangued about or called stupid for making a rational choice based on their own circumstances.

The problem is not everyone with abnormal cells has HPV (although there is a general correlation).

It’s not a “general correlation”. The overwhelming cause of cervical cancer is HPV and that’s what the mass population screening test is targeting. There’s great evidence that primary hpv testing leads to fewer deaths than looking at cells first.

I’m so sorry you lost your friend to cervical cancer. Every woman should know the signs and symptoms so they can get their GP to investigate anything worrying.

www.nhs.uk/conditions/cervical-cancer/symptoms/

@Chesneyhawkes1 I'm so sorry you went through that

How much does it cost?

@LindaEllen was it difficult to get the cells from your cervix yourself?

But if the tests only test for HPV, and it is possible to have cancer without HPV...aren't they missing people that get cancer without getting HPV? or have I completely misunderstood?