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AIBU?

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Original poster

to be irate about the women appearing on the programme about jade goody?

41 replies

minimuffy · 22/03/2011 14:41

if they had went for their 3 yearly smear test then they wouldn't of had to 'panic' and get one in light of someone famous dying.

it's 10 mins for an appt, once every three years. no one likes getting them. but they are necessary to catch early signs etc.

it does not set a good example for their daughters either if their own mother doesn't go for them who is going to encourage them and get them to recognise the importance of them!

OP posts:
wannaBe · 22/03/2011 14:46

no idea who these women are or what they've said or even why there is a need to be a programme about Jade Goody.

But it's easy enough to overlook the need for a smeer test. You know it's due; you'll book it later/tomorrow/next week and before you realise it you've gone past the three years and the surgery doesn't keep sending out reminders.

We all get complacent sometimes.

Carmen123 · 22/03/2011 14:54

Agree with WannaBe.

houseworkwhore · 22/03/2011 14:59

yabu

and insensitive

WriterofDreams · 22/03/2011 15:00

Some people have a genuine horror of smear tests. I don't have any particular fear of them but I still put mine off longer than I should have and I still probably wouldn't have had one (was due two years ago) only that I had to see the practice nurse for something else and she said "Have you had your smear" me:"Emmm..." Nurse: "Right you're booked for 11 on Thursday and I'll be checking that you turned up." Bless that nurse, it was exactly what I needed. Grin
IMO if a programme encourages women to look after their health and perhaps saves a few lives then that can only be a good thing.

ShatnersBassoon · 22/03/2011 15:02

So they did go for a smear eventually? It doesn't matter what prompted them to go, because, as you say, it's a very important test.

Why are you cross about it? YABVU.

Doyouthinktheysaurus · 22/03/2011 15:04

I've no idea what programme you are talking about but I get the impression you're suggesting anyone who misses their smear is responsible if they get cancer!

I hope I am way off the mark there. As someone who has had cervical cancer, I find that spectacularly insensitive and rude.

saffy85 · 22/03/2011 15:06

Totally agree with WannaBe. It's on the long list of things we all mean to do but not everyone does.

Who cares who/what made these people go for their smear test? Long as they went. I wasn't a huge fan of Jade Goody but what can be a better legacy than being someone who reminds others to do something that could save their life?

GwendolineMaryLacey · 22/03/2011 15:07

It was 10 years between mine. I was prompted to go by a thread on here and the "if you'd have got cancer then it will have been your own fault" lecture that I got from the nurse was well out of order.

Of course it's important that you go but encouragement is what is needed, not blame.

jasminetom · 22/03/2011 15:08

I missed my smear tests in England for years after several painful attempts by a cross nurse who told me at one point I didn't have a cervix. Finally went to a OBGYN here in Qatar to find that I have a retroverted cervix and have had 5 annual pain-free smears since. I do believe that it is possible to have a bad experience and feel abused which puts you off. Health education should include training the professionals to treat women properly. Oh, also, before that I got asked by a different nurse if I was kinky because I shaved my bikini line. I'm talking an inch of stubble because being greek, it grows halfway down my leg. Aged 19, I felt disgusting and found it hard to trust someone again. sadly when I did, I got the cervix denyer.
If Jade's death helps people overcome their fears then why not but I agree that at the end of the day we have to take responsibility for our health and should report bad experiences rather than avoid them.

LessonsinL · 22/03/2011 15:19

Jade Goody didn't die because she didn't have a smear test, she died because she developed serious symptoms and ignored them for long enough for the cancer to spread. It was well reported that she had smear tests and the last one revealed abnormalities and she was scared to go because she had a history of cervical problems, and found the last procedure painful.

Whilst I do not condemn her for being scared, I don't think she should be used as a poster child for Smear Tests, but more "if something hurts, get it checked out"

LessonsinL · 22/03/2011 15:20

www.sify.com/movies/i-ignored-cancer-warnings-jade-goody-news-hollywood-kkftb9agiae.html

Just one of the articles available on google.

Bideyin · 22/03/2011 15:25

Jade Goody was also very very unlucky as precancerous cervical cells generally take many years to develop into cancer.

Doyouthinktheysaurus · 22/03/2011 15:57

I was only a couple of years late for my smear.

Got told by the Dr who did my colposcopy that there was nothing to worry about, cancerous cells take years to develop....6 weeks later I got told I had cancer!

Mandy2003 · 22/03/2011 16:05

I think in Jade Goody's case several of the medic's she'd seen almost admitted they were wrong to ignore the severe symptoms she had. I am surprised her mum did not sue, to be honest. But Jade did admit there was a lot she could have done to help herself but was scared to do so. She was always very clear to say let her case be a warning to others.

Like Jasminetom I have a retroverted womb/cervix. Ended up having a laugh with one practice nurse in London who said "Well, where's your cervix then?" and I said "I think I left it on the bus!"

Original poster
minimuffy · 22/03/2011 16:50

i'm not saying they're to blame if they get cancer!

i know anything that gets people to go for them eventually can only be a good thing.

the show is on tonight i think, i'm only going on what the adverts for it are saying and in the news etc..

OP posts:
altinkum · 22/03/2011 16:53

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

GypsyMoth · 22/03/2011 16:56

Wasnt the age of the girls an issue? Do or did, girls under age 25 routinely get called for smears?

chipmonkey · 22/03/2011 17:47

I had a very bad experience with a smear so have been very wary of them since. Was also made to feel abnormal by one doctor. When I went to a midwife some weeks later and got it done properly she was Shock at what the doctor had said.

Mandy2003 · 22/03/2011 17:48

Yes, before Jade's campaign there was a lot of hostility from medics towards anyone under 25 requesting a smear test.

WriterofDreams · 22/03/2011 17:51

I'm interested to know what the doctor said to you chip, if you don't mind talking about it.

follygirl · 22/03/2011 18:05

I think UABVU.
I was a year late for my smear test. It wasn't because I couldn't be bothered, it wasn't because I'm disorganised. It was because I was caring for my dying father and then caring for my grieving mum and getting over the shock myself.
However when Jade Goody died, it did prompt me into action and I had a smear test.
I did have slightly abnormal cells and had treatment. I am fine now.

chipmonkey · 22/03/2011 18:06

Writer, the back story is that after ds1, when I went for my six-week check I got a very inexperienced young doctor who really, really hurt me during a smear. Not only that but the sample she got was insufficient so the hospital called me back. I was terrified, went in to town on the bus to get the repeat smear but couldn't face it and ended up walking away from the hospital rather than go in.

Ended up staying with my Mum as dh had to go away for a few weeks and Mums's GP offered to do it. Well, I think I was horrifically tense, couldn't relax and she couldn't get the speculum in. She then told me that I had an abnormally small vagina and that she couldn't get a sample and that I was to return to the hospital and to tell them to use the smallest speculum they had.

So I went back to the hospital and got a lovely MW who had looked after me in the ward when ds1 was born. I told her how terrified I was and how I had an abnormally small vagina and what the doctor had said about the speculum and she laughed and said "Well, I've just done your smear and didn't use the smallest one and you seem perfectly normal to me!" I hadn't even felt her do it!

I think my Mum's GP was just horribly insensitive and made me feel like a freak and even thogh the MW did put me at ease I wondered for a long time if she was just being nice and whether I was abnormally small, even thogh dh had no complaints!

confuddledDOTcom · 22/03/2011 18:41

When I was a teen all 18 year olds were called. I explained that I was a virgin and as a Christian I would be waiting and they made a note to call me a year after my wedding. By the time I was 25 it was the cut off age for having them done. I think this is a big part of the problem, women are being missed because they're too young to tested.

TandB · 22/03/2011 18:48

Funny thing to be irate about. I didn't have much time for Jade Goody but she was brave and open about her illness and this raising of awareness is a wonderful legacy for her to leave.

Why try to detract from it? It doesn't matter if the women on the program should have been having smear tests anyway - if Jade Goody's death makes even one woman think 'oops, better get mine done' then surely that is a good thing.

Nice for her children to think that their mum left something positive behind.

CheerfulYank · 22/03/2011 18:56

Here in the US you're supposed to start having them once a year as soon as you're sexually active. (It's now every two years if your previous once was normal.) And you're supposed to start having them at 18 whether you're sexually active or not, I believe.

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