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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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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:

twopeople · 22/03/2011 19:16

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

cauliflowersfluffy · 22/03/2011 19:16

I think Jade was a legend except for the fact that she was quite uneducated I don't understand why you're so down on her she is a poster child for smears and cervical cancer and rightly so too because she was a celebrity who suffered cervical cancer on front of the cameras for everyone to see to help them realise how important it is to go for regular smears and she also was campaigning for the goverment to lower the age of women going for smears, I think that alone makes her a hero.

hephaestus · 22/03/2011 19:27

I am more concerned that, as someone who was too old for the cervical cancer vaccine but too young to be called for smear tests, I will have been sexually active for nine years before I can have a smear.

confuddledDOTcom · 22/03/2011 21:12

Cheerful, here they believe that you're at a lower risk if you're not sexually active and they can be harmful.

CheerfulYank · 22/03/2011 22:26

Smears (or paps as we call them) can be harmful ?

confuddledDOTcom · 22/03/2011 22:36

A random person sticking something bigger than a penis into a virgin ? Do you think she's going to be relaxed and comfortable during it?

OK women who've had sex aren't necessarily relaxed and comfortable but at least it's not the first time anything that big's been in there.

Bah I'm mobile and can't type as much as I have in my head.

CheerfulYank · 23/03/2011 02:37

I'm not arguing; I hate them personally. I'd just never heard that before :)

nooka · 23/03/2011 03:33

The harm is because there is a very high rate of false positives in young women (due to natural changes in the cervix) so a much higher rate of investigations, causing unnecessary treatments and anxiety . As the proportion of women under 25 who get cervical cancer is tiny (less than 2.5%) that is also a factor (the average age of diagnosis is 48).

CheerfulYank · 23/03/2011 04:29

That makes sense. That's probably why the guidelines are changing. :)

ThistleDoNicely · 23/03/2011 07:50

I've been contacted by GP to have a smear every 3 years since I was 18. Not pleasant but I get it done (sometimes a few months late but not years). If it can detect cancer earlier and give me a better chance of being around for my kids then it's a no brainer to me.

I'm with the OP on the Jade Goody issue actually. She got cancer and died, which is a tragedy and heartbreaking for her sons and family. But this hero status she seems to have attributed to her is rudiculous. She was an uneducated loudmouth who was famous for being an uneducated loudmouth and making racist comments. The fact she ignored warning signs and left two boys without a mother should be a warning to other women, yes, but I don't believe she should be portrayed as some sort of martyr or hero.

springbokdoc · 23/03/2011 11:20

Thistle I'm sorry but that really does sound like you're saying she's to blame for getting cancer and dying. Loads of people ignore symptoms for a hundred different reasons and at her age I would also doubt that I could get cancer. You just think it's something else.

Yes she was an irritating cow and I really detested her pre-illness but I do think she dealt with her final lot with grace. She did a huge amount of publicity in order to leave her boys as much as she could and raised the awareness that cervical cancer kills the young.

I had an extremely painful first smear, rung up dp in tears and blamed him as the only reason I needed one was because I was sleeping with him! It took a lot to go back to my second (which was painfree thankfully).

Doyouthinktheysaurus · 23/03/2011 13:02

Lots of people who develop cervical cancer have no symptoms to ignore until it has spread, I certainly didn't!!

If I had waited until I had symptoms I probably wouldn't be here today!

ThistleDoNicely · 23/03/2011 13:14

I certainly don't think it's her own fault she got cancer and died. I've had family members with cancer (though not cervical, so no experience of that) and it is heartbreaking. I just don't see that because she was on some awful reality show and got famous for being an irritating idiot that should somehow elevate her above anyone else. There are plenty of people who are out there campaigning and helping people who don't get this hero status. I just find it rather off. I'm glad that some good could come of her situation if it raised awareness, but that doesn't make her some sort of saint.

WriterofDreams · 23/03/2011 17:25

Thanks for telling me about that chip. Sounds like your mum's GP was a bit of a nutter - "abnormally small vagina!!" - she was totally trying to blame her own incompetence on you. It really bugs me when people, like the OP in this thread, are hard on women about not going for smears. So many people have bad experiences like you chip and HCPs need to recognise that for many women smears aren't a straightforward process- they are a source of huge fear and embarrassment. I've been lucky so far in that the two smears I've had have been with a very lovely nurse who knew what she was doing and was very gentle even though apparently my cervix is quite tilted. I think it's really important that HCPs are given a lot of training in how to handle patients, especially in situations like smears, as one bad experience could put a woman off for life.

redexpat · 23/03/2011 22:49

Well I think I had 8 smear tests in the UK and only one (done by 2 doctors) actually got a result. Also I have tremendous hip pain which makes the whole thing really painful because for some reason no one uses stirrups to support your legs in the UK. You ever had anyone bruise you internally? I have.

In a different country I saw the nurse, was in stirrups so automatically more relaxed with no pain, she explained that I was a funny shape and that she couldn't quite reach my cervix, that I should get an appt with a particulat Dr. This dr was done in 30 seconds, and I got a result.

Bad experiences and poor care put people off.

ShinyMoonInAPurpleSky · 23/03/2011 23:05

My mum has been having smears every 3 years since she was 17 (in 1973), I won't be eligible for one for another 4 years when I'm 25 and I'm shitting myself about it. I will definately go because when I was a child my mum had to have a procedure done to sort out some "abnormal cells" (sorry I can't remember the details) but she has said that most of the smears she has had have been horribly painful.

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