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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

SMEAR TEST :-GO GO GO

60 replies

PiperIsTerrysChoclateOrange · 07/04/2015 00:20

i will admit I was petrified on having this test, does it hurt. It is my fango and I didn't want to have it on display. Any how MN members convinced me that it was a good idea.

www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3027385/Tragedy-mother-three-scared-smear-test-dies-cervical-cancer-just-28.html

Please go and have this test

OP posts:
OP posts:
itosh · 07/04/2015 00:27

I keep forgetting to do this !! AH . I am so ashamed but shall book in the morning.

needaholidaynow · 07/04/2015 00:29

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

itosh · 07/04/2015 00:32

You phone in to your surgery and book yourself in needaaholidaynow.

I was sent a letter a while back too.

TooOldForGlitter · 07/04/2015 00:33

These threads are so unhelpful for people who have real problems with this kind of intimate exam and really piss me off. Cue a hundred posts all agreeing and belittling people who don't go for smear tests. If you are happy to have them OP then go have them. Posting scare stories isn't going to change my experiences or feelings.

Meow75 · 07/04/2015 00:34

Am due one this month sometime.

Noooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!Easter Confused

needaholidaynow · 07/04/2015 00:36

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

reallybadidea · 07/04/2015 00:39

I'm sorry that threads like this upset you TooOld. A thread like this prompted me to book an appointment after thinking I hadn't had one for a while - turns out I was 4 years late! Luckily everything was fine, but if it hadn't been a thread like this could have saved my life.

ShadowsCollideCantLogInToMN · 07/04/2015 00:47

YANBU. Smear tests can be rather unpleasant, I tend to have several days of cramping and bleeding after a smear. It's worth it though. I , out of fear and anxiety, hadn't had a smear for 5 years. I was having an ECG with my practice Nurse, she asked about my last smear, and when I told her how long it had been she told me that she wasn't letting me out of her room until I made an appointment for one with her (she was being kind and jokey, but it got her point across). First smear came back abnormal, was scheduled for a second 6 months later which also came back abnormal, so I've been referred for a colposcopy. Now I know the likelihood is that everything will be just fine, but on the very slim chance that it isn't, my lovely practice nurse's insistence could save my life. It's quick, painless for many women, yes painful for some (like me, neither of my sisters have ever found it at all painful, nor have they had any after effects) and potentially life saving.

Original poster
PiperIsTerrysChoclateOrange · 07/04/2015 00:50

I'm not happy with them I have to take a prescribed medication to have them done.

The thing is that compared to the invasive test that need to be done a smear is nothing

OP posts:
ShadowsCollideCantLogInToMN · 07/04/2015 00:54

TooOld, I was typing my post, so didn't see yours until after I hit post. I promise I'm not trying to belittle anyone. I also wasn't intending to post a scare story, just sharing my experience. My stance is based on having a huge family history of cancer, on both Mum and Dad's sides of the family. I'm really sorry if this thread has upset you.

happybubblebrain · 07/04/2015 00:59

What nobody tells you (and I question why they don't) is that smear tests don't prevent cancer, they just detect it. If you want to nearly guarantee not getting cervical cancer there is one thing you can do - not have sex.

SaucyJack · 07/04/2015 01:02

YABU. So bored of reading this same old shit over and over and over again.

My fanny. My decision.

Suefla62 · 07/04/2015 01:09

Another thing you can do is get an HPV vaccination.

soontobemumofthree · 07/04/2015 01:12

Happy
Smear tests are not to detect cancer they are to prevent cancer. They pick up changes that are precancerous and then you can have treatment that stops cancer occurring.

primarywannabe · 07/04/2015 01:18

Thanks for this...I'm posting so it's in my Threads I'm on tomorrow and I remember to book it... I've not had 1 for 10 years.

MrsTerryPratchett · 07/04/2015 01:26

www.nhs.uk/news/2014/09September/Pages/HPV-urine-test-could-screen-for-cervical-cancer.aspx for those people who don't want a smear.

ShadowsCollideCantLogInToMN · 07/04/2015 01:26

Happy, unless I've been grossly misinformed, smear tests can lead to colposcopies (when needed) which can detect precancerous cells, which can be lazered during the colposcopy. Of course, any woman who doesn't want a smear has the right to refuse one. I would absolutely support any woman declining a smear, for whatever reason. Bodily autonomy is paramount. I can still say that I, personally, am very glad that I had smears.

DianeLockhart · 07/04/2015 01:32

Agree with too old for glitter.

MooMaid · 07/04/2015 03:34

If this thread prompts even one person to go get a smear done then I can't see the problem. If you don't want one, or can't get one done, for whatever reason then fair enough but there's nothing wrong with a reminder for those that can. I don't see this as intending to belittle those who don't get it done?

textfan · 07/04/2015 03:39

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

kewtogetin · 07/04/2015 07:01

Just had mine, was dreading it, was 2 years late due to pregnancy. I'm always amazed by the fact that I feel absolutely nothing during it? No pain or even discomfort. The worst part is the 'let your knees fall open' stage!

WhereTheFuckIsMyFuckingCoat · 07/04/2015 07:35

When jade goody died, I hadn't had a pap smear for four years. I had had a little abnormal bleeding, and discomfort during sex. Long story short, the test showed abnormalities and I was referred to colposcopy where a biopsy showed that I had CIN III, the worst stage of dyskariosis (pre cancerous changes). After lletz treatment to remove part of my cervix, I had another Pap smear a few months later, which unfortunately came back abnormal again. Cue another visit to colposcopy, another diagnosis of CIN III, and yet more lletz treatment to remove some of my cervix. That was, I believe, 2008, and only this year have I had my first ever completely clear result! Grin If I'd kept my head in the sand, and let my anxiety keep me from having the test, it's likely that I would have developed cervical cancer. Unluckily for me, in February last year I was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer. The treatment has been HORRENDOUS. I'm not saying this to belittle or scare anyone - just to let you know that a hundred Pap smears one after the other (and I speak as a rape survivor, with PTSD from my first child's birth) would be preferable to cancer treatment. Of course it is every woman's right to decline the test, but at what possible cost? I personally consider it a small, if quite unpleasant, price to pay to stay alive.

PeachyPants · 07/04/2015 07:59

I don't get the negativity towards OP/this thread, nobody is forced to have a smear but it might serve as a useful reminder for someone who needs it, should it not have been posted because it might upset someone else? I don't think what has been posted constitutes a scare story, to my mind a scare story is something with little scientific basis to it. If you don't want to read it exercise your choice of not clicking on the thread or link.