To think oh just piss off...

[KatnissMellark]

With your patronising reminders to get a fucking smear test, you self righteous bores.

I do by the way, because I have to have an in date one for other medical procedures to be carried out. But I have concerns regarding false positives and unnecessary stress and procedures. And I am so bored of so many people with what appears an absolute lack of critical thinking self righteously reminding others to go for them on social media. Are you the fucking smear police? Have you read the science or are you just on the bandwagon

On balance I'd probably still have one, even if I didnt HAVE to. But the lecturing just annoys me.

Got no problem with the campaign itself to be fair. Or anyone affected sharing their experience. There is just a type of person who always has to be at the centre of every drama regardless of whether it affects them at all, and I see so many of them sharing this stuff. Find it irritating.

@saj90 troll hunting is not allowed on Mumsnet, have you been here long?

I can't be the only one who finds modern life gets in the way of a smear ? I am out of the door by 7.40am, I don't get home until late most days. I have a young DD. I work in an industry that is notoriously difficult to get time off.
Add that to the fact that it is difficult to get an appointment and Its fairly easy to see why plenty of women don't get smears. That's without adding in the fear of pain / ptsd / previous or current abuse etc.

Why are you friends with such 'self righteous'arseholes then?

Your choice!

@KatnissMellark like I said, trolling was the wrong term, and I'm no troll hunter. Just exasperated by the original post.

starsparkle sorry to read of your trauma. If you’re anywhere near London or Glasgow perhaps my body back project could help, they run smear/sexual health clinics (and other services) especially for women who have experienced sexual assault.

Then that's one type of person KatnissMellark, and i suspect they are regularly 'dancing on band wagons?' So it is best to defriend or unfollow as the media they share should not be your target if you wish to be less angered, but them.

YABU

Cwenthryth . Thankyou . No I’m not near those places but I’m glad to see that they are offering this service in some places . Hopefully in time it will become more nationwide

I’m sure they are at an all time low because we are way busier now adays and GP surgery’s aren’t easy to get appointments for ( I’m at work and no way can I book a smear there)
it takes also takes a bit effort to get one booked in a three week gap between periods allowing for a few days error.

KatnissMellark Tue 12-Mar-19 21:21:11
With your patronising reminders to get a fucking smear test, you self righteous bores.

Wow - so much vitrol

I suggest you either unfriend or just roll your finger over the mouse/pad and ignore - much better for your blood pressure

I work in the NHS and campaigns (however 'boring') do work - there is always an influx of referrals when i.e a smear campaign goes out/blood in your wee etc.

I find it bizarre you could find this offensive.

Honestly, if you have your smear when due, it is not aimed at you, so you will find it patronising, in the same way parents who talk and sing to their children will find the campaign to encourage that will find it so..

If it is not aimed a you, you will find it patronising.

YABVU, sometimes hearing something from someone you know on a personal level means more to people than a nationwide health campaign, makes it more real and seem more accessible.

I've missed out on all of this hectoring. And on decades of smear tests. I had no idea there was an NHS campaign. Thanks for bringing my attention to it, OP.

@KatnissMellark, I'm Irish living in Ireland. I don't know if you're aware of what has gone in here in the last couple of years as regards smear tests and cervical cancer.
Over 200 women were given an all clear when in fact, they had cervical cancer.
It was one brave woman Vicky Phelan, who brought this to light after her misdiagnosis, along with Emma Mhic Mhathuna, who has sadly passed away. These women fought for the women of Ireland, fought for all women's health.

I had a smear done last July. I got the results last week. It took THIRTY FOUR weeks for those results to come back because of everything that has happened here.
In the meantime I was so worried that I paid for a private smear. This cost me €280 with a private gynaecologist. The test was sent to Germany and I had the results back in a week. Luckily everything was fine.

There's no NHS in Ireland. If you don't have a medical card (only available under a certain income or over a certain age) then basically you're screwed because you will literally be waiting YEARS to see a specialist or have any sort of test done and I'm not just talking about gynaecology.

I paid the €280 because I wanted peace of mind. You're in a country where you're lucky enough to have smear testing and so many other things available to you at no cost, and yet you're bitching about it.

Google Emma Mhic Mhathuna and look at the five young children she left behind when she died at the age of 37, THEN come back to me and tell me how you're sick of 'self righteous bores' telling you to get a smear done and bitching about 'the smear police' and how they should fuck off.

I am so so angry after reading your post and in my opinion, you're the one who needs to fuck off.

I’m currently undergoing treatment after an abnormal smear. I couldn’t give a shiny shit if idiots like you get the hump from posts encouraging smear tests, because one person, just one, might think “shit, Jane from coop is right - my test is overdue.” And that makes it 100% worth it.

This

I think my main issue is the fact that people treat you as an idiot if you decide not to have a smear for whatever reason - there's a pervasive attitude throughout healthcare that women are too stupid to be able to make informed decisions about what they want to happen to their bodies.

I am very offended OP and YABVVVVU.

The reason for the campaign is because testing is at an all time low, the "Jade Goody effect" has long worn off. It's a vital, life saving test and people DO need reminding and women ARE dying from a completely treatable, mostly curable cancer.

Indeed, if my sister in law had had hers, she wouldn't have died at 34 leaving a little boy behind. How anybody could be offended by a spread of vitally important information, via whatever means, is beyond me.

YABVU

I know until recently you had to pay in Ireland and most of the rest of the world to get a smear test. They are free and can save a life. We are so lucky in the uk with the NHS

No one is sharing the posts with the intention of lecturing you in particular. If I did share it, it would be to encourage my friends to remember to book/not be afraid of their first one. I hope Facebook is around to remind me when I start to get breast screenings as I'm sure I'd like a bit of moral support/a reminder I'm at the age where I need to get one.

One of those annoying reminders saved my life this time last year. Without it my two boys would now have no mother.

I'm one of those self righteous bores. I recently encouraged one friend who was 3 years overdue to go for hers and she's now being investigated for abnormal cells. I was 18 when I had my first smear, if I'd waited until I was 25 I would probably be dead! If you don't want to read posts about smears, ignore them. But a post by a self righteous bore may prompt somebody to get checked who wouldn't have otherwise!

A friend of mine died because she was late getting a smear... she had just moved surgeries and it got missed. I never ever miss mine. She was passionate and campaigned to raise awareness of the dangers of missing a smear.
I get there are issues I've read the thread, and others like it. They always make me so sad.