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.

Hmm seems your issue is more self righteous fucktards on Facebook?
Take my advice and keep fb on the back burner and take up reddit instead, has done wonders for my rage levels.

marylou1977 I am glad you recovered.
I am due my smear this month, my last was 2015, it really hurts but I don't give a crap, it is a small price to pay.
This thread unfortunately had me read of on the cervical smear controversy as they like to call it in Ireland, I am not afraid to have it, I am more frightened of bad news or wrong results.
www.rte.ie/news/analysis-and-comment/2018/0427/958788-cervical-cancer-q-a/

Thewheelsarefallingoff Wed 13-Mar-19 06:53:02
I agree with you, op. I was sexually abused from the age of 12 and I find that smear tests feel exactly the same as that abuse. I think it is extremely common for women to have been sexually abused and the put up or shut up attitude around smear tests is appalling. No alternatives offered, no information on alternatives available.

For all the sanctimonious, 'someone I know died of cancer...' I would ask you to think about a case I heard about on Woman's Hour of a woman who had been routinely sexually abused as a child; she knew there was something seriously wrong with her, but her fear of smear tests was so great that she couldn't go through with it. No alternative investigations were offered to her until it was way too late and she only had weeks by that point.

Wow - just wow to be so complacent and frankly rude to those who have lost loved ones/friends to cancer - disgusting.

Put up or shut up campaign? I've not experienced that and would be grateful if you could show me evidence? Or do you mean the NHS led 'campaign' to try and get more women to take up the offer of smears?

Kind of trying to save lives?

As a heath care professional if you explain your history we will go above and beyond to accommodate you - i.e needing an extra nurse to hand hold or requesting a female doctor/nurse. To accept any reason for not having a smear is negligent to your health and listening to other people from varying countries we should thank our lucky selves we have this option.

www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/emma-mhic-mhathúna-dies-at-the-age-of-37-1.3654507
Another young mum, so yes smears are essential, IMO you should have two, just to be sure they read it right. sorry to derail.

YANBU, at the end of the day, its a choice.

C8H10N4O2 actually the evidence base is not mixed. Not mixed at all. It is for screening women under 24, but we don’t routinely screen those in this country. But for women over that age, the evidence is compelling.

And we are lucky to have screening services and the NHS. Very very lucky. I have lived in other countries which pay higher taxes than we do here and have no comparable health care system, or free screening.

C8H10N4O2 actually the evidence base is not mixed. Not mixed at all

Feel free to cite the studies which show net benefit at the individual level rather than case numbers at population level. The evidence is very mixed when you consider individual factors, family history and the impact of false positives.

And we are lucky to have screening services and the NHS. Very very lucky

Its absolutely nothing to do with luck. I also have experience of other countries and other health systems.

This nonsense that its "luck" to have a health service perpetuates a culture of complacency on the part of voters. It also perpetuates a culture of "be grateful even when its bad" which constrains improvements. Its exactly that complacency and "be grateful" attitude which has allowed reductions in services and quality in recent years.

I'm glad I live in a country which has culturally supported state back healthcare, I don't delude myself that its perfect or that it is "luck". Nor do I tell people they are "lucky" and should be grateful when the services is poor or inaccessible. Institutionally it provides women with a lesser service than men (and is often a truly appalling employer for women).

There is nothing lucky about being unable to access an NHS smear test in ten years and eventually only getting one via a private assessment - that is poor service and in particular poorly serving women. "Being grateful" simply ensures it can't improve.

C8H10... Your comments about individual vs population level demonstrate you really have not a clue about screening, it’s purpose, function or the rationale for providing a screening test.
Actually we are very fortunate to still have the NHS and I think that will become apparent in 20 years or so when the entire system has been privatised.

Your comments about individual vs population level demonstrate you really have not a clue about screening, it’s purpose, function or the rationale for providing a screening test

I'm very aware of the impact of false positives and over treatment as a result of screening from doing the analysis on the data. You do understand that over treatment is a risk of sceening?

Your persistance in the NHS being "luck" rather than design is a common mistake and is a reason why its at risk. Incidentally you do realise most of it was privately supplied from the ouset?

I had carcinoma in situ discovered after a smear test. So yes you are being very very unreasonable. I had some unpleasant treatment and if reminding someone to go for a smear helps them then hell yes people can post what the fuck they want.

C8H10 of course false positives are a risk of screening! You obviously have limited and biased knowledge of the rationale that underlies screening processes. The trade off is detecting life threatening disease in asymptomatic individuals before the cancer is so advanced that the window for effective treatment has been missed. So of course there will be false positives. In fact even diagnostic tests have a false positive rate. Nothing is perfect. That claim has never been made for any screening test. Individuals receive information in lay terms explaining all of this when they are sent an invitiation to screening. I suggest you have a look at some basic epidemiological definitions.
Also there are many reasons the nhs is on a path to privatisation not one simplistic reason as you suggest, and yes I am fully aware that many services in the nhs are under private contracts already but what I am referring to is the fact that soon the nhs will not be free at the point of access.

You obviously have limited and biased knowledge of the rationale that underlies screening processes

And you obviously struggle to read past your own dogma.

All tests have false positives and false negatives. Some of those false positives will include not only long periods of anxiety and stress but unecessary treatment (expensive and painful to varying degrees depending on the specific test). I suggest you look at the benefits of better targeting for some testing.

You seem also to assume that I oppose the testing on principle. See my post upthread where I tried to get tested for ten years on the NHS before getting private testing.

The NHS is not "on a path to privatisation" its always been predominantly private in ownership at the point of contact. Read your history of the inception of the NHS and the powerful lobbies which ensured the vested interests of the time. We are still dealing with that inheritence now.

If what you are referring to is "free at the point of access" that is an entirely different discussion and not what you were describing.

However I'm glad you seem to have stopped using the word "lucky" around the NHS which just encourages people to take it for granted as something they cannot vote about or influence. (note that whilst voters always want more spent on it, historically they have rejected the opportunity to pay more tax for it).

If you don't like what someone posts on Facebook, then just fucking scroll on or defriend/unfollow. Not that hard!
Cervical cancer screening did go down, and I was one who kept "forgetting". Went last year and all well.
Nor do I mind posts from people who share breast checking stuff or checking balls for guys. Sometimes in busy lives people do need reminders.
As a DH who had testicular cancer and a friend who died of breast cancer, its a reninder to get checked. If it comes from the NHS or "Jane from Coop" on SM, who gives a fuck as long as it saves lives.
YABU

YABU- I had my first smear last year at aged 32, because I'd just never got round to it before- now having to have a colposcopy every 6 months (including one in a few weeks because they're waiting til I'm in my 2nd trimester) because of moderate changes and wish that I'd just had it done sooner. This campaign might give apathetic women like me the kick up the arse they need to just go and get it done.

C8H whatever... we are LUCKY!!!!!!!!! your post is hilarious. Honestly, your knowledge is very biased and ill informed.