Test at home cervical cancer kits?

[Buttonsandroses]

Tempted to buy one. It all looks proffesional. I have alot of anxiety around going for a smear. Therefore being able to do the test at home would be a massive relief. Has anyone ever bought one.

Ive done it
It’s great.
Also if any abnormalities show up then you go and get a full smear done.
It’s widely used in Holland. They do it before a full examination-
If men needed smears, this is the way round it would work.

@Buttonsandroses -yes just follow the instructions carefully and make sure everything is labelled and enclosed before posting it back.

The difference depends if you're in an area where they're testing for HPV and proceeding no further if that's negative (in which case no difference) or not (in which case they'd be looking for cell changes in your cervix that could be or become cancerous).

@aroundtheworldyet brilliant. Without being rude was it easy to do? Have you every had to go for a full smear due to the results? Is it fairly common to get high risk cells?

Apologies for the misleading title.... I meant the cervical test you have at the gp

I’d rather save myself over £50 and get it done properly, it’s honestly not that bad I had my first at 24 and was over and done with within 5 minutes, just go

Have you ever had a smear? It's really not that bad
It is for me. I have never been able to complete one.
The home testing kit is not a smear test- it's a HPV test and you don't need to touch your cervix.
www.jostrust.org.uk/about-us/news-and-blog/blog/what-hpv-self-sampling

Yes very easy. And all was ok for me. And I hadn’t been for a smear in 10 years.

When I had my seriously traumatic smear, I had to go back a second time. Which was even worse.

In reality. I didn’t need to go through either of those very seriously traumatic smear tests.

I wouldn’t have gone back for another smear. So yes it might not cover everything but it’s 1000 times better than not doing anything.

As I said. If men had to go through smears then they would certainly do a basic check for HPV before going to the next stage.

At a smear it is 2 stage now

Test for HPV
No HPV - no further testing

HPV present
Test the cells for abnormalities

I work in sexual health. This is an HPV test. It’s a great place to start if you wouldn’t otherwise go and get an HPV test at your surgery or sexual health clinic. It isn’t testing for cervical cancer or ‘high risk cells’ though, just whether or not you have the HPV virus. If you do, then you will need a smear, there’s no way around it. There are some cervical changes that will not be picked up by these kits, but more than likely if there is anything going on, you’ll need a smear and they’ll be picked up then.

So it’s fine to do. As long as you actually follow up and get the smear done if you need one.

Personally no, I wouldn't risk it.

My last smear came back with abnormal cells and positive for HPV. I had a colposcopy and a biopsy in November and am having LLETZ next week.

It's your health and your choice but I wouldn't take the risk myself.

Thanks everyone. Yeah I do understand it's not that bad etc. I have personal reasons that I don't want to discuss on here. Also I feel ill be jumped on massively. I understand everyone's point of view. So basically this test is stage one.

I think it's a great idea. I feel things like smear tests/screening need more options. There's many reasons women don't feel happy or comfortable having one. Even the long wait for results etc.

So basically this test is stage one and will accurately pick up any dodgy cells. Then if it's positive I would need to take the results to the gp for further investigation?

It's the op's choice whether she goes for a smear test. This will just make it a more informed decision.

My last smear came back with abnormal cells and positive for HPV. I had a colposcopy and a biopsy in November and am having LLETZ next week.

In that circumstance, the op would get a positive hpv test and book in for a smear.

Really good luck with your treatment.

@mindutopia thank you. I think I get it now. The nurse takes cells from your cervix but this doesn't? It tests for the hpv virus? But the difference is the nurse would do both in one go?

But @RandomAmanda
Your test from this would have come back positive so you would have got to the same point.

But say you had a serious fear of smear tests? Don’t you think it would be better to get the HPV test? Considering it causes virtually all cervical cancer.

Thank you @purpledaisies

@Buttonsandroses - it won't tell you if you have any changes to the cells in your cervix. But it does tell you if you have HPV which could cause cell changes. That's why you would need a smear test if it is positive.

Anyway. I think it’s a great idea and really positive and let’s you feel in control.
And then if you do need to go for a smear you feel much more confident and able to deal with it.
Which has to be a positive. And as someone else said, you’re much more informed

Sometimes we are just told X is the way we do things. So suck it up. When there are lots more options.

No, @aroundtheworldyet I would prefer to get a smear test at my GP than use a DIY kit. I was told by the colposcopist that you could have abnormal cells but not have HPV.

Surely it wouldn't be available if it was deemed that this home testing is not a good idea for any women. Having said that,I would be worried about using it.. At a smear test many years ago,they found pre cancerous cells,and I had to quickly go for an operation to remove them all. So not sure these home tests can suss out everything that may be serious.

@RandomAmanda

I do hope you get sorted. I'm just slowly starting to ease myself into these things. If this comes back all clear I can wait a couple of years and do another. But obviously if it comes back with any issues I can go to the gp. I feel like all the waiting times at my surgery don't help either. Takes forever to get an appointment.

I want to get this done. Then I want to ask my GP about having a scan done. I'm not sure but I feel like I've perhaps got fibroids or ovarian cysts. I've had really heavy periods now for ages. I'm always anemic. My ovulation is really uncomfortable. I'm very aware of my womb it feels sore or crampy a lot of the time. I basically want to have this done so I can at least show GP these results.otherwise it will be more weeks of waiting for appointments and results before I can actually get to the bottom of what's actually going on. It takes approximately 6 or 7 weeks at the moment to get an appointment. So if I can get this done nice and quickly she won't have to insist I have this done she can just move on to test me for other things.

I was told by the colposcopist that you could have abnormal cells but not have HPV.

The way cervical screening is changing, only those that happen with hpv will be picked up. It’s counter intuitive but it’s better doing it this way.

@RandomAmanda
Yes of course. Lots of things can cause abnormal cells. Yeast infections? Other stds

But HPV. Is the one that gives you cancer.
So if you’re regularly up to date on your std checks including HPV then you’ll have 99% covered.

Shinedown - ever been raped or sexually abused? Engage your brain.