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.

I didn't realise so many women had ectropian!

When I was pregnant I had a few bleeds. Told everyone I had miscarried. It turned out if was not anything to do with the baby. I had two weeks of none stop bleeding at 14-16 weeks. Then it just stopped. I presume it must of been something like that @Melroses

@quince2figs do you know if you can privately pay for a smear and testing? I have had multiple treatments for severe cell changes but all HPV tests have been negative. I know cervical cancer is usually caused by HPV but with my history I want my cells tested.

@Indella
They only test for hpv now. So yes yours would be missed by a doctor too. As well as this kit. But it’s very rare.
I hope that you would be able to have the full check going forward. But it might be worth discussing with your doctor.

Can I just give you an update
If you have HPV on private testing you probably cannot have an NHS smear if you have not been recalled
So if you test yourself in between smears, and are on 3 yearly recall you cannot have an extra smear even with HPV found

I’m glad that was helpful, OP! Symptoms like pelvic pain should be investigated - with a bimanual pelvic examination and history to exclude pelvic infection, and an ultrasound scan of the pelvis to exclude fibroids, ovarian cysts. If these are normal and pain continues, a gynae referral should be done to consider a laparoscopy. Bowel and urinary problems commonly cause pelvic pain too.
The smear is separate from these.

Percy - yes, private smears are available if you would like the cell service assessed in the traditional way (regardless of the HPV result).
Currently the NHS Cx screening will only be 3 yearly, from 25-50y. It’s not clear what the situation is if you have private screening outside those intervals (in addition) which you want investigated further - this may well be refused on the NHS.
If you have a private HPV swab instead of a smear, which then indicates your NHS smear needs doing if positive, then of course you can access the smear free.

Sorry, not sure where “cell service” came from! Cells assessed.

@buttonsandroses - good luck. Please do let us know how you get on. I cannot go for smears. I was looking at the Superdrug kit the other day. Do ythey definitely send the results to the GP? I thought you just logged on yourself to access them?

Has anyone had this test?

How did you get on?

@quince2figs thank you so much for taking the time to post that informative update. I did the Superdrug HPV test after I tore twice during a smear test, once at a sexual health clinic and then again at a GP. Although the nurse at the clinic had a sample, it was contaminated with blood so disposed of. This was a completely traumatic experience for me. The GP didn’t get a sample at all at the second attempt. It’s been left with a consultant proposing that I should have one under general anaesthetic which seems like taking a sledgehammer to crack a nut particularly as, post the sexual health clinic attempt, I realised that the sample is prescreened for HPV and I could pay to test for that myself.

@Buttonsandroses the test is easy but you do need to follow the instructions carefully. You are swabbing the vaginal wall not reaching for your cervix (and hurrah for that ). If the sample is insufficient to test you will be told exactly the same as with a smear test. The lab won’t just decide to guess! Obviously at 50 quid a pop you don’t want to waste it though. Mine came back HPV negative so I won’t be having a smear test either under anaesthetic or otherwise. My partner is concerned about that because of all the marketing campaigns around smear testing and all the comments that you find all over Facebook and on threads like this about Jade Goody, ‘womaning up’, saved my life etc etc etc. I work in science (not medicine) but there seems no logic to me in having a smear when the test protocol would only tell me what I know now.

@quince2figs

I’m afraid most smears are now done by relatively junior (often newly-qualified) practice nurseses, who may have no gynae experience or have ever seen a cervical cancer. The days of smears being done by an experienced GP or senior practice nurse, possibly along with a bimanual examination and gynaecological history, are long gone.

Thank you for this. That responds to the notion to that ‘checking your cervix’ is a key, if not the main, purpose of current smear tests

Somehow on here, even when you have a medical professional explaining how things have changed, you still get shouted down and berated by other women.

How often should you test? Every 3-5 years like the Smear test?

@RandomAmanda

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.

But even if you go to the GP for a smear they test the HPV swab first and in most areas they won’t even test the smear cells if it is negative. So it won’t pick up those without HPV anyway.

@Angel2702 Yes that is true. My letter says they test for HPV & if it is negative then no further testing will be done.

Ive ordered my test it should arrive on Thursday

[quote lozster]@quince2figs thank you so much for taking the time to post that informative update. I did the Superdrug HPV test after I tore twice during a smear test, once at a sexual health clinic and then again at a GP. Although the nurse at the clinic had a sample, it was contaminated with blood so disposed of. This was a completely traumatic experience for me. The GP didn’t get a sample at all at the second attempt. It’s been left with a consultant proposing that I should have one under general anaesthetic which seems like taking a sledgehammer to crack a nut particularly as, post the sexual health clinic attempt, I realised that the sample is prescreened for HPV and I could pay to test for that myself.

@Buttonsandroses the test is easy but you do need to follow the instructions carefully. You are swabbing the vaginal wall not reaching for your cervix (and hurrah for that ). If the sample is insufficient to test you will be told exactly the same as with a smear test. The lab won’t just decide to guess! Obviously at 50 quid a pop you don’t want to waste it though. Mine came back HPV negative so I won’t be having a smear test either under anaesthetic or otherwise. My partner is concerned about that because of all the marketing campaigns around smear testing and all the comments that you find all over Facebook and on threads like this about Jade Goody, ‘womaning up’, saved my life etc etc etc. I work in science (not medicine) but there seems no logic to me in having a smear when the test protocol would only tell me what I know now.[/quote]
Did you use the Superdrug test?

'It was only by looking at my cervix that they found a polyp, that would have been missed with home testing'

Yes same with me. I had it out 2 weeks later. Sent for biopsy but was clear.

Please get tested properly

@blackheartsgirl

'It was only by looking at my cervix that they found a polyp, that would have been missed with home testing'

Yes same with me. I had it out 2 weeks later. Sent for biopsy but was clear.

Please get tested properly

They are bringing these out on the NHS in the future