Cervical screening campaign

[GrimSisters]

This popped up on FB and everyone seems to be thinking he's oh so wonderful for having dreamed up this ad campaign. AIBU to think it's gross, or am i just a massive prude?

From 'Man Behaving Dadly'
"A little while ago, I was asked to come up with ideas for a social media campaign led by GP practices in Suffolk to try and encourage local women to not ignore their letters inviting them for a smear test.

I pitched the slogan ‘Use Your Head, And Spread,’ which I didn’t think they would go for as it’s about as close to the mark as I have ever gone, but incredibly they went for it as part of their new campaign - Uncomfortable, Awkward, Lifesaving.

I know that it’s going to upset or offend some people, but surely if it gets people booking their smear tests then the job’s a good’un?"

It’s not embarrassment; it’s fear . I’ve had and bladder problems since I was 8 years old and internal examinations now absolutely terrify me. I’ve had dozens and dozens and surgeries and all sorts and been left bleeding, shaking and crying too many times. Too many times I’ve said stop and been ignored .

It’s absolutely terrifying and feels sorer than when I had an impacted wisdom tooth pulled out - I wish it was just that I felt awkward . I got removed from the lair because the letter sent me into a blind panic.

@Marmitecrackers

I can't believe there are people on here telling you how to opt out of screening reminders. FFS this us serious.

Go and get it done. Stop being embarrassed and just do it.

You still don't get it.

I have ZERO problem having them done. None at all. Had one last year and now on 5-year programme.

But it really isn't a big stretch intellectually to realise that my experience is not universal and that it is an optional test.

And campaigns that sexualise the procedure and/or attempt to shame women are wrong.

Yes, Helena, there's now a blood test for prostate cancer.

Oh quelle surprise!

Whilst the language used in this Message may not appeal to all of us, including myself, it probably does hit home with some who might not otherwise Hear the Message.

It's FB, some people just use or highly rely on FB for their info, and it is that 'audience' which is the target for this message.

I would just ignore and hide such FB items if they bother you. I just ignore and hide FB as a matter of course which I generally find helpful and keeps my Hearing a bit clearer too.

Inappropriate, misogynistic and just plain crude. I cant believe anyone thought this was the message to go with.

I stopped having smears at 40 (I’m in my 50s now). Because I have a tilted uterus, I have to perform gymnastics, naked, spreadeagled, with a thousand watt lamp shone at me, while the nurse prods my cervix with a stick, all the time being cranked open by a freezing cold steel implement. I always bled for days and the dull ache would last for days too - like period pain. Add to that the inconvenience, time off work, weighing (and tutting), embarrassment and scolding reminders through the post and all I think when I see an advert like this is “fuck right off.”

Perfi - I know exactly what you mean about the hunting around for the cervix, I very recently had a smear at the age of 58 having been told at 52 that was my last one

The first 'final' smear involved that metal instrument with the screwed on skewer which defo hurts as apparently our vaginas aren't so 'pliable' in our 50s.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago, because my age group had been added to the cervical screening program and thankfully the expanding metal instrument with skewer attachment wasn't being deployed up my vagina.

Instead a much more comfortable clear plastic (?) instrument was used, the main problem was that my cervix ha done a massive retreat and it took some rooting around to find the damn thing, because apparently that's what our cervixes do,

Results all clear.

I received the Message Loud and Clear in the 1990s when I was recovering in Hospital from a serious operation at the same time as a Lady not much older than me was dying of Cervical Cancer.

She was the one that told me (as we sat in the Smoking Room) how important regular smears are.

If the crass Message saves a Life or two then job done.

They don't open the cervix during a smear test. The speculum opens up inside the vagina which gives the nurse access to the cervix, and then a small brush is used to collect cervical cells.

Christ on a bike.

A poster opens up about how fucking agonising they find smear tests, and this is what you take from it - an opportunity to be all pedantic about precisely which bits of the anatomy the speculum goes into.

How about giving the poster the benefit of the doubt, and assuming that whether she's used precisely the right word or not, where-ever the speculum's going, the process is agonisingly painful for her, just as she says it is.

Personally I attend cervical screening, I had one on time last week. It was, for me, quick and fine, helped by the fact the nurse was very nice and personable. I did avoid a nurse at the surgery I don't particularly like.

I didn't want to do it, I've had one child, a very traumatic birth which resulted in a third degree tear and a huge haemorrhage. My stitches burst adding to the trauma and don't want to be reminded of the amount people who rummaged around when I was feeling so sore and vulnerable. Plus thanks to the split stitches my vulva doesn't look 'normal'. However it is my decision to go, no one else's business. Whether other women go is none of by business.

I echo many pp in that it's offensive in many ways. Medicine often seems to see women as second class and this doesn't help dismiss that worry, and that attending a cervical smearing is embarrassing/distressing/uncomfortable/painful.

It's gross. And there's no reason to assume it will save lives.

And created by a man? Sounds like some horrible guff young men come out with (when they refer to women as bleeders/breeders and faint at the thought of menstruation or childbirth).

Eww it’s so off putting.

@Marmitecrackers

I can't believe there are people on here telling you how to opt out of screening reminders. FFS this us serious.

Go and get it done. Stop being embarrassed and just do it.

I'm not "embraced" by lying there naked. I don't give a fuck about that. But it's physically impossible to get the speculum in my vagina and complete the test. I have tried many, many times. It's a physiological issue. What exactly do you want me to do? Short of fully sedating me in an operating theatre? I've had previous traumatic experiences and traumatic smears. I have had to accept I might die of undiagnosed cervical cancer.

In many areas, cervical screenings are now tests for HPV. Only If detected, the sample is further checked for cell changes.
It is possible to pay for a home HPV test. ( Some parts of Australia do this as standard) A positive test would then mean thinking about whether to go for a full smear. But for many people, myself included who would wish to avoid a screening test that they find traumatic or painful, it could be an option to consider.

There are more options for making cervical screenings less traumatic discussed here. Including inserting the speculum yourself
www.teenvogue.com/story/diy-pap-smear/amp

I'm not embarrassed. It fucking hurts.
That's not why I can't go for one though. I have to put mine off for weeks of even months if I can't get childcare. You want me to come have a smear? Start a crèche. Hell, if there's a crèche facility I'll have a full work up

@CaraDuneRedux I think its really important to understand exactly what happens during the test. Of course you will be anxious if you are lying there thinking that your cervix is about to be prised open. This is another reason women dont attend-they have misconceptions about how the test is performed. Im not saying some women don't find it painful, but if a woman heard her friend or family member talking about the pain they felt when the speculum 'opened their cervix' that is obviously misleading and could likely put them off going. The reason I corrected that poster and wrote what actually happens during a smear was Incase anyone read her post and assumed that's what happens during a smear- that their cervix will be opened. It wasn't to patronise the person that wrote it.

Urgh. I don't mind smear tests and always try to go on time, but that phrase is actually putting me off 😱 I definitely think it would put off first timers, it's like saying 'oh it definitely will be horrible, but just make yourself do it'

My thoughts exactly ChalkDinosaur. I also don't mind smear tests but the wording makes it sound like they're awful but should be endured. I can imagine that would be very off putting for nervous first-timers or trauma victims. Such an ill thought out slogan.

Marmitecrackers
Odfod.

None if your damn business who does or doesn't go for a smear and why or why not. If you go for yours then whoop de fucking do. For the rest of us, knowing that an opt out is available is life changing.