To think that you shouldn’t need to have HPV to access a smear test?

[Amima]

AIBU to think that women shouldn’t need to be HPV positive to access a smear test? Apparently this is the rule now. The NHS collects the sample from you and tests it for HPV. If it’s negative then they won’t do the actual test that checks for cancerous cells. All of this fuss about how important it is for women to get smear tests, and now they’ve basically put a stop to them.

@THNG5 where do you for the private ones? Nuffield as well?

Around £290. Smear is undertaken by a consultant and the results get sent to you and also your gp so if there was any problem the NHS would pick it up from there I'm sure.

[quote Sunshinedaisymeadowsxx]@THNG5 where do you for the private ones? Nuffield as well?[/quote]
I haven't been yet (due in October) so haven't yet inquired. I'm near London though and know there are places on Harley St that do them.

@aiwblam

Cost cutting by the nhs. As long as they catch the majority of cases, they don’t give a shit about missing a few. Women will have to die before this is rectified.

It is populations screening which is carried out on mostly healthy individuals. It is a numbers game. Most women will not get cervical cancer.

It has to balance the benefits gained with the risks of damage to healthy individuals at a population level. This change was considered to have significant benefits.

You can find out how the National Screening Committee made their decision here: view-health-screening-recommendations.service.gov.uk/cervical-cancer/

(And yes, it saved a lot of money at the same time.)

I will kick off if they tell me this. I had a have negative after a positive then another positive. HPV can lay dormant for decades and come back again at any time. One of my tests was cin1 minor. Then 2 weeks later when they did the biopsy it was cin2. Then when the did the lletz procedure a week later after that result it was cin3 and cgn. The consultant said with how fast it progressed I was lucky I went when I did. I wouldn't be here today had I not pushed them to do it before the 3 year mark. However now I'm over due and all I get from the surgery is they have a long waiting list despite it being due and will call me when it's my turn. Needless to say I will keep chasing.

YANBU

My sister is currently having treatment for stage 4 cervical cancer off the back of a recent negative HPV smear. It was only our family history that got her scanned when she had worrying symptoms. We believe the delay in accessing treatment is the reason she's stage 4, although that could never be proved.

Despite this none of us qualify for an actual smear test, only the HPV one. I think personal/family medical history should be a filter for the tests. If you're high risk then you get a smear, everyone else gets HPV...it shouldn't just be an option for those with the money to pay for it.

CIN1 is not cervical cancer.

CIN2 is not cervical cancer.

CIN3 is not cervical cancer.

CIN 3 means the full thickness of the cervical surface layer is affected by abnormal cells. CIN 3 is also called carcinoma-in-situ. This sounds like cancer, but CIN 3 is not cervical cancer.

www.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-information-and-support/worried-about-cancer/pre-cancerous-and-genetic-conditions/cin

This thread is filled with misinformation and scaremongering.

Where is the scaremongering? It’s common sense that somebody looking at a sample to see if there are cell changes that could lead to cancer is clinically safer than screening for HPV when many posters on this thread have said they were HPV negative but had treatment for cervical cancer. The bottom line is it’s cheaper to do HPV screening rather than cervical cancer screening and quite reasonably and understandably a lot of women on here clearly don’t agree with this.

[quote conkersarebonkers]Soon we'll all just be doing HPV swabs ourselves at home ...

www.england.nhs.uk/2021/02/nhs-gives-women-hpv-home-testing-kits-to-cut-cancer-deaths/[/quote]
That's what I do already.

I find smears triggering so I pay for private DIY HPV tests.

I get to put my mind at rest without going through a traumatic experience. It's brilliant.

@Wineandroses3

The bit i don’t understand is this; I keep reading that HPV can come and go in your body. So if I test negative for HPV on one day, does that mean a month later I could be tested and it say HPV positive? If the HPV is in its “dormant” state in your body does that mean the test wouldn’t pick it up and you would be told you’re HPV negative?

In it's dormant state HPV will be undetectable in the body. Various things including stress and illness can affect your immune system which is keeping the HPV in a dormant state and cause a flare up bringing the viral load to a detectable level.

Thank you noshow, so am I right in thinking that it’s a bit concerning that a woman could have HPV (the strains that cause cervical cancer) but when she is tested it is in its dormant state, so she’s told she is HPV negative, but then after the test for whatever reason the HPV becomes active and could lead to cervical cancer?

Yes, very concerning.
In my case
2017 HPV -
2020 HPV + ( Cin changes too)
No sexual contact at all between these smears ( actually since 2016) so HPV had been in my body for at least 4years.
Prior to 2016 I had been together in a monogamous relationship since 2005 and every smear had been normal.

@Noshowwithoutpunch

Yes, very concerning. In my case 2017 HPV - 2020 HPV + ( Cin changes too) No sexual contact at all between these smears ( actually since 2016) so HPV had been in my body for at least 4years. Prior to 2016 I had been together in a monogamous relationship since 2005 and every smear had been normal.

And I almost didn't go for my latest smear as I thought there was no chance I'd be anything other than 'normal'.

If you want to do a DIY test you can get them here - HPV test only though - not a full look at the cells: onlinedoctor.superdrug.com/hpv-test.html

If you're high risk then you get a smear, everyone else gets HPV...it shouldn't just be an option for those with the money to pay for it
It isn’t even an option for those with the money to pay for it. I’ve had abnormal cells removed in the past... I’m not happy with just an HPV test, I want a smear... and I can’t get one for any amount of money. There is no way to get a smear test unless you’re HPV positive.

The bottom line is it’s cheaper to do HPV screening rather than cervical cancer screening and quite reasonably and understandably a lot of women on here clearly don’t agree with this
Fair enough it’s cheaper for the NHS - but I’m willing to pay any amount of money out of my own pocket because I want cervical cancer screening, and it’s simply not possible. If you don’t have HPV then it’s impossible to get screened.

It worries me as well. I've had widespread, recurrent CIN3, needing two quite extensive loop excisions within a year when my DS was a baby, and I would feel much happier and more reassured if I knew they were actually looking at my smears. I'd had several clear smears before this change in protocol came in, but there's always a nagging worry when you've needed treatment.

@WhenZoomWasJustAnIceLolly

I didn’t have the smear test once the nurse told me it wouldn’t be sent off if hpv negative. I’ve only had sex with one person and not at all on the past seven years. I won’t be hpv positive but still not sure if I’ve done the right thing. It just feels pointlessly invasive.

My past smear was HPV positive, but the previous smear (which admittedly was longer ago than it should have been) was negative, yet in the meantime I met my DP and certainly haven't had sex with anyone else in that time. I think it can be dormant for quite some time before showing as positive (if I've understood correctly).

@Lemonyfuckit Yes it can stay dormant for some time. I have had several normal/negative smears then my latest was HPV+ and I have cervical cancer. Have been with same DH throughout!

I don't have an issue with it only screening for 99% of cancers - no screening programme will be 100%. I do however think that they should switch to a self/blood/urine test to detect HPV as smears are a unnecessarily invasive way of testing, and uptake might be better if there was a less invasive option.

OP it has been said on this thread that you can pay private for a proper smear test (not just HPV test) and it’s being offered by Nuffield health - a PP has put a screenshot of what Nuffield offer.

@user16395699

CIN1 is not cervical cancer.

CIN2 is not cervical cancer.

CIN3 is not cervical cancer.

CIN 3 means the full thickness of the cervical surface layer is affected by abnormal cells. CIN 3 is also called carcinoma-in-situ. This sounds like cancer, but CIN 3 is not cervical cancer.

www.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-information-and-support/worried-about-cancer/pre-cancerous-and-genetic-conditions/cin

This thread is filled with misinformation and scaremongering.

The point seems to have gone over your head that: 1. No CIN is not cancer but can lead to it (and can progress quickly) which is why several of us have had CIN 2 and CIN 3 treated with laser excission

1. Several of us here have had these pre-cancerous cells while testing negative for HPV
2. We are worried now that our samples are only being tested for HPV without going on for further screening unless found to be positive for HPV and that the treatable and symptomless changes we have had in the past would not be picked up under the new system
3. We are worried that it's only if we have cervical cancer symptoms that we might then get treatment (if we are lucky) and that by the time you have symptoms, it may be already too late.