Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask why you’ve missed/delayed/declined cervical screening?

936 replies

chickentikkawhatswrong · 19/02/2022 13:56

I see a lot of the campaigns on Facebook about women not going to smears or putting them off for too long.

However it’s generally stats and doesn’t seem to delve too far into the actual reasons?

If you are reluctant what holds you back from attending?

OP posts:
RosesAndHellebores · 20/02/2022 10:13

Response to "there's noting to worry about, I've seen it all before". "Well I haven't shown it all before to a total stranger - so a little respect and dignity won't go amiss"

MischievousBiscuits · 20/02/2022 10:14

My doctors surgery is down to one nurse and they only offer smears one day a week which is always booked up weeks in advance, and it's very hard to book around work.
We should offer the self smears from home or make more walk in options available.

Chasingaftermidnight · 20/02/2022 10:14

Women have every right to decline the test for any reason. It’s not like refusing to get a Covid test when you’ve got symptoms. They aren’t putting anyone else at risk.

However, I do think it’s appalling that some women who actually do want the test can’t get it because of the inflexibility/inaccessibility of their GPs.

WiseUpJanetWeiss · 20/02/2022 10:14

@123usernamesilly

How can it be so painful? I’ve had it done every year since I was 20 and it was never painful. Uncomfortable yes. Humiliating yes But painful no it is not, and I’m extremely pain sensitive. I know know what kind of “doctors” some posters here have seen but you should defo repot them! As it’s not meant to be painful so clearly they aren’t trained properly.
Are you like this in real life?
JanisMoplin · 20/02/2022 10:15

This has been an eye-opening thread for me. Most of my friends in their 50s don't get smears. I don't ask them why- none of my business- but this thread has helped me understand why.

PinkSparklyPussyCat · 20/02/2022 10:15

@123usernamesilly

How can it be so painful? I’ve had it done every year since I was 20 and it was never painful. Uncomfortable yes. Humiliating yes But painful no it is not, and I’m extremely pain sensitive. I know know what kind of “doctors” some posters here have seen but you should defo repot them! As it’s not meant to be painful so clearly they aren’t trained properly.
Fucking hell you're hard of thinking aren't you? Has it not occurred to you that women's bodies are different? Just because it's not painful for you doesn't mean it's not painful for other people. I've had smears that barely hurt and ones, like the last one, that were so painful I cried. So fuck off with you're 'I'm alright Jack' attitude.
Terfydactyl · 20/02/2022 10:15

@namechanging202020

WOW I am actually shocked so many don't go for them!

Painful ?
Embarrassing?

Pretty sure cervical cancer will be way more painful and embarrassing not to mention the fact it can kill you!

Trauma Actual assault while you get your smear, Fuck all to do with embarrassment And pain is subjective, I can have stitches on say my knee, with no pain relief and I'm not bothered, but amazingly other people dont feel the same. Wonder why that is?
123usernamesilly · 20/02/2022 10:16

@WiseUpJanetWeiss yes becouse it’s not painful. It’s uncomfortable but not painful and that’s it.

WiseUpJanetWeiss · 20/02/2022 10:17

[quote 123usernamesilly]@WiseUpJanetWeiss yes becouse it’s not painful. It’s uncomfortable but not painful and that’s it.[/quote]
No, I meant ignorant and dismissive.

stimpyyouidiot · 20/02/2022 10:17

@123usernamesilly @namechanging202020 fuck off with your ridiculous dismissive attitudes

Terfydactyl · 20/02/2022 10:18

For those posters who keep harping on about embarrassment, you haven't read the thread and that makes you look as incompetent as the NHS.

Theluggage15 · 20/02/2022 10:19

Oh do fuck off user and name changing. You sound as gormless as each other.

RedToothBrush · 20/02/2022 10:19

Op: why dont women go for cervical screening.

Women: because the system isnt fit for purpose and does not recognise my needs. I find it aggressive and minimises my problems that i have faced in real life.

Other women: shut up and be grateful the nhs offers you a service at all.

Hmm yes.

Iheartmysmart · 20/02/2022 10:20

I’ve not seen any ‘whining women’ on this thread. Some nasty, insensitive and completely lacking in empathy ones definitely. It’s been women detailing very clearly why they refuse smear tests.

If some posters don’t like this then there are many other threads they could go and spout their views on. So FUCK OFF to you.

LennyAndTheDucks · 20/02/2022 10:23

[quote 123usernamesilly]@WiseUpJanetWeiss yes becouse it’s not painful. It’s uncomfortable but not painful and that’s it.[/quote]
Not painful for you maybe. However for me it is agonising. Last time it took multiple attempts over three appointments for the nurse to successfully get a smear for me because it was so painful and the nurse was unable to do it.

TimBoothseyes · 20/02/2022 10:23

Jesus Christ some women here are worse then kids- yes it’s not comfortable of course and it’s humiliating but come on cope on - it’s just a test

I'm going to put this in capitals because I am shouting...READ THE FUCKING THREAD!!!!!!

123usernamesilly · 20/02/2022 10:25

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk guidelines.

PunyPledge · 20/02/2022 10:26

Swearing isn't a sign of a lack of education or lack of intelligence Confused

namechanging202020 · 20/02/2022 10:27

I didn't mention those who have genuine reasons not to eg trauma ptsd

My post was aimed at those who say it's too sore and yes there's a few throughout the thread!

Surely it's better to have a bit of pain (again not meaning those who it causes lasting affects) than end up with cervical cancer which by the time you get any symptoms of it's too late!

Sassbott · 20/02/2022 10:27

My best friend told me a few years ago that she hadn’t had a smear in over two decades. When we spoke about it and bottomed it out, she was scared. She’s a smoker, had had unprotected sex and basically due to a very bad experience with the medical profession in her teens, also had a deep mistrust of medics in general.

She ended up going for a smear and sti check up and I went with her for support. She was shaking and in tears before the examination. And not in a great place waiting for the results. She had Huge amounts of anxiety.

My personal experience of smears is that they are routine health checks. They have picked up things for me and I have accessed superb preventative treatment as a result. I have no fear about them. I therefore assumed it was the same for others. That assumption was wrong.

I dunno, I’m glad I spoke to my friend about it. My close friends and I now speak openly about medical issues/ checks. So we can support one another. Everyone has fears and as women, we can help one another by not judging.

Terfydactyl · 20/02/2022 10:27

@123usernamesilly

To all the people saying “Fuck off” to others… wow you’re clearly intelligent and well educated women :)
We are just as intelligent as you are empathetic
Trinacham · 20/02/2022 10:27

@123usernamesilly I didn't find giving birth particularly painful and it was a lot easier than I'd thought it would be. In fact, I quite enjoyed the experience. Straight after giving birth I turned to DH and said I'd do it again as it was a breeze (I was very anxious about giving birth prior to this!)
Do you think many women say this (minutes after birth, whilst still being stitched up!)?
As someone stated already, bodies are different and so are pain tolerances. I've struggled with anxieties all my life, so I can completely understand those too anxious to get smears (I use HPV self-tests instead myself!)

TimBoothseyes · 20/02/2022 10:28

[quote 123usernamesilly]@WiseUpJanetWeiss yes becouse it’s not painful. It’s uncomfortable but not painful and that’s it.[/quote]
I felt exactly the same about childbirth. Uncomfortable but not painful enough to warrant pain relief....so I'm guessing if you have children you didn't require any either, because, according to you and others everybody has the same pain threshold.

sanluca · 20/02/2022 10:29

[quote 123usernamesilly]@WiseUpJanetWeiss yes becouse it’s not painful. It’s uncomfortable but not painful and that’s it.[/quote]
You really can't read, can you? After two child births, one where the baby got stuck and had to have them pulled out of my body and I nearly died three times, I have more scar tissue than I want down there. Yes, I can have that treated but as my gynae said, my body is prone to creating scar tissue so not sure if they would succeed in improving things.

That scar tissue and the fact I am menopausal makes smears painful and difficult. Plus I get flashbacks. So to quote others: fuck off with your patronising attitude.

RedToothBrush · 20/02/2022 10:30

Women: we feel coerced, bullied, minimised, and not listened to.

Other women: shut up, shut up, shut up!

No i will not shut up until women are listened to on this.