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

[chickentikkawhatswrong]

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?

Because I've now only got one boob as I lost the other to cancer. Go for your screening ladies, it's there to save your life.

I think self testing during covid may help bring forward replacing smear tests with the HPV self test screen as a first screen. There was a view that jo public is incompetent and an HCP is needed. That has maybe changed a bit now.

Changing the NHS is like moving a tanker - it takes an age for the change to be agreed and executed. Public opinion also needs to be changed after years of ‘marketing’. See the petitions over leaving longer time between tests and testing younger women. There is a public view that ‘more is more’, every decision is penny pinching, with little appreciation of the risks and value.

@Trinacham. that’s what they have to do. Believe me once you leave the surgery, you’re not given a second thought.

Some people don’t agree with you, get over it

And some people have their reasons for refusing a smear test, get over it.

[quote Katya213]@Trinacham. that’s what they have to do. Believe me once you leave the surgery, you’re not given a second thought.[/quote]
Which of my comments is this in response to?

@TimBoothseyes you’re on a loser there. Haven’t you realised that their opinion is the only correct one?

One thing I have noticed is that those of us who do find it painful haven’t accused the ones who don’t of being wrong

[quote PinkSparklyPussyCat]@TimBoothseyes you’re on a loser there. Haven’t you realised that their opinion is the only correct one?

One thing I have noticed is that those of us who do find it painful haven’t accused the ones who don’t of being wrong[/quote]
Sadly I fear you are right.

I agree. It does seem odd that we are happy to accept that for many it is not painful, just a shame that there are a few of those that refuse to afford us the same courtesy. Says more about them than us though I guess.

I posted way upthread about vaginismus. Think at least one other poster had also talked about it at that point.

So @123usernamesilly - am I lying about a condition that doesn’t exist?

@Contra03

I posted way upthread about vaginismus. Think at least one other poster had also talked about it at that point.

So @123usernamesilly - am I lying about a condition that doesn’t exist?

I think a lot of the posters on this thread think those who don't go for them are liars.

I’m in my mid 30s. I’ve had 3 smears so far. Obviously couldn’t have done it when I was pregnant with my 2 children, so have had some breaks etc etc. I don’t want to have one now. Easy as that. My smears were never uncomfortable, but I have a busy life and such an invasive procedure makes me feel stressed. I’m also very anxious and waiting for the results is really triggering for me. But the most triggering is the way they push this screening on me just like its something so paramount while the risk for me is low (HPV negative in monogamous long term relationship). At the same time it is EXTREMELY hard to get help when I really need it. For example, they refused to prescribe antibiotics when I felt like dying with bacterial tonsillitis. I didn’t eat, drink or sleep for days in excruciating pain when they finally agreed to help. They refuse to refer me to a full thyroid profile despite me having Hashimotos and a very bad family history. But they push this cervical screening on me. Why? Why they keep on pushing their own agenda but refuse to provide treatment I really need, I’m sick of it. I don’t want a screening because I’m tired to be a sheep-like creature and being patronised into something I don’t want to do. Inform me once, let me know it’s available and leave me alone. Enough is enough.

Yes there are many reasons smears can be painful, vaginismus, endometriosis and in my cases vaginal atrophy which have been indicated again and again on this thread. Clearly all in women’s heads though according to some.

Instead of women being forced to put up with the pain or just not go, they should improve the test and like PPs have suggested, there are ways to do that now. But no, easier to say, come on ladies, imagine how painful cancer is!! FFS.

I'm very chill about smears, very relaxed, find them only slightly uncomfortable, don't care about the sex or gender of whoever does it, go to every one.

And I still can empathize why for some women it might be an issue and support their reason/ decision. It's their body after all.

That’s a very good point by @okthx. I’ve been going to my GP for 7 YEARS with the same symptoms but nothing ever happens. Blood tests are done and quite honestly the last lot of results were abysmal but because they are barely in range the GP won’t treat.

However I’ve been bombarded with messages to get a smear test, get a mammogram, get a flu jab, get a coil.

A more cynical person could assume it’s to do with the fact they get paid extra for these.

WE HAVE LOL!! Some people don’t agree with you, get over it.

Nobody gives a shit what you think.

@Iheartmysmart
I feel the same. I feel like they don’t care about me as a person, unless it’s my cervix or something to do with their campaigns. They never address my own concerns, even when their colleagues strongly recommend so. I remember having an ultrasound scan with a consultant and my thyroid had abnormal changes. Even after that they refused me a full thyroid profile. I’ve got a history of thyroid cancers in the family. That’s why I see red when they keep bombarding me with reminders about smears. And yes, GPs got rewarded for high intake of smears, at least it was the case in the past.

@Restzol

I think someone on this thread mentioned or implied that the test is also a visual screen of the cervix? I’m not sure this is actually the case? I’m not undermining practice nurses who do the majority of these tests however they are not trained gynaecologists who will have had experience of seeing examples of what is a rare condition presenting at different stages. Yes, they might spot something obvious but that is not the point of the test; getting a cell sample is.

It was me. Im a HCP Yes they do visualise the cervix,they take the cells from a specific area of the cervix, it has to be seen to do this. They are not gynaecologists but know what a normal cervix looks like and if something looks concerning or they see a cyst or polyp then further referral for investigation is made.

A GP was called in to check mine as it looked abnormal and I was sent for colposcopy.
Ive lso had a cervical polyp seen by the practice nurse and it was removed by my GP( womens health specialty)

@okthx I can really identify with what you say. I think I have arthritis in a couple of joints, my chest sometimes feels tight and I have increasingly bad migraines. Getting to see a dr feels an odyssey. No face to face. No availability. Yet I can be consistently harangued over a smear. Lots of resource available for blanket processes. If you don’t fit the cookie cutter, jog on. I exaggerate to prove a point but only slightly.

I'm massively overdue and actually had one booked for last week but had to cancel as DC was ill and DH away. I now have another one booked way in advance, no idea if it'll clash with my period or not - we'll see.

I don't find them particularly painful or traumatic or anything, but it is something that is easily put off especially as my life is incredibly busy and it's not easy getting an appointment.

I simply cannot believe that so many people would risk not knowing whether they have a cancer because of a couple of minutes of embarrassment and discomfort. You know cancer is quite painful, too and cause a lot more discomfort than a smear

Why do you care? Worry about yourself and stop mithering on about what other people do. Doesn't affect you.

And the smear test does not find cancer, it finds cell changes that could lead to cancer.

And to answer another point - yes if you have irregular periods it can be quite difficult getting the timing right. You used to have to be in the first 10 days of your cycle. They are less prescriptive now but it's still not easy.

Last time I waited until the first day of my period and then phoned and got an appointment for 3 weeks later. It worked - but when you are peri-menopausal it might not!

I go for my smears but they are getting more and more difficult. I have a progressive condition that affects a lot of things I my body, and it seems as though this is causing smears to become unbearable, the pain is ridiculous. Since a GP at my practice didn't stop when I asked her to, I now have anxiety about it all as well.

I go to the hospital and they do it as part of a special clinic for people who have difficulty with smears. The gynea chair they use makes it so much easier than the standard bed at the GP and the staff there are used to doing difficult smears.

My last one was over so quickly and was the easiest in the last 10 yrs but has come back inconclusive. I will have to go back in 3 months for another. I will keep going for them, but know my condition will reach a point where I will prob need gas and air or sedation in order to do it. I will ask for a hysterectomy when I reach this point.

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

It isn't just a test. It is very painful for some of us so bog off. It also gets more painful as you get older.

@Bellalasagne1

Because I've now only got one boob as I lost the other to cancer. Go for your screening ladies, it's there to save your life.

No thank you.

@JuergenSchwarzwald

I simply cannot believe that so many people would risk not knowing whether they have a cancer because of a couple of minutes of embarrassment and discomfort. You know cancer is quite painful, too and cause a lot more discomfort than a smear

Why do you care? Worry about yourself and stop mithering on about what other people do. Doesn't affect you.

And the smear test does not find cancer, it finds cell changes that could lead to cancer.

Yeah, it's amazing how many posters can't keep their noses out of other women's reproductive organs.

Has anyone posted stuff by GP Dr Margaret McCartney who raises some of the issues in universal screening? Particularly that you are more likely to get a false positive than an actual positive and go through invasive treatment that you didn't actually need, this is another factor in my decision-making (along with no family history of cancer, not being sexually active, and living very healthily). https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/13054346.cancer-screening-no-thanks-says-gp/ She does emphasise that it's crucial to get any symptoms checked out.

I also identify okthx with being treated badly by medical professionals in the past (and recently) and wanting a more equal relationship.