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?

I guess 'painful' isn't the right word actually.
Unbearable / excruciating would be better words.

It’s get a smear or don’t find out you have cancer until it has significantly progressed.

This is still wrong.
It’s get a smear or don’t get a smear.
In the very, very, very unlikely chance you get cervical cancer (I am talking about mg own personal risk here), it could be at a later stage.

Never had one. Fear of pain. I had a speculus thing when I was induced and it was the most pain I'd ever experienced at that point.

I do want one though, but I also don't feel like I've been chased at all. My midwife said I should get one straight after giving birth (I was in hospital for a week so plenty of opportunity) but as it was lockdown I think they just didn't bother. And I didn't chase because.. fear.

Maybe got half a dozen letters, in 10 years.

I never miss an appointment, always book when I get the letter. For me it is uncomfortable, it usually makes me bleed, I have a tilted cervix so it can be awkward but still I go, it takes 5-10 minutes.

I have also been a victim of rape and sexual abuse but I don’t connect the 2, it’s a medical procedure, but I do understand that some people may see it as a trigger. I find the nurses that do them are very gentle and understanding. I would rather go through 5 minutes of discomfort than die of cervical cancer which could have been detected before it got to that point.

Smears have always been difficult for me, my uterus tilts backwards & the nurse always struggles to find my cervix, takes ages & not pleasant but
I never missed one.
Then one I had in my 30s found severely dysphasic cells, I had treatment & all was well.
I had no particular risk factors for cervical cancer, no family history etc.
No symptoms at all
If I hadn’t had that smear test I very probably wouldn’t be here now.

I put my first one off for a couple of years because honestly I'm just very anxious about health stuff and that leads me to procrastinate check ups etc. I eventually caved and booked one after a local woman my age died from cervical cancer and that gave me enough of a fright.

It was fine in the end and I'll be getting my next one on time this summer. I didn't find it painful but that doesn't mean others don't. For me, getting my coil inserted was absolute agony and very traumatising, and I find it really upsetting when people say it's not painful or that I must have a "low pain tolerance", so I'd certainly believe anyone saying they find smears awful.

It’s ultimately the same difference though. Burying your head in the sand for minor discomfort can have serious consequences.

It’s totally different. Making the decision to ignore having something worrying checked verses choosing not to get screened for something you’re highly unlikely not to have is in no way the same thing.

What really annoys me is chirpy posts (like the one way above) saying how amazing and important it is. Like women don’t know. We’re hectored and reminded at every turn.

This

What would really help is for women to be able to use a self-administered test for screening rather than have to go to a clinic for an invasive procedure. That would be truly amazing and reach so many women who currently can’t face the testing procedures we have right now.

And this.

There are some really unpleasant posts on this thread - unnecessary and unhelpful.

Just because you don’t feel that a smear is painful/frightening/triggering doesn’t mean it isn’t for someone else. Have some fucking empathy.

For most women a smear test is a moderately painful but thankfully quick procedure. For a significant number though it isn’t and whilst I would encourage everyone to have the test if they can, I can understand why they don’t.

If this thread encourages just one more woman to have a test though, it has done a great service.

I haven't declined yet...but my last smear the nurse couldn't 'findp' my cervix. Something about it being potentially tilted. She tried for ages even got someone in to help.
They finally succeeded. Once out I realised she had tried for 45 mins, I was so sore I was hobbling to walk for two days.
Im not sure if being securely active and not having given birth means things are less accessible but another time like that and I won't be going back.

@TheSpottedZebra I’m not doubting that it’s an upsetting experience for you and others on this thread. I’m just surprised because there are people who get it who are low risk and a smear is much less pain and upset over a greater period of time than a course of treatment for an advanced cancer. Optimism bias I guess.

*sexually active

HPV can lay dormant for years which is why we should have them routinely instead of when we get a new sexual partner.

It is really hard to get an appointment, I have irregular periods plus it is nearly impossible to get through on the phone. I haven’t been to the GP for years. A walk in clinic would be great

People talking about "inserting metallic things", are they not using disposable plastic speculums then? I have only ever had a smear privately and the speculum was plastic. I couldn't face the thought of them using a metal one that had been used on someone else on me.

Thanks to this thread I now know I can get an HPV test to self-administer, so I may have a go at that instead. That's really helpful to know!

I don’t cope with them because my colleague (a doctor) sexually assaulted me in that position . I can’t cope with any part of it and usually end up fainting or dissociating .

I bit through the back of my hand the last time - and that was with a female GP and female nurse who were fully aware and who kept telling me how safe I was .

I’d happily do something at home, but can’t cope at all with being examined at the GP .

grapewine I had it done yesterday and was surprised to be asked if I had sex regularly (can't remember being asked that on previous occasions) but the nurse explained why it was a relevant question.
I am 62 so it is the last time I will be called as part of the screening programme and although I have never had the sort of bad experience some PPs have had, it is always something I dread. Nevertheless I have always gone for screening when called (raised in a medical household)

I have previously delayed mine for a variety of reasons. Mostly because I hate that it is so dehumanising, painful/uncomfortable and a nightmare sometimes to get an appointment as a convenient time. Like most of the procedure that the medical profession do on woman if they had to be done on men there would be better tests with less invasive instruments and also pain relief.

To everyone else that says it’s painful - no it’s not. It is uncomfortable and embarrassing definitely and I hate it too but god it is so important for your health

Here’s a thread full of women telling you it’s painful and you still don’t believe us.

I don’t find it embarrassing at all, not even a little bit. Does that mean you’re wrong?

I delay cos disorganised, and also the only way to book it is by phone which I have to psyche myself up for (autistic and struggle with phones). The app only lets you book regular appointments. The actual test is a doddle compared to that, at least for me. There needs to be a more accessible way of booking them.

Stopped going when the HPV/sexual transmission link became clear. DH & I, we've only ever had sex with each other.
Should I become a merry widow or whatever I might well get an HPV test, the vaccine (if -ve), and start getting smears again if I had sex with other people.

I have not been sexually active for many years and had two clear smears in a row during that time. My last one was a year before I should have aged out anyway. All my life they have been painful and often triggered thrush, no idea why. and once again, its a choice... Bodily agency remember?

@whenwilliwillibefamous

Stopped going when the HPV/sexual transmission link became clear. DH & I, we've only ever had sex with each other. Should I become a merry widow or whatever I might well get an HPV test, the vaccine (if -ve), and start getting smears again if I had sex with other people.

same for me too.