to decline cervical screening offer?

[Teacupsandtoast]

Just that really.

Is there a simple process for opting out or is there hoop jumping required? (Which often seems to be the case when it comes to withdrawing consent for anything)

What a brilliant post. Thank you @ScotchPine

As the poster said shortly after you posted this, some responses on here are just horrific. 😘

I've had to laugh at posts that say it's a 5 minute procedure @Walkaround. It may be for some lucky people but not for me unless the person doing it actually knows what they are doing and they are very few and far between.

It's funny how women will fight for women's rights to access abortion, yet women who use their rights to say no to cervical screening deserve to get cancer and should be refused treatment on the NHS. Pro-choice my ass. Bunch of hypocrites.

Yes I've read most of the thread and the only valid reasons I've seen for not getting a smear is during pregnancy and the women without a cervix anymore because they've had it removed!
The people saying it's painful/traumatic - I sympathise and I find it painful too due to tilted cervix but I still do it because I've gone through a lletz procedure and that's much worse! And if you do find it so painful/traumatic then please talk to your doctor or nurse and find a solution, there is always a way. With some nurses I haven't felt a thing so just because it's painful once doesn't mean it always will be.
Those saying they don't need a smear because they don't have HPV/been with their husband 30yrs etc - HPV can reactivate after being dormant, as it did in my case. And no one can be 100% certain their partner hasn't cheated at some point and then passed HPV onto you.

To me, the risks from getting a smear are very small, whereas the risks from NOT getting a smear are devastating.

Yes I've read most of the thread and the only valid reasons I've seen for not getting a smear is during pregnancy and the women without a cervix anymore because they've had it removed!

It's not actually for you to pronounce on whether someone else's reason is valid though.

@maddening

Whilst.i would always say that having screening is the wisest position surely it is.a.cade.of just not making an appointment for.screening if you don't want it. No-one is liberally standing on your doorstep demanding to examine you or dragging you to the surgery.

@ShhDoNotTell

If only it was so simple. Try having GP appointments where they want to spend those precious five minutes trying to convince you to have a smear test instead of paying attention to the thing you’ve actually turned up for.

EXACTLY THIS. ^ Do the GPs get £500 for every woman they get to have a cervical smear test or something? Do they get some kind of 'Amazing GP' award or 'Nurse of the Month' award if they talk a certain number of women into it? Because I have never known ANYTHING be pushed by the GPs and nurses like the cervical smear test.

I even had a GP telling me once that he would only administer the MEDS I needed if I booked an appointment for a smear test NOW. Actual fucking BLACKMAIL. I booked it then cancelled. I thought 'I will have one when I am good and ready, not when you fucking blackmail me into it.'

It's not the only time it happened either, I was bullied and mithered numerous times to have a smear test. (when I was only a few weeks overdue!)

You can bet MEN would not have to go through this shit for ANYthing. I have never known ANY GP or nurse, bully and blackmail my DH into having a prostate exam, or having his balls examined! Do you think men would even tolerate this shit?! In fact I don't think the GPs and nurses have even suggested it to him. (He's in his early 50s.)

As a pp said, they don't go up your arse to get a poo sample, they have you bring it into the surgery after getting it yourself. There is absolutely NO NEED to be called in to the GP for a cervical smear test these days. As many people on here have said, you can do a test yourself, without even needing to touch the cervix.

onlinedoctor.lloydspharmacy.com/uk/sexual-health-advice/what-is-a-home-hpv-test

Some of the shaming and name-calling on here, and the idea that women who refuse the tests should never get any medical care if they develop cervical cancer (if they don't attend smear tests) is disgusting. And again, it's blackmail.

Nasty.

The women I know who don’t attend have made an informed choice based on their research into the risks and benefits and their personal circumstances
And what's their background?

I don't have an issue with women making their own decision but I resent them thinking that they know better than the experts.

The NHS resources are very finite. They invest in treatments and procedures that are evidenced to be cost effective. Months if not years are spent considering these values vs costs. This is led by people with vast experience, public health consultants (who are officially medical staff) and health economists.

Now I agree that you shouldn't trust blindly but to assume that one knows better because they've read some research, chosen with bias, is extreme arrogance and just dangerous.

@WhileMyGuitarGentlyWeeps well said.
Women's bodies are widely considered to be public property (think pregnancy).
In my 20s my GP would not prescribe the contraceptive pill for me unless I agreed to a smear test as and when SHE decided. Is that not blackmail?

@vivainsomnia the point is that what is right for individuals will vary and individuals can make up their own minds and come to different conclusions about their own lives and bodies without being wrong or stupid

This!

The only valid reason I need is: no thank you.

I don't have an issue with women making their own decision but I resent them thinking that they know better than the experts

The experts say that there are pros and cons to screening and that women should make an informed choice. I agree with them.

I don’t understand why you wouldn’t want to go, given the potential consequences of not going, but there no mysterious hoops to go through if you don’t want to go. If you’re invited to make an appointment, simply ignore the letter. If an appointment has been made for you, common courtesy dictates that you contact them and cancel it. Simple

The people saying it's painful/traumatic - I sympathise and I find it painful too due to tilted cervix but I still do it because I've gone through a lletz procedure and that's much worse! And if you do find it so painful/traumatic then please talk to your doctor or nurse and find a solution, there is always a way.

That involves them actually listening to you and not treating you as if you're a nuisance. Why has no nurse ever mentioned that I've got a high cervix and it's over to one side and therefore it will hurt? Why just keep going knowing someone is crying in pain if there's another way?

@Snog

well said @WhileMyGuitarGentlyWeeps

😘

Women's bodies are widely considered to be public property (think pregnancy).
In my 20s my GP would not prescribe the contraceptive pill for me unless I agreed to a smear test as and when SHE decided. Is that not blackmail?

THAT! THAT is something that happened to me too, some 20 years ago, (as well as the 'no meds unless you agree to a smear test' bullshit.) I was ALSO told 'no birth control pill unless you have a smear test.'

Fuck me! Women really HAVE been treated like shit over the years with stuff like this haven't they? How depressing.

I could honestly weep with frustration and anger when I sit and think about it.

the point is that what is right for individuals will vary and individuals can make up their own minds and come to different conclusions about their own lives and bodies without being wrong or stupid
And I agree with that. As said, my issue is with those who try to convince others/themselves that science doesn't support the need for screening and it's just a waste of time and money.

As said, my issue is with those who try to convince others/themselves that science doesn't support the need for screening and it's just a waste of time and money

Can you pinpoint the posts that have said that? All I have seen is an acknowledgement that there are pros and cons to screening and that each woman needs to be allowed to make an informed choice based on their individual situation and risk factors.

For people saying there are no valid reasons not to get a smear test.
Do you think that because you can't think of any that would stop you personally from getting a test that therefore there are none?
Do you recognise that something that would not put you off could be a valid problem for someone else?
Do you realise that everyone including you balances lots of decisions on personal risk differently every day of their lives? Are the people who make different risk decisions from you on other issues all wrong and stupid?
Do you want people to be required by law to get a smear test? To protect the "stupid women" from themselves?
If you choose to drive your car when you could have walked somewhere and are involved in a road accident should the NHS refuse to treat you?

Actually, some of the doctors involved in screening have stated that if the screening didn’t exist already and it was tried to be introduced now, it wouldn’t pass the tests. It’s simply too inaccurate. See Dr Margaret McCartney etc.

Nobody has said that screening is a waste of time or money though.
We are talking about choice
We are talking about bodily autonomy
We are talking about being presented with a balanced scientific view of the pro and cons of screening for individuals
We are talking about alternatives to invasive screening procedures being available
We are talking about recognition of issues women may have with the process given that it is invasive, undignified and can be painful
We are talking about not shaming women as is going on on this thread if they decide not to have a smear
We are talking about not having to explain your reasons to strangers - or anyone - if you decide not to test

@WhileMyGuitarGentlyWeeps I am sorry for what happened to you 😘

Aren't some health authorities trialing DIY swab to look for HPV, if negative you don't need a full smear. Is this worth looking in to OP?

Wow. Some of the responses have been utterly horrifying. I especially liked 'hope you have a good will' as if my declining a test will 100% result in cancer 🙄

Anyway, thank you to those who were able to offer some helpful advice here and via pm.

You can already purchase these from the likes of Superdrug. I've never had a smear test. I choose to do this home test instead.

This. Nobody is rocking up to you front door demanding you take the test. An automated letter or text from the GP is hardly 'mithering'. Just don't go, rather than behave like a petulant teenager NOBODY CAN FORCE ME, I'LL GO WHEN I DECIDE! Good for them, some of us prefer to take the free test and count ourselves lucky that these things are available.