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)

They test your immunity to HPV

No, they test to see if you have HPV. And with any new sexual contact, you can get it again as there are different strains.

Interesting to see all the people lining up to tell the OP that cervical screening is essential and lifesaving without even knowing how old she is and whether she's vaccinated.

From her later posts about having had several screenings and children I assume she's not under 27, but that didn't become clear until a long way into the thread: she could have been a fully vaccinated 24 year old being invited to her first almost certainly pointless, (but painful and not risk free) screening.

Apologies that's not quite correct, they check the sample for HPV which, if you've been vaccinated, you're very unlikely to have.

@Mariposista should smokers be denied treatment for lung cancer? Obese people Denied treatment for related conditions, T2 diabetics be refused treatment if they are making choices that worsen their condition? What a ridiculous thought process you have.

I just told my GP that I wouldn't have any more smear tests, after a very painful one. I was, I think, in my 50s, never had a dodgy result, hadn't had sex with a man for over 30 years, so reckoned I was pretty low risk: she said she could appreciate my pov. Never got contacted about it again.

I have a genuine question - it may sound ignorant, but in terms of discomfort is it really all that different to a penis penetrating for most people?

I ask because I suffer with a condition called vestibulodynia, a form of vulvadynia - I do enjoy sex but it requires a lot of lube and lidocaine ointment which I get prescribed - and being carefully positioned. I’m usually in a bit of pain and discomfort afterwards when the ointment wears off. A smear test is always a lot easier than the beginning of sex in my experience! Maybe I’m just used to some discomfort down there - including if I angle a tampon the wrong way - so perhaps that’s why I’m slightly unfazed by speculum discomfort.

Smear tests are often referred to as causing discomfort, even by medical professionals, but for the average woman, is it really that much more uncomfortable than a penis initially making it’s way in there?

@Sugarsandwiches @RubbishDay But isn't the procedure the same? The HPV swab is taken in the vagina and the same way as a smear. Well, mine was anyway on the same day, same time!

I asked gp to take me off their reminder list. That stopped the ones from the surgery.‘haven’t worked out how to stop the pct (ccg, whatever it’s called now) ones so I just bin them.

“Screening only feels useful when they find a problem”

And how do you think they identify the problem?

Yes sorry I have posted again to clarify my mistake and cross posted with you.

OP, you can just not go. You're under no obligation.

www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/features/why-i-m-saying-no-to-a-smear-7577967.html

You are not aroused and lubricated during a smear. You would be with a penis.
Penises also do not 'open you up' like a speculum does.

Also, OP, I'd like to make this really super clear:

You GIVE consent, you do not WITHDRAW it. Your body is yours. Its up to you what happens to it, except in some very extreme situations.

Sorry, was meant to quote @BeanieTeen

Smear tests are often referred to as causing discomfort, even by medical professionals, but for the average woman, is it really that much more uncomfortable than a penis initially making it’s way in there?
Personally yes. The speculum is hard and has sharp edges while a penis, while "hard" isn't like solid plastic. The position is uncomfortable and I feel pain when they scrape the little thing against the cervix. It's not unbearable but it certainly is uncomfortable

@Welpthereitis you need a GP appointment not a smear. A smear is a screening tool, not a diagnostic investigation.

Letters and reminders are sent by the Cervical Screening Authority, not your GP. If you choose not to make an appointment after the first letter sent, they will send a reminder, and if no appointment is made by 32 weeks you are marked as a non-responder. Your GP surgery may then choose to send intermittent reminders by text or letter. This is to ensure all women have the opportunity to attend if they want. Many will forget to make an appointment, or lose the letter and think they can’t attend without it, or don’t realise that as long as they are eligible for a smear they can attend any time it’s due even if years past their eligibility date.

The official guidance for withdrawal from cervical screening is

Most individuals who choose not to participate in the programme will do so by not making an appointment to have a sample taken rather than by making a request to be ceased. Where individuals do not respond to a screening invitation, they are designated as ‘non-responders’ after 32 weeks and may receive additional reminder letters from their GP practice. Individuals who remain eligible for screening are recalled at intervals according to current protocols.

An individual can make an informed choice to be permanently ceased from call and recall. The request for permanent withdrawal from cervical screening should be submitted in writing where possible. This is to ensure that there is no misunderstanding and that they are not ceased from call and recall in error. Further details on the ceasing procedure are available in Cervical screening: removing women from routine invitations.

I do hundreds of smears a year. I think they are a good thing but would never use guilt, misinformation or coercion to persuade a woman into having one. There are things we can do to make it easier for women who find them difficult or painful. A good practitioner should take the time and effort to do this, however despite all our best efforts and plenty of experience some women do find them distressing or painful. We shouldn’t minimise that but work with a woman to enable her to have a smear should she want one.

Oh and to the PP who thinks only gynaecologists should be doing smears - give over. We don’t have enough to deal with gynae-oncology or gynae-urology let alone be carrying out routine procedures. We can refer to the Difficult Smear clinic if needed, but very few women need this.

Nurses will tell patients to see the doctor if they're really struggling , who can then discuss options.

Yes so I was tested about 2 years ago, have made my own assessment of risk that unless I am cheated on etc I have no way of getting it, so why go through it? If I had any changes to periods or abnormal symptoms I'd go private to get a proper smear.

I can't see your link @Ohwhathaveidonenow - paywall.

What women need to understand is that they can refuse treatment and more investigations at any point.

If your smear shows mild changes, you are usually screened again in a few months.

Even if the changes are CIN3 you can refuse treatment because in young women (under 30) it often does not progress.

For CIN1 and CIN 2, it's often 'watch and wait' for 12 months to see if it clears.
If not, then it's a biopsy.
That shows if it's aggressive and may need treatment.
Even then, it's your choice.

But not to have that information does put you at risk.

Yes if you have it through the smear test.

But when I have looked at home HPV tests they just have a swab and you don't need to use a speculum nor have to swab high up. Therefore for me it wouldn't be as painful which seems a great solution. I would only need to go through the whole 'smear test procedure if the HPV test is positive.

I’ve always been in the past, but now I know they aren’t testing for cancerous/pre-cancerous cells, just for HPV I’ve stopped. It’s a nonsense. It’s an invasive, uncomfortable test. Test for the actual disease, fuckers, not just the risk factor.

Well why don't you simply engage with them, allow them to explain the reasons, formally decline, and then they can document informed dissent. That would be preferable to wasting their time sending for you. They have to keep doing it otherwise you could sue them for only reminding you 20 times, not 30.

@Welpthereitis you should be able to insist on a referral to your hospital gynaecology department under the two week pathway with those symptoms.

@Sugarsandwiches That makes sense, but (and do put me right if need be!) I thought that the virus could lie dormant for years and years? If it's dormant, does it show on an HPV test? Or only when it's active?