All women and people with a cervix every five years now smear test

[justasking111]

Five years in Wales is this the norm in England, Scotland, Ireland?

Our surgery put it up on their FB page this week.

It was three years here last time I checked.

Yabu it's fine no reason to be concerned

Yanbu it's too big a gap.

But they don't test for pre-cancerous cells now do they? Just HPV?

Well my friend had two bad tests so had a procedure. They said all fixed so every three years. She wasn't happy so booked privately after 18 months HPV was present.

Transgender men? Who are these people? Why would they need a smear if they are men?

Not routinely no, If you had issues then maybe yearly.

Exactly what I was going to say 🤨

64 here

At least they're saying women and not just the hideous 'cervix havers'.

Are they still not checking for cancerous cells if you are HPV neg? Not sure I will bother anymore

In the uk it's every 3 years age 25-49, then goes up to every 5 years 50-64.

YABU to virtue signal with ‘people with a cervix’.

I meant England not uk!

Transgender men are biological women so if they still have a cervix that's all that matters
And only biological women CAN have a cervix

Not in Wales

I could get arsey about this 'All women and people with a cervix' thing, because it infers that women without a cervix are either included. Which is silly. Or that women who no longer have a cervix (like me) do not count as women. Which is insulting.

I prefer to think that the OP has just worded it clumsily,and no insult was intended.

Again quoting surgery verbatim 🙄

@ the above replies, transgender men have cervixes too and therefore need to have a smear done. Inclusive language harms no one

Inclusive language in the NHS has the potential to harm women and girls if we go along with the nonsense that we can change sex and that bloke with a penis is a woman.

Transgender men (i.e. women) know they've got a cervix so need testing along with other women.

OP was right to quote her GP's surgery's wording.

I did wonder if I see any point in going if they are not actually checking for pre cancerous cells in HPV negative people. I am due my next one though, so I might have it and then leave it and see how I feel in 5 years.

In Scotland and Wales it's now every 5.

Are they though?

Precisely.

And inclusive language can be very harmful actually, @ToRecordOnlyWater

You appear to have inadvertently sounded a klaxon with that title, OP.

Because they still have a cervix, womb, ovaries

@Lalalacrosse @Evolutionarygoals HPV can lay dormant for many years so you can't really know for sure you don't have it, even with no changes in partner. I don't think the messaging around it is good enough, there doesn't seem to be a huge understanding even in the medical teams. I've been told different things by two consultant gynaes.

I'm not happy with the change to 5 yearly, but yes that's the norm in Scotland. They say cases will be very low in those born after 1990, so I have concerns that's prompted the change. As someone born in 1990 who was too old for the vaccine at the time (despite being a virgin when it was rolled out) and who has since tested positive for HPV, I'm livid.

This is my fear - that now all they test for is HPV when HPV isn’t by any stretch implicated in all cervical cancer

I had my 3-yearly one in England last year and had HPV. Which meant they did test for abnormal cells, which was clear. But was called back this year for that reason. If this one is clear then I will be back to the regular schedule but the nurse didn't say whether that was now 3 or 5 years. If I still have HPV but no abnormal cells I will be called back again next year. If abnormal cells, will be referred for a colposcopy. Which I've had in the past, leading to loop diathermy treatment but had been clear for years until last year.