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 how can you know you've not got it without the test? Unless you've not had sex since your last one of course

No this is wrong and dangerous as well.
The test for hpv detects if it’s active. You can have consecutive negative tests, no sexual partner for years, and then test positive as a previous infection (which came and went without problem inbetween previous tests) reactivates.
The only person sure to remain free from hpv is a virgin.

I second this.

Honestly, I stopped going.

I was CIN 2 when I went. It changed to CIN 3 within the 2 weeks I was on the potential cancer pathway; I had all the treatment they do, including burning my cervix AND taking a big chunk out of it, as well as a laparoscopy for potential cancer. All while HPV negative. They removed a LOT of my cervix and I'll be unlikely to ever again carry a child to full term due to this.

I then went for my 6-month check-up after all of the procedures, by which time they'd changed to HPV test only while still doing the smear anyway. They didn't even bother to examine my cervix properly, despite me having undergone extensive treatment for pre-cancerous cells just 6 months prior to that. I got a letter a few weeks later saying that as I was HPV negative, they weren't even looking at my cells.

It was that moment I decided to ignore all further letters.

But that doesn't mean anything as it can lie dormant for years and years.

@UsualChaos
Thank goodness!! Another reasonable person on this thread!

Not all of uk.

The only person sure to remain free from hpv is a virgin.
You can be infected with HPV without being sexually active – as HPV spreads easily through skin-to-skin contact, it is possible to be infected with HPV without having sex. Prolonged contact with infected skin, such as holding hands, may cause transmission of the virus.

yup that's why they offered it to young children. It works best if the child is a virgin. I remember the hoo hah and parents refusing because "The NHS wants our girls to have sex early"

You don't need to hit your cervix. The home tests aren't cervical screening. It just needs to be inserted into your vagina.

This argument and toing and froing on breast cancer screening illustrates this

I'd be interested in learning more about that @FragileIsAsFragileDoes

This was a bit of an eye opener for me. Recommended by someone on Mumsnet

The Patient Paradox: Why Sexed Up Medicine is Bad for Your Health amzn.eu/d/07icdpNR
Margaret McCartney
he Patient Paradox: Why Sexed Up Medicine is Bad for Your Health

The HPV vaccination program started here in 2006. Women and girls who have had that vaccine are at a significantly lower risk of developing HPV/cervical cancer.

yup this. I have declined the "over 60's MOT" I have recently been texted out of the blue from my GP surgery asking me to text them back a blood pressure reading and if I have no machine then Boots will do one for me. My first thought was that they had sent the text to the wrong person, although my name is an unusual one......but no "we are just texting people who we haven't seen for a while....now I had reason to call 111 around 2 months ago. It was fine, had just given myself a scare but I know they told the GP because I gave permission. It was nothing to do with blood pressure.....so I know they know I was alive 2 months ago. Nice receptionist lady was quite puzzled when i said no I wouldn't be going to Boots or sending them a reading and could I be taken out of this texting list please? "Oh I don't know if i can do that but I will ask" This is a surgery that is struggling to provide service for its overflowing patient list....

Overall, for every 1 woman who has her life saved from breast cancer, about 3 women are diagnosed with a cancer that would never have become life-threatening.

From https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/breast-screening-helping-women-decide/nhs-breast-screening-helping-you-decide

In addition to major unnecessary surgery or other unpleasant investigations, other screening harms: anxiety, cost, false reassurance.

This is a good article on the risks of screening. https://news.cancerresearchuk.org/2018/03/06/overdiagnosis-when-finding-cancer-can-do-more-harm-than-good/

Everyone has a different tolerance to accepting risks (and different risk factors that might predispose us or ffect decision making). We should all make an informed decision to have or refuse screening and it is a pity that the prevailing narrative is that more is always better.

Unfortunately screening by stealth is an issue, including nice-sounding initiatives in pharmacies and by private companies. These are rarely supported by evidence. I'm a doctor but spend a lot of time worrying about harms of too much medicine!

I’m probably not going to bother with a smear if they don’t check the cells, feels completely pointless (and like a cost cutting exercise to me) Surely checking both cells and hpv status is the safest way.

By all means refuse screening if you dislike the test, or think you have low risk or for any other reason of your choosing. But the switch to HPV testing is evidence based. It is still a good screening programme.

Margaret McCartney is a heroine on the topic of overdiagnosis.

Absolutely @godmum56
Why are we focussing on well people when there are so many that are ill? My daughter has mental health and physical issues and trying to get a simple appointment is impossible unless you have a whole day to spend on or near the phone.

I've just received a letter informing me that my appointment for a breast cancer screening has been booked for next month! Absolutely no literature sent and apparently my GP had recommended it.

GP surgeries get paid for each exam (smear) and breast screening - they are a business at the end of the day and have targets to meet.

@FragileIsAsFragileDoes
Yes definitely agree with HPV home testing. This should have been rolled out years ago.

I was in the first year to get the HPV jag in 2008. It was three jags at the time but I believe it might have changed to just the one now?
And it's every 5 years for a test in Scotland now too, it changed in 2020.

Women. Just women will do as no one else has a cervix.

The Dutch follow evidence based testing for cervical cancer. Their women have been offered the HPV self test swab on a stick for about 15 years now. They also start testing later, first test is 30, because nearly all under 30s have HPV at some point. They only offer screening 5 times over a woman's lifetime. Their CC incidence and death rates are amongst the lowest in the world.
I'm also a great fan of Margaret McCartney. Her book is a real eye opener.

When I went for my first smear, I was told every five years due to having had the HPV vaccine.