I’ve never had a smear test and I don’t want one either

[Seventeenstars]

Controversial I guess, I’m 36.
I don’t think it’s necessary, as I’ve read about my risk factors and I don’t meet the criteria. All the men I’ve slept with (without protection) were virgins and yes I know they were for sure.
I also have no family history of any cancer.
My partner has prostate cancer in both sides of his family, his dad has it currently and he’s not even been offered a screening test for this.
I find this so frustrating and contradictory when women and men are treated so differently and if you refuse smear or breast screening you’re seen as an awful person, and those who do are morally superior.
Men aren’t coerced into invasive internal examinations.
I have an aversion to having things inserted in me internally and feel I have a right to that decision regarding my body.
There are home tests for HPV available, which I have done myself in the past - all clear.
My question is why do they persist with this archaic procedure when there are other options available?

I keep getting phone calls from my GP surgery trying to persuade me to book a test. I don’t understand why they’re always pushing it, but just totally dismiss other medical issues, which has been my experience several times.
Do they get extra commission for this or something?
There are even pop up ‘clinics’ and drop in sessions going ahead near me.

Of course I know I’ll be bombarded with replies saying I’m selfish, stupid and uneducated. I’ve even read other women saying that those who refuse should be denied any medical care!
But I have done my research and I am more than aware of the implications.

I’ve never thought anyone was awful for not having a smear. Or for having a tattoo or being vegan or wearing high heels or any other choice.

I was however one of those who had a late smear due to a mix up at the surgery, it was only by chance speaking to someone else about their daughter due to have her first that I realised I hadn’t had one that would have been due around 10 months prior, got it scheduled and I had CIN3 stage HPV cells, no symptoms, definitely no pain or irregular bleeding. When I had the lletz treatment they showed me on camera & my cervix was covered in cells, I ended up with a punch biopsy too just to be sure everything was removed where it was vast & instead of the usual 2 weeks recovery it was 6 weeks, I couldn’t have a bath in that time or any kind of penetration. I’m not suggesting for a minute that this could happen to you or anyone. The main reason I would recommend one is that from years of lab experience, people are not always great at swabbing properly. If I hadn’t had that conversation with my friend & scheduled it, genuinely I think I might be dead or dying today & I don’t say that lightly. The doctor who performed the lletz drew me a line to explain what was going on before we started, just from reviewing the smear results, he was really good and took the time, he said 0 is normal, no cancer, 10 is cancer, and you would sit at 9 on this line.

I certainly did - I bought my consultant a mining headlamp to make the process easier.

By the end of my cancer treatment it seemed like everyone and their mother had had their hands/head up my chuff.

Jade Goody… just a thought

@RampantIvy

Can’t you see the clear difference between having sex with someone in a comfortable and enjoyable situation and being in a medical setting with a stranger sticking an object inside you?

I don’t even understand why you’d make that comparison.

You’ve obviously ever met anyone with CC. You’re decision is indeed ‘thick’ and no you shouldn’t be eligible for any treatment should you refuse the free preventative.

You say it is unfair to you as a woman that you are being offered screening for cervical cancer and your male partner is not being offered the same for prostate cancer.

Another way of looking at that is that the NHS are trying their best to make sure that women are getting screened to prevent them getting cancer.

In this case women have a test and men are lacking a comparable test. So we're doing better. I don't really understand the misogyny in this one specific example of health care. ProstateUK is literally campaigning for men to get a screening programme. Men want the tests!

But It's about cost verus health outcomes across populations. The bods in the NHS weigh these up separately for cervical cancer, prostate cancer, bowel cancer, breast cancer etc

Screening programs cost money (staff, facilities, labs, publicity etc) Will they catch sufficient cancers at an earlier stage to make the cost worthwhile both in terms of good health outcomes and avoiding expensive treatment of later stage cancers? All the screening programmes will have a different rate of false positives. These will need further diagnosic tests or be treated unnecessarily. This has a financial cost and an emotional and physical health cost to the patient.
The incidence of different cancers, the average age at onset, how aggressive the progression of the different cancer types and the side effects from treatment all play a role in these decisions too. Cervical cancer for example is diagnosed on average in younger age groups than prostate cancer. Cervical cancer often progresses at a pace and is a cause of death. Prostate cancer may be aggressive, but a large subset of prostate cancers progress very slowly. A valid treatment option for men with prostate cancer is "watchful waiting". The cost of screening for these men is higher than doing nothing.

If your partner wants to be screened he can go to his GP with his family history and any relevant symptoms and ask for a digital examination (finger up the bum) and a PSA test (blood test) if he's under 45 they might say no to the PSA, but he could have it done privately. They shouldn't say no to the digital examination

You are of course free to make your own choice on your PAP. Home HPV swabs are being offered to replace routine PAPs so it great you've done this. But it makes very little sense to say you're not having yours because your partner can't have his. Or to refuse a medical screen because of a moral stance on misogyny in medicine

@CallMeDaphne
I find it unfair, as I’ve repeated many times on this thread, that there are other less invasive ways of screening for HPV (which is essentially all they do nowadays anyway) but yet this archaic procedure continues.

It's the same every time this topic comes up. People just can't let women make their own choices.
What does it matter what others choose to do or not do with their own bodies?

Why are you testing for HPV if all the men you’ve slept with are DEFINITELY virgins?

Can you explain a bit more? I’ve asked for pain relief before and not been given it. Just asked to take paracetamol.

From this it sounds to me like they should be offering more prostate screening, not less cervical screening? Screening has been shown to reduce cancer rates, I think that's worth it for the price of saying no thanks on a few phone calls. Are you arguing for less of a focus on women's health?

“Can’t take it anywhere myself and can’t dump it anywhere” that tells me everything.im glad you have no car!

I agree with you for the most part. I'm 38 and never had one despite all the pestering. Also agree re prostate cancer-the utter scaremongering over men having a PSA test or biopsy and having adverse affects. They even said something like the worry it would cause men who didn't have aggressive cancer outweighs the benefits which is SO offensive to the men who could've caught their PC early and not died a horrific death. Women who say men get better medical treatment should think again.

I am due a smear but I am not sure either. I hate the vulnerability of it. Laying there in a freezing doctors surgery, in a room that I am not familiar with with my legs open. Ugh.

I have since had the HPV vaccine anyway, and had it before I was sexually active (yes I am a very late bloomer...)

Smears have changed and they only test for HPV now anyway, and don't even look at the cells they scrape, so I am wondering if I can do one of those home test kits instead.

All that tells us is that you have very black and white thinking and will argue till you’re blue in the face you’re right & everyone else is wrong.

It is your decision at the end of the day, but doesn’t mean it’s a good one, especially as you have a child.

It’s great you home test - I read nhs is starting to do home testing too.
sleeping only with virgins is not the issue - you can also pass hpv through oral sex as you can have the wart virus in this part of the body too.

@glitterpaperchain No, I’m asking for more options in this screening. E.g. the non invasive test that is available but for some reason isn’t being offered or even spoken about as an option.

Erm.... ok?

@SeventeenstarsI've not read all the posts so apologies if this has been posted before but....

You can get HPV from someone who is a virgin.

HPV is not just spread through penetration.
It's also spread through fingers and mouths. That means any former sexual contact with anyone else.

www.eveappeal.org.uk

HPV is passed on through skin-to-skin sexual contact. This includes sexual touch, oral, vaginal and anal sex, and sharing sex toys.

Also at 36, you could have had the HPV vaccine. You may have just missed it when at school but you could have paid for it privately.

If you want to test yourself , fine.

Yes, that's right, because having enjoyable sex is exactly the same as having a stranger stick a lump of cold metal up you. 🙄

What's really unhinged as far as I am concerned is the conspiracy of silence (I mean generally, not on this thread) around the fact that some women need help to get through having a smear, and that it's not always just a case of 'pop your knicks off, moment of mild discomfort and Bob's your uncle.' I also find it saddening that it seems to be mainly women ripping into other women if they dare to decline their smears.

People keep quoting Jade Goody

My question is if the current rules were applied back then would they even have found she had cervical cancer? I'll assume she must have tested positive for HPV.

Under todays testing had she not tested positive for HPV no further testing would have been done so hypothetically she's not much use to hold up as example if she wouldn't have even had further testing?

The phrase 'grit your teeth' making me cringe here 😂

I had vaginismus and my first smear I was so physically tense it was really painful. Next time I used hypnobirthing breathing techniques, wasn't painful at all. Of course everyone is different so I'm not saying if you just breathe through it it won't hurt. But if you're gritting your teeth it probably will!

You can have a chat with a gp before your smear - they offered me a drug to relax me before smear as I find mine painful - think they offered me Valium.

The fact that they only test for HPV, don't routinely look at the cells anymore, and could therefore do the screening much less intrusively for huge numbers of women is, for some reason, almost totally ignored on here. Mostly just a lot of people telling you you're thick, when they don't understand, or want to know, that the test has changed.