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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To be outraged that my daughter cannot get a smear for another 7 years?!

53 replies

coolma · 21/11/2008 10:06

My eldest is 18 and has had erm, a few 'partners' it has to be said. She is worried as she is bleeding between periods and has had chlamydia (sorry if tmi, and I'm not proud of this but..) Also, there is a family history of cervical cancer - my granny, my sister, me.. Yet, her doctors say she can't have a smear till she's 25!!! Do I storm the surgery??

OP posts:
RubySlippers · 21/11/2008 10:07

can she not go to a family planning clinic and get one done there?

artichokes · 21/11/2008 10:08

This info is from teh NHS cancer screening website:

Why are women under 25 and women over 65 not invited?

Cervical cancer is rare in women under 20. Teenagers' bodies, particularly the cervix, are still developing, which means young women may get an abnormal result when there is nothing wrong. This could lead to unnecessary treatment so screening young women might do more harm than good.

Under the age of 25 years, invasive cancer is extremely rare, but changes in the cervix are common. Although lesions treated in very young women may prevent cancers from developing many years later, the evidence1 suggests that screening could start at age 25. Lesions that are destined to progress will still be screen-detectable and those that would regress will no longer be a source of anxiety. Younger women will not have to undergo unnecessary investigations and treatments.

Any woman under 25 who is concerned about her risk of developing cervical cancer or her sexual health generally, should contact her GP or Genito-Urinary Medicine (GUM) clinic.

francagoestohollywood · 21/11/2008 10:09

Here in Italy it is advised to have a smear regularly after you start to have sex.
Has she been treated for Chlamydia? Her gp should make a referral to a G.U. Clinic, imo and ime.

wideratthehips · 21/11/2008 10:11

go to your local GUM clinic instead of gp surgery. i used to work in one and your dd would certainly be seen more regularly. chlamydia is vital to treat for her own health and future partners health and their future partners health etc etc. and also your family history means a closer eye should be kept on the cervical cells. i think most hospitals have GUM clinics attached to them. they are very discrete and non judgmental.

Tinkerisdead · 21/11/2008 10:11

When i was 19 i got a smear from the GUM clinic for exactly the reasons described by your daughter. although they screen for STI's they found that i had a cervical erosion and that was why i was bleeding. Now if i have any gynae issues, i would go to the GU clinic as they screen for everything and are far more thorough than GP.

francagoestohollywood · 21/11/2008 10:12

As much as I love the nhs, I think it should work a bit more on prevention and btw the age women get cervical cancer is getting lower, at least this is what my ob/gyn told me.

Clamydia can be detected with a swab, btw (if memory serves me well. I had it and was treated at our local GUM clinic, they were fab)

wideratthehips · 21/11/2008 10:15

my brain is a little fried these days (i was a nurse there pre children but working there whilst pregnant...so five years ago). phone them directly and ask, don't be embarrassed about being pro active. it may well be a health professinal you speak to..or ask if you can and see if you can be seen without referal. (i think we did)

2shoes · 21/11/2008 10:16

I would storm in
when I was younger I demanded a smear yearly. because of my family history (yes I now no you don't need them yearly)

janinlondon · 21/11/2008 10:16

No you are not being unreasonable, and she can certainly have a smear at a GU clinic or through referral to a hospital Ob Gyn dept or family cancer clinic. She just can't have one under the general NHS cervical screening programme. The GP (I am presuming it was a GP) should have made all of this clear. To be honest she falls outside most of the criteria for the NHS programme, and for her own good she should be proactive and seek alternative care, so its not a bad thing. She needs to be considered for other things as well as what the NHS service (which is fairly basic) can offer her.

Geepers · 21/11/2008 10:20

When did this rule about being 25 start? I clearly remember having my first smear at 18 then three yearly since then, and I'm 29 now.

Are the rules different for women who have had children already?

MLWfirsttimemum · 21/11/2008 10:21

Would support the advise to go to a GUM clinic. I used to go to one when I was a bit younger and the service there was excellent and thorough (and totally non-judgmental).

AussieLou · 21/11/2008 10:24

This is one of the things that amazed me when I moved here. I could handle the waiting lists, the lack of dentists but the smear rules? Unbelieveable.
In Australia it is suggested that you start having them at age 18 or whenever you become sexually active. You are never refused one because of your age.
I read the NHS site and it recommends that women do not have one until 25 but I could not see anywhere that stated that it was forbidden just that women under 25 and over 65 are not invited to the party (so to speak).
Marie Stopes Clinincs and GUM clinincs will do it according to their websites.

whoops · 21/11/2008 10:29

I think the age of 25 is too high, I was treated for abnormal cells following a smear when I was 22

purpleflower · 21/11/2008 10:37

I was at the doctors yesterday for my 6 week PN check up. He told me that even though my cousin had unusual cells and my Mum died of cancer starting in her womb I still can't have a smear before I'm 25. He said my risks are not raised (this was a postnatal for DC2!!)

At my booking in appt when pg with DD the midwife did say to ask the doctor after but he just dismissed it.

I think it's stupid they are giving 13 year olds injections to avoid cervical cancer and then not even checking up on those still at risk.

onthewarpath · 21/11/2008 10:43

"purpleflowe* you are so right1 it is always on "their terms", never according to the so many reasons you might have to worry and want the test done. It is not like anyone is actually enjoying smear test and just goes for the fun of it!

wideratthehips · 21/11/2008 10:49

it seems so back to front...i'm sure gp surgeries have targets to meet and our local one is very pro active about smears and bombards you with letters. my practice nurse was very insistant about me having one even though i was 37wks pregnant....god i had to really stand my ground that i wasn't having any fiddling about down there that wasn't vital...you'll just have to wait till i can face it i said.

WobblyPig · 21/11/2008 10:50

'it's on their terms' because health policy is not based on the individual but on the population. That's why a number of idiotic things happen. Screening is based on cost vs benefits in most cases.
If you beleive you are the exception you should push to be heard. In the NHS those who shout loudest get heard.

janinlondon · 21/11/2008 10:52

Exactly Wobblypig - it is a cost/benefit analysis and when you look at the figures, taking the nation with its age range and incidence rate as a whole, I think they are right. BUT you can always go outside the screening programme. Screening is for asymptomatic women - the OP's daughter is not asymptomatic. She needs diagnosis, not screening.

BoffinMum · 21/11/2008 10:56

Heard something on the BBC about this actually, might have been Women's Hour.

They said that according to NHS rules, if GPs send samples off for testing they will not even be looked at if the woman is under 25 now.

However if a woman reports symptoms (eg bleeding) I think they can. So the workaround is probably something to do with telling the GP you have symptoms, or going to a GU clinic as others have suggested.

You would think they would be more encouraging to young women trying to protect their health and childbearing capability, woulnd't you????

francagoestohollywood · 21/11/2008 10:57

Compared to other European countries, screening in the UK seems a bit lacking. So I can't help wondering whether the nhs is just wiser or more tight. I'd go for the first option, nevertheless I keep wondering.

Original poster
coolma · 21/11/2008 11:00

Thanks for all your help. I am aware that it's highly unusual under 25 but my sister had a cone biopsy at 21 - so it clearly can happen. I'll have a chat with my daughter - obviously, being 18, she's not thinking about the risks - being invincible and all that!!! I'd not considered the GU clinic. Thanks.

OP posts:
littone · 21/11/2008 11:03

Like Geepers I had my first smear at 18 so surprised the guidelines have changed.

Original poster
coolma · 21/11/2008 11:07

I still have them annually, as had LLETZ treatment in 2002. It all seems a bit wrong to me!

OP posts:
MeAndB · 21/11/2008 11:09

I got my first smear as a 21st birhtday present (it came throught the post along with my birthday cards) I thought this was the same all over the country, I assumed everyone got one at 21, Im in Scotland. And I get one every 3 years due my next just after this baby is born.(3months pg)

me222 · 21/11/2008 11:10

can she not go to the GUM clinic? i go every year with my sis in law shes 21 and im 20 we never cheat or anything but its just good to know as she caught chlamydia when having my neice as the nurse didnt wear gloves betweeen checking patients . . . I dont think your being unreasonable and you should be able to get one done.