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

[coolma]

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??

Actually I would have to disagree about cervical screening in the UK - it has a 100% coverage. The Belgian system only achieves a 58% population coverage and their overdiagnosis is horrendous. Similarly for many other European countries. Most of them are aiming for a UK system and implementing it as they have the funding. BUT the OP's daughter would not be a candidate for screening in any Western country. She has symptoms and requires diagnosis - not screening.

Yes, she does require a diagnosis.

I think the screening matter is debatable though, as until a few yrs ago the UK had one of the highest rates of mortality for breast cancer, for instance. I do think though, that screening is taken to the extreme, at least in Italy, and that is for reasons not as noble as to guarantee our health

I think it is wrong that she won't be screened but it is OUTRAGEOUS that your GP said she couldn't have one if she's bleeding. That's a totally different scenario. She is presenting with symptoms and should be investigated for those symptoms. See another GP ASAP.

Yes - she should have a smear more regularly than that. You could storm into the surgery and demand one.

Or she could fork out £87 and have it done privately. That's about the cost of a pair of shoes and a meal out. I know you shouldn't have to go private but personally I think that's fairly little to pay to safeguard your health for another year.

I live in Northern Ireland and we get called for ours as soon as we turn 18.

It's ridiculous that's she's having bleeding and still being refused. Surely if you have a lump on your breast at 20, they would check on it rather than waiting until you reach the age you get mammograms.

She is having symptoms that need further investigation and a smear is a medical investigation.

its 25 here too, i was told that it was earlier if you'd have kids before then, But my midwife when pg with DD said it was still at 25.... I am 23 now and currently pg with DC3... and yet i wont get a 'routine' smear till i'm 25. Luckily i have taken myself to the GUM for one anyway just to be sure, not becasue i thought i had anything!!

was on tv a couple of weeks ago a woman dying of cancer (she's 25 ish). she tried to have smear at 18 & was refused. by the time she got it, it was too late for her.

She was also told lab would throw it away if they saw under 25, so no point in storming surgery & demanding one. you need to either go to gu clinic & lie about age or go private.

pretty shocking. as france says, should be after starting sex.

but i remember they said also problems with testing early, so not 100% clear cut.

The smear program is a method of screening the asymptomatic population for cervical cancer, not for investigating people with symptoms.
If your daughter is worried because of bleeding between periods then she should go to her GP about it, who shgould then examine and investigate as appropriate.

This change to the age to start screening is fairly recent,but they are guidelines sent to us by the people who do the testing.It is based on Statistics,ie. the numbers of Cervical cancers found in women under 25yrs.

There will always be exceptions to the rule,and in that case you would have symptoms such as bleeding etc. so if that is the case then the GP or STI clinic will decide if cervical Screening is necessary.

The other reason it was changed is because due to the Cervix undergoing changes when someone is under 25,alot of people were sent for Colposcopy(under a Microscope) in Outpatients and biopsied.The reason for the "abnormal result" was the changing cervix,yet people have developed scar tissue/problems etc. following this procedure and have had fertlitiy problems later on.

Like alot of things,it got changed to "protect" the majority,there will always be certain cases where Cervical cancer has developed before the age of 25,but we would then notice signs and see someone.

The HPV injection is to prevent a big cause of Cervical cancer,but we can't screen under 25's if the statistics are showing us the biggest cause of problems in this age group is STI's.

Here here mmm. Absolutely no need to go private - just find a decent GP.

Its also necessary to note that Cervical Smears will only show if there are abnormal cells in your Cervix,many people are having Ovarian and Uterine cancers that are aggressive and can strike early.Smears wouldn't help detect these.

She does need some investigating I agree. The chlamydia has been dealt with, but I'm worried, obviously, about her future health, as well as the implications of having to wait so long for a simple procedure. I think I will go with her to her appointment and explain - I know her attitude is kind of 'phew' as she, like all of us, doesn't like the idea, but, as and when the bleeding is diagnosed, I still feel that a smear would be a logical step. Gawd, I've got a three year old daughter as well - can't wait to go through all this again

Don't get fobbed off by being told a nurse should do the smear either. A doctor needs to do it and needs to have a good look at the cervix and check for polyps etc. Then do the necessary tests to investigate the bleeding.

mmm, but we were discussing coolma's dd health problems and screening as two different issues!!
As I said, a visit to a GUM clinic is your best bet. Plus (sorry I don't want to come off as patronizing, but I feel very strongly as having suffered from chlamydia myself) I think she should be informed about long term effects of sti. Chlamydia can for instance lead to infertility if left untreated for a long time. Good luck Coolma (not looking forward to the dc's teenage yrs here )

sti??? I meant STDs

I got a smear at 20 when I was having odd periods/shedding tissue (it was inconclusive but ended up being marked up as a potential early MC) so it is possible, don't let them fob her off!

Mind you, I though it was a MC from the start and was crying a lot so that might have helped...

(that was last year btw)

25?
I remember being urged to have my first one when I got to Uni at 18.

The routine screening programme is from age 25 now but that is for screening not diagnosis. Screening is looking at a group of people who have no symptoms and diagnosis is looking at one person who does have symptoms and they are very different things.

Having been an embarrassed 18 year old girl in the past and now being a doctor - did she tell them she was having problems or did she just ask if she could have a smear test?

There is a box on the smear form to tick for clinical indication so that would not be a problem at all but she will also need a proper check-up and discussion. If she is happy for you to go with her to the appointment then that might help.

YANBU - it's outrageous and I just don't understand the rules on this.

When I younger you had one a year after you first had sex. Even with turning up to all the subsequent appt's I still had to have an op to remove pre-cancerous cells from my cervix. It's so irresponsible to just wait and see what happens...

But then this is the government that with two vaccines available, chose to give Cervarix in the UK rather than Gardasil, which most of the rest of Europe are using becaue it's 100 per cent effective. Our girls get the slightly cheaper onw which has only a 70% success rate against the most common varieties of the disease, and it's only 30% effective against some new strains.

If you're really worried mabe you could pay privately?

YANBU - it's outrageous and I just don't understand the rules on this.

When I younger you had one a year after you first had sex. Even with turning up to all the subsequent appt's I still had to have an op to remove pre-cancerous cells from my cervix. It's so irresponsible to just wait and see what happens...

But then this is the government that with two vaccines available, chose to give Cervarix in the UK rather than Gardasil, which most of the rest of Europe are using becaue it's 100 per cent effective. Our girls get the slightly cheaper onw which has only a 70% success rate against the most common varieties of the disease, and it's only 30% effective against some new strains.

If you're really worried maybe you could pay privately?

sorry two posts

well three now. I'll get me coat.

The age here in Wales is 20. I know this as DD1 was invited for a smear last year and she was 2o.I also know other 20 year olds who have been invited for a smear,