Changes to cervical screenings

[cervicalcancersurvivor]

Hello! 👋 I’d be very grateful if you could sign & share my petition re changes to cervical screening in the UK! ‼️ Had my test been this year, they would have missed my CGIN and stage 1b1 adenocarcinoma, I’d have been sent away for 3 years and not survived much longer than that
[[https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/549631
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/549631]]

Signed.

Signed

Signed

Signed

Signed.

I hope you're doing ok now and on the road to recovery.

A friend was in a sort of opposite situation. Positive for a high risk strain of HPV but told to wait three years because she had a normal smear. She had an annual check done privately.

Separately, I wish we'd introduce the urine test here. I think it's already rolled out in some countries. So much easier than a smear!

So are they saying they will only test you for cervical cancer if you have a high risk strain of HPV? I.e. they’re basically saying if you don’t have HPV you can’t have cancer?

@Ranunculi

So are they saying they will only test you for cervical cancer if you have a high risk strain of HPV? I.e. they’re basically saying if you don’t have HPV you can’t have cancer?

Yep.... it's awful. Yes, HPV negative + abnormal cells/cancer is rare (apparently) but if they'd only tested me for HPV and sent me away, they wouldn't have found my 1b1 tumour, id have been sent away for 3 years for it to grow! I'm SO lucky it happened last year just before this bs was rolled out. Managed to have a trachelectomy as I was only 24, wake up grateful every day! More so now cause of this!

@SheepandCow

Signed.

I hope you're doing ok now and on the road to recovery.

A friend was in a sort of opposite situation. Positive for a high risk strain of HPV but told to wait three years because she had a normal smear. She had an annual check done privately.

Separately, I wish we'd introduce the urine test here. I think it's already rolled out in some countries. So much easier than a smear!

That's so bizarre! So now under the new guidelines, they would test her for abnormal cells and monitor extremely closely!

Completely agree!

I’m also concerned about the smear test only being available to women aged over 25 when it’s possible for HPV to be contracted as soon as a person becomes sexually active. Realistically a woman could have had HPV for nine years before being eligible for her first test.

@Ranunculi

I’m also concerned about the smear test only being available to women aged over 25 when it’s possible for HPV to be contracted as soon as a person becomes sexually active. Realistically a woman could have had HPV for nine years before being eligible for her first test.

Exactly! First they bumped it up to 25, now they're not checking for abnormal cells...

Thank you all for signing and sharing 😊

Signed.

Thank you!