Cervical screening

[Lovelyricepudding]

"Uptake of cervical screening in Scotland has declined in recent years and in 2020/21 only 69.3% of those eligible attended appointments.

This compares to 71.2% the previous year and 73.1% in 2018/19."

Wonder if there is any link with the fact that their recent campaigns do not mention women. I am amazed the BBC managed to use women in the article...

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-58864822

I asked a nurse at my GP practice the other week if they were offering urine screening. She said no but that she didn't think it would be long before it was brought in.

For the benefit of CorrBlimeyGG

Compare and contrast

www.prostatescotland.org.uk/

www.gov.scot/news/cervical-screening-campaign/

@SirenSays

I asked a nurse at my GP practice the other week if they were offering urine screening. She said no but that she didn't think it would be long before it was brought in.

@SirenSays what is uribe screening?

@CorrBlimeyGG

You've got to be pretty twisted to try to turn this into an anti trans issue. And downright obsessed.

On the contrary, TRAs must be pretty twisted to insist in clouding a public health message which could save the lives of women because they want to mangle language to suit their ends. It is TRAs who are anti-women.

To derail from the wording issue, as @Gladioli23 said smears now only test for HPV. If your sample is HPV negative, they don't look at it further. Only if it is positive do they also look at cell changes.

For anyone interested you can now buy HPV self tests from Superdrug (online, not sure about in-store) for around £50 (not cheap, but worth it for those of us who cannot face smears). Jo's Trust is quite interesting for anyone wanting to find out more:

www.jostrust.org.uk/about-us/news-and-blog/blog/behind-headlines-hpv-self-sampling

Thanks, MarisPiper92.

[quote MarisPiper92]To derail from the wording issue, as @Gladioli23 said smears now only test for HPV. If your sample is HPV negative, they don't look at it further. Only if it is positive do they also look at cell changes.

For anyone interested you can now buy HPV self tests from Superdrug (online, not sure about in-store) for around £50 (not cheap, but worth it for those of us who cannot face smears). Jo's Trust is quite interesting for anyone wanting to find out more:

www.jostrust.org.uk/about-us/news-and-blog/blog/behind-headlines-hpv-self-sampling[/quote]
However, when going for a smear test, the nurse can carry out a quick visual check of your vaginal wall and cervix as she carries out the test.

I had vaginal cancer on the posterior wall, spotted as an unusual patch of skin.

Maybe the reason attendance is down is because more women, or people with a cervix, are doing their own research and finding that their lifetime risk of cervical cancer is. Just 0.65%,and that they can source a self test kit for HPV from Superdrug online? A survey done a couple of years ago suggested 86%of Scottish women would prefer to self test at home: Dutch and Finnish women have had this option for years as their rates of CC are among the lowest in the world, yet the NHS still drags its feet introducing it here. I have opted out of smears completely, informed decision!

SirenSays, research has been done and a urine test for HPV is extremely accurate, it has been found strands of HPV can also be detected in menstrual blood, this is being used in poorer countries such as India. There are so many ways to test that aren’t the invasive speculum exam, but no sign of them being introduced here

I have opted out of smears completely, informed decision
Me too but for the trauma involved for me rather than the risk or not of having cc.
The fact that after I opted out I discovered the tiny risk was just an added extra.

For those thinking about it, it's very easy to opt out. I simply told the drs receptionist and she opted me out there and then. Not had a reminder letter in years. And that's the best bit. It gave me nightmares when I got that letter. Then I'd book the appointment then cancel ad infinitum until eventually I would be in for some other reason and they would just bully me into having the smear there and then.
So pleased that never again will that happen.
To be fair the smear itself was quick, not painless but not overly painful either. But I'm still glad my MH wont suffer for months as I vacillate over it.

Congresssdingo your post sums up everything that’s wrong with the cervical screening programme, for years we were bullied and coerced into this test, which is supposed to be optional and our choice! So glad you’re off the treadmill now, it’s a little known fact doctors get financial incentives if they can get 80% or more of their women patients to “accept “ their “invitations “ to smears!

@Gladioli23

My current pet hate is that I have to go and have a smear test that THEY WON'T EVEN LOOK AT unless I have HPV, but they don't let you have a (less invasive) HPV test and only have a smear if it's positive.

I've just had a HPV test done privately, £40 from Superdrug. I've got a GP appointment next week I'm going to ask if that can rule me out of traditional cervical screening.

Gladioli23, anyone with a cervix or even a woman can opt out of smears at any time, and don’t have to give a reason for their decision! I opted out in 2015. What annoys e is, why should we have to opt out of something we never opted in to? We are all just rounded up and conscripted into the programme at 25 without even being asked!

@fabulouslyglamorousferret

You can just opt out. Many women have including me and Katty.
It's been such a lovely few years. I was so worried about opting out I didnt do it for ages. But it's easy and the relief after is magnificent.
Just think every time you visit the dr or nurse and get bullied into either having a smear right now or booking one (then cancelling then rebooking etc etc) will happen no more.
Bliss.

Not RTFT but will do..

Factors may be-

Fallout from smear scandal

Corona lockdown etc meaning women putting off? I am anyway. Or don't want to bother surgeries/ scared of being infected?

That's a couple that came to mind.

@trumpisagit

I think it should be acknowledged that smear tests are invasive and unpleasant. Of course its women's health so men get a psa blood test for prostate cancer. Women get a speculum scraping their cervix (it has never just taken 5 min for me). The BBC article suggesting its a quick "five minute test" does not reflect my experience.

YY and some awful articles/ initiatives over the years.

Many say non attendance is due to embarrassment. Thrust is to get women to stop that!
Pain etc... Mentioned in passing never much.

Wasn't there a campaign recently about dropping your knickers or something. Really grim.

I also find the narrative around cervical smears unhelpful - quick / painless etc., rather than acknowledging that it's invasive, and that it can be painful and traumatic for some women.

I just got an ad pop up on my Facebook to let me know I can ask for a nurse of a particular gender to perform my smear... that puts me off even more.

Will I get condemned as a bigot and have my request dismissed if I ask for a female nurse?

@UnfinishedBunting

I also find the narrative around cervical smears unhelpful - quick / painless etc., rather than acknowledging that it's invasive, and that it can be painful and traumatic for some women.

This 👍🏻

If you dare speak up to acknowledge how awful/painful they can be then you are accused of 'putting people off attending'. To me, the play on 'women don't come because it's embarrassing' is just designed to make us feel silly and dismiss our fears.

If I had to score the pain of a smear test, I would put it at 8 out of 10. Certainly not 30 seconds of mild discomfort.

Some unhelpful comments here.

Although the smear does only get checked for HPV first and then pre-cancerous cells it can also pick up other abnormalities like polyps etc.

HPV can lie dormant for many years so unless you have never had sex or oral intercourse you may still get HPV. This is especially true of menopausal women apparently.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3532821/

[quote MiddlesexGirl]Some unhelpful comments here.

Although the smear does only get checked for HPV first and then pre-cancerous cells it can also pick up other abnormalities like polyps etc.

HPV can lie dormant for many years so unless you have never had sex or oral intercourse you may still get HPV. This is especially true of menopausal women apparently.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3532821/[/quote]
So just ignore all the other women saying it hurts, we are often bullied into it, its invasive AND theres a urine test for HPV which would be a great first option then if and only if necessary a smear and let's just all slide by the trauma for plenty of women.
I will reiterate because I think it will help a lot of women. You can opt out of the whole thing.

Just ask the receptionist next time your in the surgery. It easy its quick and you never get a reminder letter or asked about it or bullied into it again.

And if enough women do this I reckon a better, simpler test like the urine test will be brought forward. Win win.

I recently had a smear test and it was extremely painful and actually took a good 10 minutes as the nurse couldn’t see my cervix properly - apparently mine was very high. Got there in the end but I was shaking by the time I got out.

I’d never miss my smear (previous problems with CIN) but maybe a urine test is the way to go.

Definitely should have clear language around it though - what is wrong with saying women and trans men? When it comes to cancer screenings, the message needs to be as clear as possible.