"A third of people across the UK are overdue their cervical cancer screening"

[PlasticAcrobat]

A third of 'people', Really? Well, that's not so bad because 50% of 'people' across the UK are men, right? And they won't get cervical cancer because they don't have a cervix.

So only a sixth of people across the UK are endangered by this low-uptake of screening? Phew. Perhaps, then, it doesn't matter so much if the guardian writes bullshit misleading copy on the subject.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/jun/20/third-overdue-cervical-cancer-screening-uk

Oh right, I've been married 26 years, does that mean it's all pointless for me now? I've never had an abnormal screen.

@Sandy420 chances are that testing for HPV is pointless but having your cervix checked for abnormal cells would be wise.
unless you or your dh are playing about with other partners.

I was under the impression that the NHS don't even look at the cells unless they find HPV first. Which is why I'm considering it might be a bit of a waste of time going.

This is my understanding too. I've always tested negative for HPV and am not active outside of my 20 year marriage so I don't see the point of going for a HPV test, which is what the cervical screening now is.
I had looked into getting a test for abnormal cells privately but haven't been able to find it offered anywhere.

Definitely edited. Print edition just says "people".

The line about 40% of those surveyed saying they haven't had a smear because they're worried it will be a male nurse doing it is really interesting. There were some lively discussions on here recently about whether male radiographers should be able to perform mammograms. That 40% figure suggests it would have a really bad impact on mammogram take up!
Who would have thought that allowing men to perform painful, intrusive, embarrassing, intimate exams on women might lead to a lower uptake of import public health screening tests?

Thanks to everyone on this thread.

I'm 66, have HPV (and dodgy cells), and so still get invited for smears. So I go. Then I automatically get sent on for a colposcopy. Next one this Wednesday. (Why they don't just send me straight there I'd love to know.)

If it's really true that current NHS 'smears' are NOT testing HPV-free young women for low-percentage-possible-cervical-abnormalities, I will bring this up with my lovely female gynaecologist. I bet she's got an opinion and I'll report back.

It might be even more useful than our chats about women who don't show up for their smears because they could get a beautician's appointment for a bikini wax beforehand.

PS My GP's surgery asked me recently if I'd have a smear with a male nurse. I said no - I'd rather have it done by someone with a cervix. Surely asking beforehand is a bare minimum. And if not, the patient leaving after explaining why is always possible.

It is true, if you're HPV negative your sample will not be checked further.

I suppose the reasoning behind it is a tricky thing to discuss without causing upset. All screening programmes miss cases of the disease they're screening for. With cytology based cervical screening, it could be human error reading the slide, or operator error taking the sample, or just that the sample came from an area of the cervix with no abnormal cells, although there were some on another part.

With HPV based screening it will be that a small proportion of cancers are not HPV related (there seems to be some dispute about how big that proportion is, I've seen a range from 1 to 11%). The NHS has made the calculation that screening will catch more cases if it's based on HPV than cytology. But nobody really wants to say "yep, sorry, we will potentially miss your cancer if it's not HPV related, but we will pick up someone else's that would have been missed in cytology." Inevitably it's also to do with money and staffing - you could argue the best option would be HPV testing and cytology, but the NHS can't afford that.

The good news is at least that research shows that the HPV vaccine is making an appreciable difference to the number of cases developing, so that's something.

Why wouldn't you want someone who had their cervix removed as part of cancer treatment to do your smear? Such a "clever" response is really rather childish, cold and pathetic.

They had a ridiculous discussion on Loose Women about this news item recently. They were going on about how women wernt going for smears because they were embarrassed or hadnt been waxed. Not one mention of how painful it is for some of us. Its the PAIN FFS. I couldnt care fucking less about how i look down there. Sick of the fucking gaslighting

Elsewhere, did anyone see that as of January next year, "unscreened" or " under screened" ( how can you be either, for a test that's entirely voluntary) WOMEN in England will be offered or sent in the post a self test kit, with prepaid postage back?? Finally!?? How do you all feel about it?

I might be missing something re. HpV but aren't there likely to be a lot of women who think they are in monogamous relationships who in fact aren't?

Re their use of “women and people with cervixes” and ridiculous headline, it’s worth noting that their article on prostate cancer last month only talked about men - no “men and people with prostrate”. Think that’s one of the things that annoys me so much about their use of language - it’s only when talking about women

www.theguardian.com/society/2025/may/30/new-ai-test-can-predict-which-men-will-benefit-from-prostate-cancer-drug