Avoiding Smear Test
Posted , 23 users are following.
I am currently dodging my Doctors about my Smear Test- saying I keep forgetting or I will try to book one etc. At the end of every appointment I get the speech on Smear Tests - even having one doctor talk over me saying I didn't want one.
I have had previous examinations due to problems with bleeding and periods but they were uncomfortable, painful and traumatic bringing up a lot of horrible memories and feelings. I almost passed out after the last examination.
I'm not having any abnormal symptoms and am not sexually active for many of the same reasons.
I wish the Doctors would stop harrassing and try to empathise a bit more with their patients.
I didn't think I needed to have one if I'm not 'active' but again not something that I want to go over with my militant doctors! Just leave me alone please!
5 likes, 84 replies
Cammie lauren1986
Posted
I've now had a reminder today and feel sick with fear
eliz52 Cammie
Posted
Please don't let these reminders upset you, you can simply complete a form and opt out of the program. No more reminders. Some women do get another invitation about 4 years later, if that happens, make a complaint and they should stop.
ALL cancer screening is elective, it's your choice, this program and some doctors behave like it's a law, they need to be challenged and reported.
The Medical Council (UK) makes clear informed consent is a must for all cancer screening, also, Anne Mackie (head of the screening program) makes clear these programs must respect choice and informed consent. So a quick note to her (or the Medical Council) should sort out your GP. (or write to the Medical Council)
BUT as a first measure, if you choose not to test (your absolute right) complete an opt-out form and send it off (and send a copy to your GP)
You don't have to give a reason for declining to test, it's your choice.
If you get any push-back from your GP, remind them informed consent is required for all cancer screening and you're aware you can opt out for any reason. Some GPs rely on our ignorance to bully and hassle us about testing, it's a try-on, if you make clear you know your rights, they'll back off.
I don't test, I didn't like the numbers to start with, back in 1980, I was content with my near zero risk of cc rather than the hidden and horrifying 77% lifetime risk of colpsocopy/biopsy under the Aussie program. (and many women end up over-treated)
False positives are fairly common here in Australia with serious over-screening and early screening in place. (neither is backed by the evidence) The UK rates would be lower but still high considering the cancer itself is fairly rare.
ALSO: there is a far better way
The fact is: MOST women are HPV- and having unnecessary smear tests anyway. It should be a scandal to put women through invasive testing when an alternative is available for those who choose to test.
The Dutch offer 5 HPV tests or HPV self-testing at ages 30,35,40,50 and 60 and only the roughly 5% who are HPV+ will be offered a 5 yearly smear test. So chances are you're HPV- anyway...
(you can buy HPV tests online too)
Life is far too short to be stressed over smear tests, they help very few women and worry and harm huge numbers AND we can now easily and reliably identify the small number actually at risk (HPV+)
I'll send you a private message (if I can) you might care to visit another website that can provide links to the opt out forms etc.
Honestly, the madness of this program, the resources that go into it when VERY few women can benefit, in the meanwhile, women die in MUCH larger numbers from heart disease, lung cancer, obesity related issues (diabetes) etc.
It makes no sense from a healthcare point of view to focus on the cervix. Women are more than a cervix and breasts.
Kind Regards
Elizabeth
Cammie eliz52
Posted
julie37508 lauren1986
Posted
eliz52 julie37508
Posted
It's unfair, women should be given the information they need to make an informed decision about testing.
I'd stand firm, at your age (I'm the same age) the test is more likely to be painful with post-menopausal changes and you're more likely to get a false positive or need re-testing (due to an inadequate sample)
All the best, don't take any nonsense from your NP
Fliss1234 lauren1986
Posted
Please realise that nobody can force you to be tested. I had the same issue as you with the doctors constantly asking. I threw letter after letter away! If you're adamant you don't want a smear you can call your surgery and they will take your name off their records (you can be added back on anytime if you change your mind -I never have!)
Hope this helps x
ally197 lauren1986
Posted
ally197 lauren1986
Posted
abuse I am getting is awful .
I was told it was no more painful than the
dentists.
Well my dentist doesn't ask me to take my
trousers off and my mouth is a lot bigger
than any vagina .
Even a filling isn't painful, but smear tests
sound agony
Also dental bleeding is controllable with
tissue ...what if the vagina bled....vaginal
bleeding would be awful.
julie37508 ally197
Posted
ally197 julie37508
Posted
a regular blood donor and feel fine
and run 5 miles after donation
I know women who cant do that
on a period so surely they must
lose more. I am really healthy.
ally197 julie37508
Posted
Maybe mouth cancer should be the screening programme ...after all nobody could say a soft brush in your mouth is uncomfortable could they .... at least i hope everyone brushes their teeth
...even a drill isnt uncomfortable compared to a smear test
Interstingly my dentist never sends reminders (though I do go twice a year) but the pesky cervical screening programme does
ally197 lauren1986
Posted
The worst response I got was when I said that routine opticians appointments detect more cancer than does cervical screening (which is true , think of brain cancer) I got told ...'but it doesnt find cervical cancer' . Cervical cancer is overhyped in media . Think what screening tests you really need ...eg what diseases do your parents and grandparents suffer from and thus you might be prone to .... and say that is what screening you want and not tests for low risk screening . This might show you are thinking carefully about your health.
If you are confident you could ask your doctor to calculate your risk of cervical cancer as it depends on whether you smoke and the number of people you have had sex with... be strong
eliz52 ally197
Posted
Ally,
It's even simpler than that....HPV-...then you're not at risk of cc and can't be helped by pap tests/smear tests.
HPV+ and aged 30 to 60 and there's a small chance of benefiting from a 5 yearly pap/smear test
Smoking is possibly a risk factor for HPV+ women developing cc, we know most HPV+ women DON'T develop cc, the HPV clears in a year or so. Some say the small number of HPV+ women who develop cc have something else at work...it might be HPV+ and smoking or HPV+ and a compromised immune system or multiple strains of hrHPV, we don't know for sure, research continues.
Of course, smoking is a risk factor for lung and other cancers, and lung cancer is FAR more likely than cervical cancer, the latter has always been fairly rare. Lung cancer is the No. 1 cancer, yet thanks to the misleading hype many women fear cc and not other cancers and diseases that they're far more likely to develop.
I don't have pap testing at all, HPV- women cannot benefit, end of story.
stephanie_22448 lauren1986
Posted
Lauren I am on the same boat as you. let me share with you something humiliating and traumatic that happened just yesterday. I am 24 and I've never had a Pap smear and I've been avoiding it. The first time I couldn't go through it had an anxiety attack but the doctor who was male was very understanding and told me that it was okay and to take it when I'm ready. I've haven't been sexually abused but I was in a relationship where my ex would pressure me to have sex but I had it in my head it was going to hurt etc. So maybe I programmed it in my head and whenever I get touched I jump and want to die. Well I tried to get over it and made an appointment yesterday. I was anxious for days and couldn't sleep but I was going to take my now Fiance to come I mean I needed someone to hold my hand etc. I made an appointment with a female doctor because it may be less painful but I couldn't stop shaking. To make it worse the doctor called me a chicken and made fun of me because I brought my fiancé. She would make remarks like "is the whole family here for this ever?" I ignored the comments but since I told the nurse it was my first time I expected her to walk me through the process and make it less scary. she didn't say anything and when I asked her to give me the smaller spectrum she said " this is the smallest so it won't hurt" She was inserting when I cried and she it hurted . She got angry and said that all her patients have never felt this way. She asked " have you been raped? And asked my fiancé " do she complain like this while having sex?" Well she tried again and I really tired hard to do it but she got irrititated and said look I have patients we are done. I asked my fiancé to come get her and she said she was busy. I started to cry even more because she made me feel like a chicken and ashamed that I couldn't go through it. I'm still crying as I'm writing because I don't know if I will get over this experience.
eliz52 stephanie_22448
Posted
If you've never had sex or been sexually active, pap testing can only harm you. The evidence does not even support pap testing for sexually active women before they're 30.
There is a far easier way, if you choose to test and yes, it's elective, like all screening tests - you can self test for HPV when you turn 30, about 5% of women aged 30 to 60 will be HPV+, these are the only women with a small chance of benefiting from a 5 yearly pap test.
Having unnecessary pap testing exposes you to the risk of false positives, excess biopsies and over-treatment.
Take a look at the evidence backed Dutch program: 5 HPV primary tests or HPV self-testing at ages 30,35,40,50 and 60 and a 5 yearly pap test is only offered to the roughly 5% who test HPV+
It should be as straightforward as that...but of course, that makes a lot less money for vested interests, so some countries will never see evidence based testing. Screening in some countries is about profits, not healthcare.