MRI instead of smear test?

If there's a tumor yes but if it's just cells no.

All women should be offered hpv self testing, it’s reliable and easy to use, the Dutch have been using a hpv self testing device for a while now, it also available in other countries too like Singapore.

until recently, Australian women could order this self test device online but that’s now been stopped, I assume to force women into our new hpv testing program, there is a self test option for never screened or underscreened women or for those who decline invasive testing for 6 years, but in my opinion, the Dutch self tester is a better test.

The fact is most women are hpv- and not at risk of cc, about 95% of women aged 30 to 60 are hpv-

The Dutch program is 5 hpv tests or self testing at 30,35,40,50 and 60 and only the roughly 5% who test hpv+ will be offered a smear/Pap test.

those hpv- and no longer sexually active or confidently monogamous might choose to  forget further testing.

you’ll have to stand firm, but if you want to test and prefer self testing, ask for it or you might be able to order a self test online.

I've heard that oestrogen cream can help soften the vaginal tissues of peri-menopausal/menopausal ladies to enable a more comfortable smear experience. You might consider booking an appointment with your GP or a nurse practioner to discuss what can be done to help overcome your problem(s) with the test. Some hospital based gynaecological departments run clinics for 'difficult patients'. It's possible your previous painful experience was due to poor technique by the person who did your test: your next one might well be OK. Focus on the fact that the smear test is simple, safe and over with very quickly.

Another thing to keep in mind...Pap/smear tests produce lots of false positives that can lead to re-testing, colposcopy, biopsy and over-treatment.

unfortunately, menopausal and post menopausal women are more likely to produce a false positive due to normal changes in the cervix. If you want to test, i’d think about hpv self testing.

in some countries, gp’s will provide the hpv self test but you might have to pay for it.

All the best, i’m 60 tomorrow, I don’t test, hpv- women cannot benefit.

Thank you for your birthday wishes.

You’ll get full instructions with the test but you don’t have to sight or swab the cervix, this is a test for HPV, not for abnormal cells. The problem with searching for abnormal cells, lots of cells can “look”abnormal for all sorts of reasons, some perfectly normal, like a maturing cervix in a young woman, pregnancy and menopause and hormonal changes, trauma caused by childbirth etc.

The HPV test identifies the fairly small number of women who are HPV+...these are the only women with a small chance of benefiting from a 5 yearly Pap test.

The HPV self test in Australia will be a vaginal swab, not a cervical swab, very easy procedure. Other tests may require you to insert the device, empty some fluid and then withdraw it. 

The HPV test is simple, reliable and most of all, painless...and it protects you from false positives and over-treatment, a major negative with the Pap test.

Women need to demand hpv self testing if that’s their preference. It’s shocking to put women through a painful procedure when there’s an alternative. 

Some older women are left bleeding and distressed after a Pap test, some end up with a UTI...all so unnecessary, more so when almost all of these women are not even at risk of cc, they’re hpv-

All the best....

What’s the name of the cheaper test? 

i know a few women who’ve used the Delphi Screener, it’s currently being used in the Netherlands, Singapore and in a number of other countries.

it’s available in the UK through Rovers Medical Devices. 

You’re very welcome....