Don’t neglect your cervical health!

26 comments

1. 100% stay up to date with this!! It’s one of those things you might be dreading, but once you get it done you go, “oh that was actually not as bad as I was expecting!”.

2. I turned 25 last year and never got a referral letter from the Government for this – just found out recently that my friends all got one. What should I do?

3. My gp started haunting me to have a smear in my twenties, due to being a young mother. I kept fobbing her off until she bullied me into it. It had been 11 years since I’d had a smear, and if my gp had given up chasing me for it, I’d be dead a decade ago. I had cancerous cells that were caught just in time.

   Get your smears, folks.

4. Yes, they always do that with the fold in the paper! Last time I thought it was bad news at first (thankfully it wasn’t).

   Don’t forget – if you change address you can update your details online at any time.

5. God the Davina McCall drama of where they put the fold, was that entirely necessary!?!

   Fair play op, needed the reminder.

6. I had the vaccine at 26/27, paid for it by putting it on a credit card. Please keep up to date, I had abnormal cells and yearly smears for a few years, all normal now thankfully.

7. And adding to this. There is another hole nearby (anus) that also would love for you to see a doctor about it once every 5 years once you’re lucky enough to hit 30.

   You can have zero symptoms and be very unwell.

   Or you can be like me and have a lot of symptoms and get diagnosed with a rare bleeding disorder that was actually affecting my entire life and now I’m on tablets for it and no issues (most of my issues was bleeding nose/any small cut, but it took them sending biopsies of my colon to figure out this is a whole body issue, not an issue exclusive to my asshole)

8. Is it worth getting the vaccine? I was too old when it rolled out in schools etc. I figure every little helps?

9. What a smear campaign on HPV

10. I had mine a few weeks back and low grade abnormal cells were found. Will be going for further testing soon, so it’s definitely important to stay on top of your checks!

11. I’ve never had a painless one, didn’t know they existed

12. I’ve lost two friends to cervical cancer in their 30’s, one the mother of a young child. Both tried everything under the sun to survive but there was no hope.

13. Had mine done last month! All in the clear. At least on paper. I also had vaccines in school.

14. It’s definitely not painless but it’s worth the pain to know if there’s any abnormal cells.

15. One of my best friends died of cervical cancer. She never had a smear before. She was 38 and left behind a 2 year old.

    No shame, no judgment, just get it done.

16. If it is painful and/or you have concerns there are other ways to test, this is just the quickest way to do large volume screening. If you experience pain during a smear test you are not being dramatic and you should talk to a doctor, preferably in one of the well women clinics. See https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaginismus/

17. I’ve had the colposcopy and Lletz treatment and still have pre cancerous cells. It’s horrendous. Still it’s good that we get this for free. Imagine being in Americaland.

18. Thank you for reminding me! I’m not due for another year but glad I checked!

19. As someone in the field, please do. I’ve seen some awful cases of cervical cancer and it’s only through active cervical screening that countries have removed cervical cancer as the most common gynaecological cancer.

    I’m in Australia now but it would be interesting to explore if the HSE is offering self-collect samples. We are here and it removes a significant barrier to the test.

    For anyone with a positive result, know that this is extremely common and the next steps are mostly to reduce the likelihood of contracting cancer later, not to diagnose it now.

20. Neck of the Womb. There’s the name of a heavy metal band if I ever heard one.

21. It’s the booklet in a negative results letter that stresses me! You’d expect just a letter in an envelope if neg and maybe a booklet explaining the next steps if your test showed something of concern.

22. Definitely important, I just wish that the HSE offered self sampling (Which has long been implemented in countries like Australia and the Netherlands). For so many people with vaginismus, past trauma or disabilities, traditional smear tests are so inaccessible unfortunately. Let’s see if the HSE offers the same someday, but I won’t hold my breath 🤷‍♀️ 

23. I went for one once but was told because I’d never been sexually active there was no point doing it. I never realised it changed from checking for abnormal cells to just testing for HPV.

24. I had the exact same experience!! Almost had a heart attack – then I unfolded the letter.

    My GP was able to do it while I was getting another procedure. If you have anything like an IUD insertion or internal ultrasound coming up and you’ve not had your check up, give your doctor a heads up! She/he can sort it all out in one go while they’re “up there”.

25. Thank you! Because of reasons (babies) this reminded me I haven had mine in 4 years!

26. My friend has pre cancerous cells found when we were like 25. We all got smears after hearing her horror story. Some of us had HPV found and some (like me) had low level changes so I had to go get a copolscopy. Nothing found, great.

    I had appointments for a years time already made for the follow up smear. Unfortunately i got blood cancer between that time. Because of all my treatment, the HRT I’m on now and full body irradiation I received, I have to go for regular smears just for house keeping. Most times I’ve to go further for a copolscopy, It’s like I’m haunting the clinic at this stage! Bur I’d prefer the awkward procedure than cervical cancer so only one option.

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