Hi guys
I have been having regular smear tests and I absolutely loath them. They are very uncomfortable. I have had 2 sexual partners and I haven't had sex since 2007! I am in my 30s....do I still need to keep taking this smear test? All my tests have been negative.
Thank you
Zara
Hi Zara
Please continue with smear tests. Any bugs can possibly lie dormant. Nobody likes them, but a little discomfort is much better than the unthinkable consequences.
Luvheart
Hi Zara
Only you can say smear tests are a good idea, the law and proper ethical standards says informed consent is required for all cancer screening. I don't have smear tests, like most women I'm HPV- and cannot benefit from smear tests, but I could be harmed, false positives are fairly common (and VERY common here in Australia) and they can lead to excess biopsies and potentially harmful over-treatment.
There is an alternative to smear tests for those women who want to screen but hate the speculum exam, it's just that the NHS (and others) have chosen not to offer it to you.
Women should demand immediate access to HPV primary screening and HPV self-testing or you can buy a HPV self test kit online.
You're close to the Netherlands, they offer the Delphi Screener, an easy and reliable HPV self test option for those women who prefer a non-invasive test.
The new Dutch evidence backed program is IMO, the best program in the world for those women who want to test. They'll scrap their population smear testing program, a horrible burden for the VAST majority of women who cannot benefit, and they'll offer instead 5 HPV primary tests or HPV self testing at ages 30,35,40,50 and 60 and a 5 yearly smear test will ONLY the offered to the roughly 5% who are HPV+
These are the only women with a small chance of benefiting from smear tests. So MOST women are having unnecessary smear tests that simply expose them to the risk of excess biopsies and over-treatment.
Before the significance of HPV became well know, I also, declined smear tests, I did my reading and discovered the lifetime risk of cc was less than 1% (0.65%) while the referral rate for colposcopy/biopsy was a whopping 77% under the Australian program (the UK would be fairly high as well, but lower than Australia)...the risks with testing were too high for me, and the test itself was unacceptable to me, so I was content to accept my near zero risk of cc. (I knew I was also, low risk for cc) So the risks with smear testing were too high for me.
Now I understand HPV- women, and that's almost all women, cannot benefit from smear tests. It should be a scandal that all of these women are being put through a test unnecessarily, often over-screened as well, and this testing also, exposes them to risk from false positives.
Unfortunately, vested interests make an absolute fortune from population smear testing, biopsies etc. so they'll fight to keep excess and population testing in place. Also, there has never been any respect for informed consent, and even consent itself in many cases, in women's cancer screening. That's completely unacceptable.
So if you want to test, get a HPV self test kit, if you're HPV- you cannot benefit from smear testing. Some women choose to test just once, those HPV- and no longer sexually active or confidently monogamous, others choose to test 4-5 times over their lifetime.
I'm Australian and 57 years old, I'm very pleased I took the time to do my own research, excess biopsy and over-treatment rates here are huge thanks to an early screening program and awful over-screening. It's callous to not only push and mislead women into an invasive screening test, we OVER-screen them making it more likely they'll face excess biopsies etc. I think that shows a lack of respect for our healthy bodies and our legal rights, not good enough, we should demand something better.
Thank you.
wow thank you for the detailed response. I wasn't aware about the self testing kit. I am going to look it up. I find the smear tests very invasive and so uncomfortable. I dread them every 3 years!
No need to live that way.
Some women after getting to the evidence choose not to screen, others seek out HPV self-testing. Dutch women are already using the Delphi Screener and I think you have Tampap in the UK. I know some women are told that even if they're HPV- they still need smear tests, this is not the case, HPV- and you can't benefit from smear tests.
HPV self testing should be readily available for those who'd prefer a non-invasive test. More women are questioning this testing or looking for something non-invasive. All the best.
Hi Zara, I agree whole heartedly with Elizabeth. Since discovering the truth about the actual incidence of cervical cancer and realising my risk is miniscule, I will no longer have smear tests. Unfortunately I never gave proper informed consent for this degrading test and I therefore had a few. Luckily, now I know the true facts, I can protect my girls. I live in New Zealand and here they start smear testing at the age of 20, in spite of all the evidence. It leads to over treatment for many women. Zara do your own research and make an informed decision. Screening authorities are very biased and will push you towards screening.Good luck.
I was wondering about those women who would test HPV neg but it's because they're immune system has taken care of the virus and put it dormant? There was a time when it was "active" and could have caused problems that haven't blossomed yet. It is my understanding that the HPV strains that can cause cancer can go dormant and show up as negative on a test but have already caused some damage to the cells. Perhaps you know more about this than I do or that research in the USA has not found yet. I would be interested in hearing your opinion on this. Thanks in advance.
Yvonne
I'd refer you to HPV Today, Edition 24, the new Dutch program.
I know under that program that they'll offer 5 HPV primary tests or HPV self testing with the Delphi Screener at ages 30,35,40,50 and 60 and a smear test will only the offered to the roughly 5% who are HPV+
I also, know women who are HPV- and no longer sexually active might choose not to screen again. (if their risk profile changes, they take a new partner, they might re-visit their decision)
I tend to watch the countries that follow the evidence, too much of what we do here in Australia or in the States is about maximizing profits for vested interests at our expense. I don't think excess is helpful, but it's often harmful.
After researching the area, it seems to me HPV- and no longer sexually active or confidently monogamous - you might choose not to test further. I know men can be unfaithful, but that should be the woman's call, give women the information they need and leave them to make up their own minds. Too many assumptions are made about us with this testing, always the case with population screening programs.
I preferred to look at the individual, me, and make an informed decision about screening. (considered unacceptable by some/many, but I found a doctor who respects my right to make informed decisions) Too many women have been harmed by this testing and the sad thing is, most of it was avoidable.
Where can I get a hpv test I am in the U.K.?
You can buy about 5 different types of HPV self-test kits on Amazon.