Cervical Cancer Prevention Week 22-28 January 2012

iloveboots

claire16c wrote: »

iloveboots wrote: »

I think nickyhutch means that for all the women who get a smear test, most wont get cervical cancer (in part because theyve been checked and of course in part because they didnt have it anyway). this is right. Otherwise if she was wrong, it would mean most women in general get cervical cancer, which is not true!

I seem to of come across wrong, i didn't mean to be rude and I understand what nickyhutch is saying, but the way i read it was that if you have your smears you won't get cancer.....maybe i have read it wrong, that can happen with forums, things come across different. I just wanted to make a point that even ladies who do have their smears and never miss one can still get cancer sadly.

claire16c

iloveboots wrote: »

claire16c wrote: »

I seem to of come across wrong, i didn't mean to be rude and I understand what nickyhutch is saying, but the way i read it was that if you have your smears you won't get cancer.....maybe i have read it wrong, that can happen with forums, things come across different. I just wanted to make a point that even ladies who do have their smears and never miss one can still get cancer sadly.

No worries, you didnt come across as rude.

Its a good point to make - and another reason why going for regular smears is important - as you never know when it could show up.

SingleSue

Please, please, please, anyone thinking of putting off having a smear, don't.

I had had regular smears from my teens but once I started having the children, it went by the wayside and I ignored the letters inviting me to go for one. Then one day, I read in a magazne about someone doing the same as me (ignoring the invites) and eventually going up only for it to be too late....it scared me enough to go up and finally have it done.

Well, it was abnormal..so up to the hospital I had to go for a colposcopy and then treatment, then a repeat smear 6 months later...abnormal again, hospital again, treatment again. The same happened for each smear over the next 18 months until they finally recommended a hysterectomy (I also had endometriosis) as things were progressing to a nasty stage.

I had my hysterectomy 10 years ago at the age of 31 which was a thankful relief from the endometriosis and the constant worry of the abnormal smears/treatment but if I had not seen that magazine article, who knows when I would have been 'scared' into going up for the smear and how far it would have gone.

So please don't put it off.

tinktinktinkerbell

nickyhutch wrote: »

Most people who have smears don't go on to develop cancer; those who don't have smears are more likely to do so.

It was just a thought, seeing as the NHS is on its knees and money is tight. If you look after yourself by having smears, we wont have to fork out £££ to pay for treating a disease that may be prevented.

wow, thats tosh *roll eyes*

nickyhutch

tinktinktinkerbell wrote: »

wow, thats tosh *roll eyes*

Would you care to elaborate?

caeler

nickyhutch wrote: »

Would you care to elaborate?

Don't rise to it.

Shovel_Lad

What tinktinktinkerbell said.

I wasn't going to join this bun fight (After all I am 100% sure I will not get cervical cancer) but there is so much tosh being thrown around as "fact" I think it is only fair to point to some real facts.

nickyhutch wrote: »

If you look after yourself by having smears, we wont have to fork out £££ to pay for treating a disease that may be prevented

Do you have any idea how rare cervical cancer is? I'll give you a clue, in the Top 10 most common cancers amongst women it doesn't even place.

http://info.cancerresearchuk.org/cancerstats/incidence/commoncancers/#Top2

If you really want to save the NHS money, then start lobbying for improved treatment and detection for some of the top 10 cancers that get very little funding. The only reason why cervical rather than uterine or ovarian cancer gets the attention is that there is a cheap test available and is being pushed by companies such as Bayer even though it is quite ineffective (25% misdiagnosis rate for cervical smears.)

Smear tests have not shown reduced deaths from cervical cancer in any studies. I cannot link to some of the reports in the Lancet as they are not public but here is part of the abstract from one study:

We analysed rates of detection for smear abnormalities in 255000 women served by the Bristol screening programme.
<snip>
225974 women were tested. New smear abnormalities were found in 15551, of whom nearly 6000 were referred for colposcopy. These numbers are excessively high in comparison with the incidence of the malignancy we are trying to prevent. The effect of screening on death rates in Bristol is too small to detect. Our conclusion is that despite good organisation of the service, much of our effort in Bristol is devoted to limiting the harm done to healthy women and to protecting our staff from litigation as cases of serious disease continue to occur. The real lesson from 30 years' cervical screening is that no matter how obvious the predicted benefit may seem for any screening test, introduction should never take place without adequate prior evaluation of both positive and negative effects in controlled trials.

A.E. Raffle MFPHM, B. Alden PhD, E.F.D. Mackenzie MRCPath

Don't get me wrong. I am all for preventative medicine, but you need to have a sense of proportion.

spicyprawn

Hi all, didn't know whether to just update here or make a new thread!

I finally got a smear last monday (5th) Didn't feel a the scrape bit, Yay! Received my results yesterday and I have severe dyskaryosis and need to book a colposcopy.
I don't really know how to word my question but I would like more info on what I am to expect. The leaflets I received are pretty vague in MY opinion.

Spicy

ktb

hello spicy! Firstly, i'm sorry to hear about your recent smear test result, but also thanks for letting others know that having the smear itself wasn't painful! I realise that these things are different for everyone, but it is always good to get the word out there that they are usually not so bad as I know lots of people that won't have them as they are worried about it being an awful experience!

I have been monitored and treated for varying levels of dyskaryosis since 2002 (I am now 32).... I have had results from CIN 1 - CIN 3 and have had 2 procedures to remove abnormal cells (LLETZ). 'Colposcopy' just refers to the diagnostic method where, in a set up similar to a smear, they use a lighted magnifying device to get a much better view of the cervix.

Whilst they do this they will most likely do another smear test, they may use a solution (similar to vinegar!) on the cells to highlight any problem areas or if they need to be more thorough, perhaps takes a sample of cells in a biopsy (this doesn't mean anything ominous - it just gives them a deeper sample of tissue that the smear test). None of these bit are that bad - if you didn't find the initial smear that bad, I honestly don't think there is anything for you to worry about here!

From my experience it is unlikely they will actually perform any treatment there and then - although for the last few years I have been treated privately, so it may be different in the NHS since I was last treated by them. Once they have the results of any diagnostic tests you and they can make some decisions about further treatment (if required).

The colposcopy bit itself isn't that much different from having a smear, other than it takes a bit longer. The more relaxed you can be the less uncomfortable this
bit is (easier said that done I admit!) I just don't focus on what they are up to 'down there' and think about my next holiday or something else pleasant.

Please try not to worry too much, they are just trying to establish a bit more info before deciding how to proceed. I once had a CIN 3 result and my Dr and I agreed to just monitor the situation for the next 12 months, as i'd already have one LLETZ procedure and this tends to be a slow developing issue and can even go away completely untreated. After some serious healthy lifestyle changes on my part, my next smear was a CIN 1..... as HPV (which is the leading cause of cervical cell change) is immune related and the healthier you are the more chance your body has of fighting the virus. Although having said that, in my case I have been told that as I have obviously had it a decade it is very unlikely I will ever be rid unfotunately!

In the meantime I would recommend learning a bit more about HPV - I can recommend this book http://www.amazon.co.uk/What-Doctor-About-Abnormal-Smears/dp/0446677876/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1331466958&sr=8-1

Really hope it all goes well! As has been stated earlier in this thread, cervical cancer is pretty rare and it's actually quite reassuring to know you are being monitored.

spicyprawn

Thanks for your post ktb, it is very informative. A decade is a long time!But as you say it is reassuring that you are being monitored.

I do admit to googling it quite a few horror stories about, kicked my self for even bothering! It is the whole 'burning' (sorry can't remember the name? loop?) that is bothering me to be honest as no two stories are the same lol. See I am already getting ready for something I probably won't even need!

The dignity part does not bother me too much as that went out the window when I had my children.

May I ask what sort of health changes you made? No worries if you would rather not.
Also did you worry at first too?

Thank you again