Delete thread please!

Turtle

I had treatment at 19 for abnormal cells, after 2 abnormal smears and a colposcopy both showed a problem. I was lucky in that my University medical centre offered the procedure to students. Who knows what might have happened if I hadn't been tested for another 6 years?

ETA I'm a bit surprised you feel you need to be told you have a choice. No medical procedure can be forced on you, surely it's clear you can just ignore the letter if you don't want to go?!

balletshoes

patchwork_cat wrote: »

The NHS does treat you as if you are on a conveyor belt and demands compliance.

how so? its not compulsory.

valk_scot

bumbledore wrote: »

Please don't patronise me. Maybe your health board is more clear but mine essentially says you are due a screening make one nothing about if you do not wish one.

I get the standard Scottish screening pamphlets and from your posts, I was assuming you too lived in Scotland.

mumofjusttwo

The time that the OP has spent posting on the two threads is more time than it takes for the actual test. It is not e best way to spend 5 minutes bt obviously prefer that to never seeing my child again if I dod have cancer.

It is MY right and MY choice but for me MY life is too important to say I will not go. Even if They letter did make me feel that it was compulsory who cares. Better than having cancer.

My sister died from the cancer and left a wonderful 8 year old girl. She would have done anything to have beenable to see her daughter grow up. Now it is me that hasa to share those moments.

Any one that is reading this thread who may have not had a smear test, ignoring the letter saying I will do it later, please go. It is only 5 minutes of your time.

i lost my sister to cancer as is there is anyway that

patchwork_cat

lostinrates wrote: »

It doesn't demand compliance. I have not had a smear for a long time, and I haven't had all vaccinations (in fact, trying to get them is proving hard!)


I am far from an NhS apologised, but rather find many of my experiences with in it incredibly frustrating and straight up wrong. If I personally could do everything privately I would. (I found out last year trying to get a lumbar puncture privately is a nightmare, and the eye clinic facilities available to nhs just do not exist privately).

But it is not right to say compliance is demanded. I am iatrophobic and have a very serious long term medical condition. I mainly self manage, with help from both private and nhs sector. I haven't had a lot of the tests the nhs and private lot want done from last year because I haven't felt up to it. One phone call has been made to check I am ok and to tell me to call when I want to. No compliance has been demanded, just made clear that unless I go no help bar filling my repeat scripts can be given. Exactly the same with smear, I moved practises three years ago called and explained to the practise the situation and haven't had a smear letter since. Last week I decided I was up to it and have been booked in.

I disagree. Take the current MMR issue for example, is compliance not expected, are you not considered a bad member of soceity if you chose not to vaccinate. Certainly my local area you are expecting to do what your GP tells you. If the NHS really believed that you are in charge of your own health wouldn't they provide Type 2 diabetics with their own monitoring equipment and you wouldn't need to argue with your GP to get a copy of your own test results. This is my experience.

patchwork_cat

balletshoes wrote: »

how so? its not compulsory.

Alright rephrase - not demand, but certainly expect.

balletshoes

patchwork_cat wrote: »

I disagree. Take the current MMR issue for example, is compliance not expected, are you not considered a bad member of soceity if you chose not to vaccinate.
Certainly my local area you are expecting to do what your GP tells you.
If the NHS really believed that you are in charge of your own health wouldn't they provide Type 2 diabetics with their own monitoring equipment and you wouldn't need to argue with your GP to get a copy of your own test results. This is my experience.

what happens if you don't do what your GP tells you?

lostinrates

patchwork_cat wrote: »

I disagree. Take the current MMR issue for example, is compliance not expected, are you not considered a bad member of soceity if you chose not to vaccinate. Certainly my local area you are expecting to do what your GP tells you. If the NHS really believed that you are in charge of your own health wouldn't they provide Type 2 diabetics with their own monitoring equipment and you wouldn't need to argue with your GP to get a copy of your own test results. This is my experience.

Mmr is interesting, because we are discussing that exactly at home. Dh is not vaccinated and the surgery said a couple of weeks ago they would NOT vaccinate him (we have now found out they have to and will be explaining that to them ASAP. Not worried about measles particularly, but for him mumps, and for me any illness that he might bring home. For me I also have sketchy vaccinations. I am in my thirties and have never had a rubella. I am getting a blood test while in for the smear to check my resistance...they do not just want to vaccinate me. Up until now I have not been well enough in the last few years to have a rubella vaccine, now I am I think but am having to jump through hoops to get it.

So, no vaccine conveyor here!

As for health control...why should the nhs provide self monitoring equipment? If people want to self control they have to take responsibility for that too.


I tell my go, and consultants, what I am prepared to do and what I am not. Occasionally they have said they cannot treat me unless I do x and its up to me to decide if I am prepared to do x for treatment or not.

Obviously this limits access to some treatment and facilities, but for fair reason IMO.

Seriously, I don't share the British NhS is always right and wonderful thing. I am usually arguing the other options here, but I accept responsibility for myself and that includes saying no to anyone I feel I have to, and making compromise when that's more appropriate,

Sarahdol75

I too lost my sister at the age of 27 to cervical cancer, I also urge everyone who is sexually active to have the smear test, yes it is not the nicest 5 minutes of your life, but it is over and done with pretty quick, and it can save your life. I have mine every year now, but I much prefer that than be left 3 years untreated and not able to do much about it.

Valli

bumbledore wrote: »

It doesn't matter if it took a second or a day that isn't the point. In Scotland smear tests are given regardless of risk from age 20 despite evidence showing this is a low risk group. Everywhere else it is 25 onwards. It's ridiculous to say that the treatment is a completely free choice when you get tabloid stories, adverising and been seen as non compliant by medics.

Smear testing isn't useless but if any of you actually bothered to read this thread you might understand the point I'm making.

But the age in Scotland is going to be moved up; once, presumably, the effects of the HPV virus start to impact. The first batch of girls who were immunised will be 18/19 now, I beleive.

The main point you appear to be making is that you don't want a smear test. Is there another point?

Statistics here show the teenage pregnancy rate for girls aged 13-15, presumably then, some girls in Scotland are sexually active at this early age and, one assumes more girls than actually conceive are sexually active. So at 20 some of the girls being offered the test will have been sexually active for 5 years or more. They may have had more than one partner; their partners may have had mutliple partners; all these factors increase the risk. So women aged 20 are offered a smear test. If, OP, you have not been sexually active you don't need to be tested. You could ring your GP practice and speak to the practice nurse and assess whether it is actually appropriate for you to be tested or not.

Starting multiple discussions isn't going to help, stating no-one agrees with your point and being rather stroppy about some of the replies you've had doesn't help; (partly because it's not actually that easy to ascertain what your 'point' is).

Right at the beginning of your first thread I was going to tell you that, as the thread aquired more and more views many posters would come on with personal tales of the impact of cervical cancer; family members who have died or who are undergoing treatment and assert that women should be tested; that the inconvenience of the smear test is minor and that lives are saved.

If a smear test isn't relevant to you because you aren't in an at-risk group fine. But please don't try to disguise that under a thinly-veiled discussion about a test which most of us KNOW saves lives, because it leads to early diagnoses.

Statistically, by the age of 20, most women are sexually active, so, in Scotland they are invited to have a test. In rare cases cervical cancer can develop where there has been no sexual activity. But they're hardly going to entitle the leaflet. 'Not a virgin? Get a smear done!' are they?