cervical smears, under 25?

moretothegirl

hi there

long story short, i am 21 years old and have been having sex (with the same guy!!) since i was 17.
lately i have been considering getting a smear test done because of all of this public awareness. however, a friend of mine who was considering it also spoke to her gp who told her not to get it done and that it could cause more harm getting it done?

can somebody just explain to me whether i should get one done? i know you have to pay for it if you are under 25, but i thought the sensible thing to do is get it checked out all the same ?

thanks very much

a confused girl

wolfpawnat

hey, i am 22 and I had a baby earlier this month and accordig to the hospital and the public health nurse I have to get a smear test as soon as the baby is 3 months old, surely they wouldn't say this to me if there was a chance of harming me or the prospects of me having another baby in time to come. I'm sure yur friend has their wires crossed, but the best person to answer your question for you is a doctor.:)

Nevyn

You should get it done.
It won't do you any harm and could save your life.

RobFowl

The free screening covers women over the age of 25 only. There's no harm getting it done earlier but there is questionable benefit as well. The UK (when I worked there) screened everyone from the age of 19.
Cervical cancer probably takes 10 years or more to develop in most cases. If you're unsure speak to your GP or the Well woman center for advice.

DrIndy

wolfpawnat wrote: »

hey, i am 22 and I had a baby earlier this month and accordig to the hospital and the public health nurse I have to get a smear test as soon as the baby is 3 months old, surely they wouldn't say this to me if there was a chance of harming me or the prospects of me having another baby in time to come. I'm sure yur friend has their wires crossed, but the best person to answer your question for you is a doctor.:)

You need to wait 3 months because after childbirth, the cervical cells are naturally abnormal and can give a false positive result.

EVERY woman should have smears. Cervical cancer is a very preventable disease.

Tipsygypsy

Thaedydal wrote: »

You should get it done.
It won't do you any harm and could save your life.

+1

wolfpawnat

DrIndy wrote: »

You need to wait 3 months because after childbirth, the cervical cells are naturally abnormal and can give a false positive result.

Yes thats what my medical team and public health nurse said. It used to be done at the 6week check up, but too many false positives occured, so they made it 3 months.

OP I am only a year older than you, if they say i can get one done then you can too, and the money you spend getting it done will give you great peace of mind.:)

ZYX

moretothegirl wrote: »

hi there

long story short, i am 21 years old and have been having sex (with the same guy!!) since i was 17.
lately i have been considering getting a smear test done because of all of this public awareness. however, a friend of mine who was considering it also spoke to her gp who told her not to get it done and that it could cause more harm getting it done?

can somebody just explain to me whether i should get one done? i know you have to pay for it if you are under 25, but i thought the sensible thing to do is get it checked out all the same ?

thanks very much

a confused girl

At your age the test is very inaccurate. There is a very high chance of a false positive, which means you will be told the test is abnormal when in reality nothing is wrong. On top of the obvious worry this will cause, it will mean you have to have multiple unnesscessary medical investigations. It may take many years for tests to eventually become "normal" which means you will have great difficulty getting life insurance or getting a mortgage.

Tipsygypsy

ZYX wrote: »

At your age the test is very inaccurate. There is a very high chance of a false positive, which means you will be told the test is abnormal when in reality nothing is wrong. On top of the obvious worry this will cause, it will mean you have to have multiple unnesscessary medical investigations. It may take many years for tests to eventually become "normal" which means you will have great difficulty getting life insurance or getting a mortgage.

Yes, it would be so much better to ignore the issue:rolleyes:.

RobFowl

ZYX wrote: »

At your age the test is very inaccurate. There is a very high chance of a false positive, which means you will be told the test is abnormal when in reality nothing is wrong. On top of the obvious worry this will cause, it will mean you have to have multiple unnesscessary medical investigations. It may take many years for tests to eventually become "normal" which means you will have great difficulty getting life insurance or getting a mortgage.

Just to back up ZYX this is from the NHS advice site (they have changed to screening women over 25 routinely now
"
Why are women under 25 and women over 65 not invited?

Cervical cancer is rare in women under 20. Teenagers' bodies, particularly the cervix, are still developing, which means young women may get an abnormal result when there is nothing wrong. This could lead to unnecessary treatment so screening young women might do more harm than good.
Under the age of 25 years, invasive cancer is extremely rare, but changes in the cervix are common. Although lesions treated in very young women may prevent cancers from developing many years later, the evidence1 suggests that screening could start at age 25. Lesions that are destined to progress will still be screen-detectable and those that would regress will no longer be a source of anxiety. Younger women will not have to undergo unnecessary investigations and treatments.
Any woman under 25 who is concerned about her risk of developing cervical cancer or her sexual health generally, should contact her GP or Genito-Urinary Medicine (GUM) clinic.
Women aged 65 and over who have had three consecutive negative results are taken out of the call recall system. The natural history and progression of cervical cancer means it is highly unlikely that such women will go on to develop the disease. Women aged 65 and over who have never had a test are entitled to one."

ZYX

Tipsygypsy wrote: »

Yes, it would be so much better to ignore the issue:rolleyes:.

There are about 180 cases of cervical cancer a year in Ireland making it the 12th most comon female cancer. The average age at diagnosis is 46. The risk of getting cervical cancer at 21 is very small and unfortunately there is no proper test for abnormal cells at this age. It is not a question of ignoring the issue.

Tipsygypsy

I apologise ZYX, you are right. When I got my first smear test it was strongly recommended that if you were sexually active you got checked regardless of age.

Nevyn

I have had the same thing from several dr and the ifpa and the well woman centre.

If you are sexually active and are on hormoanal contraception you should have one done
every 3 years and if you are sexually active, on hormonal contraception and a smoker every year.

Smear tests from the age of 18 are standard in many countries and I have never ever
heard of anyone having issues with getting insurance for life cover or mortguage cover
due to having had abnormal smear tests can you please back this up with a citation please.

SeekUp

Tipsygypsy wrote: »

I apologise ZYX, you are right. When I got my first smear test it was strongly recommended that if you were sexually active you got checked regardless of age.

+1

AmcD

I have to agree with ZYX and RobFowl on this one.
Cervical screening should be done from the age of 25yrs upwards. Below this age a lot of minor abnormalities are picked up, that would revert to normal if left alone.
However, if a woman aged under 25years complains of bleeding after sex, or bleeding in between periods, then a smear should be done. There is a significant difference between screening asymptomatic women and doing smear tests to investigate a problem.
It is a bit of an urban myth that smears must be done post-natally. Smears should be done regularly every three years, allowing for pregnancies. Breastfeeding is one of the contraindications in the current Cervicalcheck manual. It affects the cervix so that the smear will be an inadequate sample.

ZYX

Thaedydal wrote: »

I have had the same thing from several dr and the ifpa and the well woman centre.

If you are sexually active and are on hormoanal contraception you should have one done
every 3 years and if you are sexually active, on hormonal contraception and a smoker every year.

The IFPA may have been saying this in the past but they have now corrected this error:
http://www.ifpa.ie/eng/Issues-Policy/National-Work/Cervical-Cancer-Screening/Frequently-Asked-Questions-on-Cervical-cancer
Who should attend for cervical screening?
Every woman, whether lesbian, bisexual, heterosexual, immigrant, native Irish, single, married or have a long term partner, disabled, and/or Traveller between the ages of 25 and 64 should attend regular cervical screens.

Also the advice from Dublin Well Women Centre
http://www.wellwomancentre.ie/docs/Cervical_Screening.pdf

Who should be screened?

All women who are, or have been, sexually active should have smear tests done. We
recommend screening from age twenty five up to about age sixty four.
Women who have only recently become sexually active should wait for a year to

eighteen months before having a smear test.

Thaedydal wrote: »

Smear tests from the age of 18 are standard in many countries and I have never ever
heard of anyone having issues with getting insurance for life cover or mortguage cover
due to having had abnormal smear tests can you please back this up with a citation please.

I am unaware of any country which starts their screening programme at 18. Which countries do it?
I am surprised you have never heard of people having insurance problems after abnormal smears. It is a very common occurance.

tallaght01

My take on it is that people are free to have a smear test when they like, but they probably shouldn't be free below the age of 25.
We shouldn't underestimate the effects of false positives in a particularly young age group, too.
But if someone wants to make an informed choice to have smear test at that age, let them go for it. But the taxpayer probably shouldn't have to fund it.

I would argue that girls below the age of 25 could take a lot more useful steps to improve their health than going for smear tests.

I'm not a gynae or a GP though.

Tipsygypsy

I had abnormal smear, colposcopy and LLETZ treatment and it was never an issue with my mortgage or my mortgage protection plan or any insurance issue then or ever since. They made more of a fuss about me having asthma.

Tipsygypsy

Also the advice from Dublin Well Women Centre
http://www.wellwomancentre.ie/docs/C..._Screening.pdf

Who should be screened?

All women who are, or have been, sexually active should have smear tests done. We
recommend screening from age twenty five up to about age sixty four.
Women who have only recently become sexually active should wait for a year to
eighteen months before having a smear test.

as I read it they only perform routine screening from 25 - 64, but ALL sexually active women should have smear tests etc... so the Well women clinc has not changed its policy according to this...

However, having looked at it in more depth I tend to agree that if you are not having any unusual symptoms you should wait until you are at least in your early twentys.

esharknz

I'd go for one. In many countries screening starts at 20 years old. I went for my first one at 23 (Doctors in my country seem to be good at suggesting such things regardless of what you present for) with no problems.

I was surprised how quick it was too. Only a slight amount of pain one of the times I had it done.

eth0_

ZYX wrote: »

I am unaware of any country which starts their screening programme at 18. Which countries do it?
I am surprised you have never heard of people having insurance problems after abnormal smears. It is a very common occurance.

In Scotland screening starts at 20.
Even in Ireland since I was around 20 I was "hassled" every time I went to get a refill of the pill to get a smear..

tallaght01

eth0_ wrote: »

In Scotland screening starts at 20.
Even in Ireland since I was around 20 I was "hassled" every time I went to get a refill of the pill to get a smear..

That's not 18, though. I'm pretty sure Canada advocates early screening.

The question is what is the yield from early screening.

Asymptomatic women under 25 are very unlikely to survive any longer because they've had a smear test.

Women of any age with worrying symptoms are a different story though, and they should definitely have a smear.

The WHO don't recommend early screening either,

I had interpreted the above wellwoman clinic advice as effectively saying "ALL sexually active women should have a smear, starting when they're 25". But I don't think their guidelines are particularly clear. I might drop them an email to ask them to clarify it.