Cervical Cancer screening

Hi Taneth

You say that you never got called to have your smear test when you were 60, was that in the UK. I am now 64 and my last smear test was in 2012 I am hoping that i do not receive another letter now that i have turned 64+

After learning Jade Goody's sad tale, my daughter went for screening, so she did some good as I'm sure it encouraged other young women to do the same.

I went for a blood test this morning and asked the nurse about this. She said sceening stops at 65 unless you have had 3 dounbtful ones. I asked if I could have one after this age and she told me I could only have it done privately despite my mother having contracted cc in her 70s.

She also told me that soon they will only screen for HPV as that is the cause. (I don't think it can be the only cause as I read somewhere that nuns get it). Apparently there is a rise in throat cancer in young people who get HPV from oral sex.

I hope the teenagers who have had the HPV immunisation will, in due course, show a marked decline in the incidence of cervical cancer. I know my GD has had hers.

Sorry, didn't mean to lecture, I usually save that for the youngsters!

As you were.....................

Yes, of course, phoenix. I was only saying.....

The practice nurse at my GP told me that I will now have longer gaps between smear tests, but that they will still contact me when they are due.

Anagram no-one in their right mind "enjoys" having a smear test, but just think how fortunate we are to A) Have them and B) Not to have to pay for them!

The new technique with the rubber brush thing is a lot less uncomfortable than the previous "scrape" version. (or perhaps it's just that our practice nurse is just brilliant?)

I'm afraid I gave very short shrift to the youngsters at work who were considering ignoring their "invitations", and pointed out that we were fortunate to have the facility at no cost. Plus although I couldn't stand the girl (and never could accept celebrity status for someone with no talent) I think the Jade Goody story is worth considering, so young, and leaving small children.

My daughter's first symptom was bleeding after intercourse. She knew she had had cervical warts when she was younger, and being a trained nurse with a degree in Health Studies, she had a good idea that she had cervical cancer. She had laser treatment at the Kent and Canterbury (not the best hospital in Britain!) and they told her she could go back to work the next day. Her husband drove her and the four young children down to my house in the South of France. That evening, she began bleeding heavily and I called the paramedics who somehow managed to arrive at my remote cottage in 20 mins. They stabilised her and then the helicopter landed on the next door farm and she was flown to Carcassonne - 10 mins by air and an hour by car. There, they re-cauterised the site and kept her in overnight. They were not impressed by the way she had been left. I had followed in my car, leaving my poor son-in-law to look after the children and worry. I stayed overnight on a camp bed in her room - we had a good dinner and breakfast the next morning. I dreaded getting the bill - it turned our to be €23 , just for my meals. She has had no further trouble - of course she had regular checks for several years.

DIY cervical screening! Perish the thought!

I will continue to have mammograms for as long as they'll let me though - it's not a particularly pleasant procedure, but neither do I find it unduly painful.

www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Cancer-of-the-cervix/Pages/Symptoms.aspx

Number one symptom I think is unexpected bleeding, in post menopausal women. See link to the very good NHS website. Fund of useful info.
I think I will carry on having them as I did have abnormal smears years ago. And my Great grandmother died of it.
Likewise I will probably carry on with the mammograms, having had one dose of BC in my 40s. If you have it once you are more likely to get a second dose.
Rang the doctor today because they want to check my BP. Apparently they have a machine where you can pop in and do it yourself. What a good way of controlling NHS costs.
I don't think DIY cervical screening is very likely though
But of course we have semi DIY colon cancer screening.

I couldn't agree more Anagram. They have stopped inviting me now that I'm 65 and it's such a relief. I have a very small cervix (according to my GP) so the test has always been a pain. On the other hand I suppose I could be told I have cervical cancer in ten years' time (assuming there are symptoms) and then it would probably be too late. Apologies for my ignorance, but what are the symptoms?

I must admit I will not be at all sorry when they stop inviting me for cervical cancer screening!

info.cancerresearchuk.org/cancerstats/types/cervix/incidence/uk-cervical-cancer-incidence-statistics

ANother nice- ish graph from cancer research uk. It does show that the incidence drops - with a peak in the 40s (unusual in cancer). It is also unusual in that it is caused by a virus - so that may well relate to the age profile.
So the total number of cases in the over 50s, per year, is pretty small. Which is probably why it is not considered economical to screen - you'd have to do an awful lot of tests to detect a case.
Although it is the 12th most common in women, it is relatively rare because breast, lung and colon etc have a LOT more cases per year.

I've just been doing some online research on the Cervical Cancer Screening programmes for this country, and the age ranges of women invited are:

England 25-65

Scotland 20-60

Wales 20-64

I haven't found out exactly why the start and cut-off ages vary.

Greatnan they say that about prostate cancer and older men - because if you go looking a high proportion of men in their 70s and older would have some cancerous changes, often slow moving.
But because cancer is, predominantly, a disease of ageing cells, then an awful lot of us will, eventually, die of it. The thing about BC is that it is, in early stages, usually treatable - in fact curable - AND it occurs in an organ that we can manage without. And easy to get at for screening and treatment compared to prostate gland.
There is a good reason not to do mammograms in younger women (they don't work, because breast tissue is too dense) but not older ones (apart from the "too many x rays is not a good idea" argument.
Women should definitely carry on self examining into their 70s and beyond.

I think there is a national cut off age but at my previous surgery the nurse told me that after 60 the cervix had changed and it was no longer possible to collect the cells properly. However, the surgery here did one so I don't know if there is any truth in it.

My mother developed cervical cancer in her 70s and it spread and killed her.

It is definitely possible to continue with breast cancer screening, you just have to tell them you want to carry on.

That's right, Jess - 1 in 9 then increasing with age! But the stats for survival rates 5 years after diagnosis are good and getting better, and that's down to research. Talking of which, Breast Cancer Campaign, which only researches BC, has done some really interesting work on setting up tissue banks to facilitate research. Will find the link.

Mammograms are offered up to the age of 75 in France (free.) I don't need cervical smears - one of the benefit of having a total hysterectomy.

I think I have read that many people die with cancer, but not of cancer. Some breast cancers are very slow growing, so there could be a risk of needless surgery and anxiety if much older women are tested.

Mmmmm most cancers are predominantly diseases of older people.
Some nice charts and further info if you follow the link. Breast cancer continues to account for a third of all cancers in the 50-74 age group.

info.cancerresearchuk.org/cancerstats/incidence/age/

50 does seem a very early age to stop cervical smear tests. I would certainly check, cheerleader.

I think it must be different for different areas. The practice nurse at my GP said I no longer needed smear tests after the age of 50. Perhaps I'll double check with them. Mammograms started at 50. My first was v. painful and had to be re-done as it couldn't be read properly. The second one was done using some sort of digital scanner, and although uncomfortable, not as painful.

I loathe them -but still have to have one every 2 years - was hoping that this would gradually get less as I got older but it seems from the last two posts that it won't be the case. Isn't there something else the medical world is introducing instead of mammograms

It used to be 65. They raised it to 70 just in time to catch mine, when I was 66.

I agree Ariadne - I have just requested one although over the age limit - my mother had a radical mastectomy when she was 68 and my friend had just had a lump removed from the breast and radiotherapy and she is 84 .

The age cut off for mammograms is 70, despite the statistics that show that the risk increases significantly as you age! You can have a mammogram after 70 but only on request. I am very worried that women over 70 might be lulled into a false sense of security. We obviously need to be aware of the need for cervical cancer screening too!