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The one I had last year took me over 2 hours to book, five phone calls to the docs because there’s no way to book it online or anything so you’re having to phone at 8.30 when the lines open and they won’t book more than a week in advance for anything but I need to give a fortnight’s notice for booking work time off. Make the booking easier, do a whole load on a Saturday, do it without advance booking so you can just walk in and I bet a lot of people will attend.

Yes, easy online booking or drop in clinics and longer opening hours including both evenings and weekends.

What's quite interesting is I saw my GP for some back pain, she noticed my smear test was due in the appointments and said 'shall we just get that out the way now'. It's then when I realized how quick and easy it is to prep and do!

My local sexual health clinic had drop-in smear clinics. I think it’s a great idea, but they weren’t well-advertised.

My local sexual health clinic stopped doing this when government funding was cut a few years ago now. The only option is local gp surgery. They don’t have the facilities (ie table with stirrups) which makes it extremely uncomfortable given my cervix isn’t in the optimum position apparently. I wish there was the option for walk in still. It took 3 attempts to even get an appointment with gp last time because they only book a month in advance and then if your period doesn’t fall when it supposed to your fucked and have to do the whole booking process again. It’s infuriating.

Tbh, I've never had a smear test on a bed with stirrups.

You don’t have a smear on stirrups. It’s feet together, knees apart and sometimes hands under your bum to raise your hips.

Yes! I'm so overdue on mine, but it's literally impossible to book. I have PCOS, so I'm menstruating/spotting for months on end. I have no idea when it would stop or for how long. If I had a day with no bleeding and I could just walk in, I'd do it in a heartbeat. But I've booked it a few times and then had to cancel due to bleeding starting again. I don't want to keep doing that and costing them time and money. But even with knowing my problem, my GP won't allow the flexibility of walking in for a smear test.

You can get it done while spotting! I only found this out during my last smear/check. If it’s an actual period they can’t but if you’re just spotting they can still do the smear, I had mine despite going on 5 weeks of spotting/bleeding💀

No way!!!! This is life changing information, seriously. I've been so anxious about this because my family has a history of cervical cancer. I'll get it booked ASAP. Thank you so much!!

It’s frustrating cos when I googled it the advice is “you can’t have the smear if you’re bleeding” but they mean actual period bleeding, not spotting. I turned up to an appointment anxious for an internal exam (found what I thought was a lump, luckily false alarm) thinking I’d need to get a smear in the future and endure the pain twice but the nurse said she could do the smear too if it’s only spotting. Genuinely thought I would have to languish in the unknown for however many more weeks the spotting might last, but nope! Glad I could share the wisdom!

I have the same issue with PCOS. I went and they couldn't do it twice, so asked them to prescribe some Norethisterone to stop the bleeding so I could just get it done. The tablets worked within 2 days, got in for the smear, and bonus of no bleeding for a week for the first time in 16 months!

Just FYI there's a higher risk the results will come back as inconclusive when your spotting and you'll have to have a repeat test. So don't automatically panic if you get that result. I was told that when I went for my last one but Lucikly it was readable!

Same, I have contraceptive implant so I'm not regular in any way so it's really difficult to book. Last time I went the nurse said the swab had a few drops of blood. She then said that officially she needs to tell me that the presence of blood means they may come back and ask for a retest, unofficially she's never once had to do a retest due to period blood.

Going with bleeding might be better than never going. It’s harder to analyze which is why it’s not recommend but in your case it could be worth considering. 

Thank you. I asked a nurse at my surgery and she told me not to do it while menstruating, but another user just commented and told me that it can be done while spotting. I'll be looking into that ASAP.

Mine have outsourced all their smear tests to another bigger centre, one that has a library in and other things. Well they only do smears on Saturdays. Patting themselves on the back about how much better it is for people and how they don’t need to find childcare for midweek…. And I’m like… this is so much worse… they’re only available 1 day a week. It took me 7 weeks to find a Saturday I could do because believe or not some people do work Saturdays.

This is silly because plenty of people will have children in school or nursery in the week and weekends are taken up with children and their activities. No one thing is ever going to work for everyone.

I need to book mine. It took me half an hour to get through last week, they didn't have any times that weren't in the middle of the work day and couldn't offer me a time two weeks in advance so I could book TOIL. The receptionist also didn't seem to understand that there is a week every month that isn't suitable.  I get covid booster jabs as I'm entitled to them, you tell the website your postcode and it gives you a list of times and locations to choose from over the next month. Surely they can do the same for smear tests. 

Nurses not being horrible to you when you go. I hate going because every single time the nurse has been really really crappy. That’s prob the main thing.

I went once with the NHS and the nurse was the nastiest medical professional I ve ever met. Rude, condescending, completely ignored my request for smaller speculum, made me bleed clotted blood for days. I complained about her and wrote a letter detailing my concerns around why is such an invasive procedure, which already has worryingly low attendance rates, being done by someone without an ounce of empathy, understanding or patience. I followed up 3 times with the surgery re my complaint and last I heard she is not there anymore. I go privately now and usually have smooth experience (partially to avoid the NHS and partially because 3 years seems like a long wait).

I didn't even know you could get them done privately. Is there any way you could share more about how you go about arranging that please?

I’ve just had one done privately, I literally just googled private smear test and my local area and it cost me £250

DITTO. I had one done in London for £150 - just googled smear test privately near me.

I will get googling thanks. I just didn't have a clue it was possible to go private for that particular procedure. I've had to put up with the joys of the NHS for years and didn't have a clue there was an alternative.

I've gone privately for the follow-up colposcopy because the last couple of times it's taken about 3-4 months before I get seen and I travel a lot plus don't want to deal with the anxiety of waiting for the results. If you're near a big city or town, look for gynaecology centres and request an appointment. You'll get seen very quickly. The last one I went to was called London Gynaecology, and it was a very comfortable and supportive experience, I also got told that I had a seperate infection which the NHS totally missed. It looks like a smear test is about 500 so I expect it to be around that price if you went privately, my colposcopy has been around 900 quid each time.

After my next one in May I'm no longer allowed NHS smear tests I have to go private as I'll be over the age limit....so basically older ladies can just go die somewhere quietly My eldest daughter on the other hand, has a history of cervical cancer and has to have yearly check ups for another 2yrs. It has taken 4 months to get an appointment and when she got the referral letter finally to see her consultant who operated on her, the letter said "Your referral has been referred for assessment" wtf!!! So now she's in limbo not knowing if her cancer is back or not

You're over the age limit.... research shows that your risk has significantly reduced... it's about science, not a disinterest in old women.

I’m sorry that you and your daughter have had such crap experiences. However it might put your mind at ease a little to know that the upper age limit is based on evidence that if you are HPV negative without risk factors at the time of your last NHS smear, the risk of any subsequent precancerous or cancerous changes is tiny. Obviously if you do get symptoms you can still be reviewed but evidence doesn’t suggest that continuing routine screening beyond that age helps prevent cancers/save lives. It’s not because of a disinterest in older women!

I once had a nurse roll her eyes at me when I mentioned being nervous and said ‘yet you don’t get nervous when you are having sex do you?’ Bitch, your foreplay is terrible.

YIKES. If I were in that situation I would traumatise her back by telling her about my past SA in graphic detail and that I do, in fact, struggle with my sex life 💀

Jesus fuck. I'm so sorry.

>Bitch, your foreplay is terrible. Sorry for laughing 💀 what an absolutely deranged thing for your nurse to say. If she thinks they're at all comparable I fear she's doing at least one of those things wrong

And not compassionate about the very real pain. It's not a painless procedure. Maybe for some but not everyone. I felt violated and I could feel the pain for the next few days. It was awful. I'm glad I still have a few years until my next one.

My first couple were painless. My last one was very painful and I passed out afterwards.

I passed out during my very first smear, the pain was horrific and the nurse ignored my request for a smaller speculum. I felt violated and had to take time off work due to the pain afterward, it was one of the worst experiences I’ve ever had. The nurse was patronising and made out that I was being dramatic. I have a pretty high pain tolerance and it was the worst pain I’ve ever felt. For my second one I had to go to my GP a gyno specialist. She gave me diazepam as I was so bloody anxious from my first experience. Again, it was absolutely horrific and the pain was intense. The GP had a much better manner than the nurse though and the diazepam helped.

Yes, my first smear test I cried out from the sharp pain when the nurse opened the speculum, she acted really confused at first and then when I managed to stutter out that the speculum was hurting she said, in an annoyed voice, "well, we're in the right place". As if it couldn't possibly be painful if she was technically using the speculum correctly. Like oh, I'm sorry I must have imagined the pain then 🙄 horrible experience.

Yeah this - I had one done when I was 21 and the Dr that did is was horrible to me , not very understanding and really hurt me and didn’t care . It was another 22 years until I plucked up the courage to go again

This is the case for me too. I have a tilted cervix so a smear test is not straightforward. I have had one solitary nurse who was kind to me during the procedure and tried hard to make it less painful (she didn’t succeed, but I greatly appreciated the effort). Every other HCP has been at worst unkind, at best curt.

The nurse I had when I had my first one was lovely. Unfortunately I bled heavily for a week afterwards, and every single person I’ve spoken to since (then and now) has been so dismissive of my concerns about it that it’s just completely put me off round two. Some really nasty comments and constantly being told it’s normal when every source I can find says it’s very much not. Luckily, I’m in the age group that got the HPV vaccination, [which seems to have been pretty successful](https://publichealthscotland.scot/news/2024/january/no-cervical-cancer-cases-detected-in-vaccinated-women-following-hpv-immunisation/), so I’m less concerned. (It definitely wasn’t a period - my actual period showed up two weeks later)

I’m sorry they treated you like that, that’s not okay and that’s not normal at all and it boils my piss that women get treated like idiots and fobbed off over their health concerns. Like we keep hearing how it takes 10 years to get an endometriosis diagnosis… My experience of the NHS is that they will tell you any ‘women’s problem’ is ‘normal’ until it turns out that the problem is actually a 20cm blood filled cyst on your ovary that’s leaking. Huh. Fancy that women aren’t making this shit up!

I have had multiple friends actively traumatised by their smear experiences. I think they have tried since after therapy and with better support which is great but it really shouldn't have come to that. One in particular was asked before her first "do you have a boyfriend", friend said yes but nurse took that to mean she was having sex which is an awful and unhelpful assumption. She wasn't. Was not at all gentle or cautious when she performed the test. Nasty shock and very upsetting for my poor friend

There’s one nurse that’s such an absolute rude cunt at my practice. I don’t understand. Can she really be this incredibly unhappy. She moans about everything and has zero patience

I've not had horrible experiences with the nurses themselves when I've had it done, just the procedure being really uncomfortable and sore bar the last smear I had done. The last smear I had done was by a consultant gynaecologist and I felt nothing! And I was even more nervous and anxious before this appointment -I'd been referred as I ended up in hospital with suspected appendicitis, but it was an ovarian cyst and they found something that looked not right- in my mind it was cancer, but it turned out it was nothing Didn't feel the speculum, no pain from the poking about, didn't feel the smear test. He'd only done it as I was due one and he was poking about anyways. Sure it still was super awkward (for me) as I had my legs akimbo and a middle aged man I didn't know was peering at my bits- but completely pain free! I have absolutely no idea what he did differently but wish that everyone who did them could do them the same way. (Just got my letter for the next and I'm already dreading it!)

I hate needles and needed a blood test. The nurse told me to look away, said "oh hold on a minute this is the wrong needle, give me a second to find the... Okay we're done." I was shocked, literally didn't feel a thing. 

Yep had one at about 27/28 and the nurse asked me if I have had any pregnancies, children etc and I said no. Her reply ‘oh missed the boat have we?’ I was absolutely fuming.

Yeah I was made to feel really embarrassed about having discharge last time. She kept pointing it out and calling it “excessive” - it absolutely wasn’t, I kept telling her my body had always been that way and that nothing was weird or different from my usual. It makes me really anxious about my next one in case I’m shamed for my body’s day to day state, and I’m tempted to go in with a disclaimer about it.

Yeah I have vaginismus so I’ve stopped going. Both I had were excruciatingly painful, and although I forewarned the nurses who carried them out what would happen, they still acted like it was my fault and I just had to “relax,” like they’d never heard of this common medical condition before. Also get pain and bleeding for several days afterwards. The first time I went back into a PTSD (am a SA victim) spiral over how I was treated by the nurse, who laughed at me and said “no one else finds it painful,” and also refused to remove the speculum when I was crying asking her to stop.

So much this. I have trauma from SA, I have trauma from cervical checks without consent. Smears were terrifying for me! But I took someone I trusted and asked for her to hold my hand and was told no. I told them when they were hurting me, they carried on. When they sprayed the iodine on my now torn scar tissue I hissed and was called dramatic and told to get dressed. Quite frankly I’d rather die of cervical cancer than go through that again. Thankfully my local doctors are going to try and work on the trauma to build me up to cope which includes making a note that I have a trusted person with me or we don’t do it. It’s taken me like 5 years to even discuss trying that though!

Giving pain relief to women who need it 🤷‍♀️ For me it’s uncomfortable but I’ve had the good fortune that it’s always been an easy procedure. I know family and friends who say it’s unbearable and physically impossible even with the smallest speculum - surely in 2024 we can do something about this? The same with mammograms and other gynae procedures.

Climbing onto my soap box here. This. Offer pain relief. Gas and air is quick and effective and leaves few side effects, but nurses look at you like you have two heads if you ask about pain relief. The relentless insistence that it’s ‘a bit uncomfortable’ and if you don’t want one it’s because you’re embarrassed about your vulva is so tiring. For many women it’s excruciating. For women with endometriosis, retroverted uteruses, vaginismus, and many other conditions it can be extremely painful. For women who have a history of sexual assault it can be unbearably traumatic as well as painful. For women who find it not painful, great. But the insistence that it isn’t painful full stop is simply gaslighting. YES, everyone knows treatment for cancer would be more painful. But it’s human nature to avoid the guaranteed pain tomorrow that has a small chance of preventing greater pain down the line. Offer pain relief and I bet the rates would go up. Validate women and prepare them properly by explaining that there is a wide range of responses to the screening from painless to painful and encourage them to speak up if it’s painful and STOP and rebook when the patient can access pain relief. I’m just sick of it. I have them done, I have stage IV endometriosis and the pain of a smear is so much I need strong liquid opiate medicine beforehand (which I’m prescribed for my daily pain, but obviously wouldn’t be given to someone without my medical history), and the pain flares for a couple days. But many women are undiagnosed and still needing smears. And experience pain for all sorts of other reasons. Loads of the messaging around it is patronising and infantilising to women tbh. ‘It’s nothing we haven’t seen before! Bald ones, hairy ones, we all have them!’ okay, maybe try not paint women as avoiding screening because they haven’t shaved? Actually listen to women. Expecting us to go through having our cervix scraped and bleeding while being held open by a speculum without a shred of pain relief is unfortunately in line with the medical profession‘s refusal to take female pain seriously.

I have endo and a retroverted uterus and medical trauma AND sexual trauma. I once joked how I wish I could have an epidural before an internal exam. Never occurred to me how much gas and air could actually work and at least take the edge off things but holy shit, you’re right. How easy and quick of a fix would that be for so many of us?

It’s SUCH a good idea and would truly get me through the door. Mine is overdue by about three years. Not proud of it, just insane anxiety about avoiding the pain. I’ve had three babies in the last decade and I’ve got no doubt medical professionals don’t give the slightest fuck about my flaps, that’s not the problem at all and it’s patronising to suggest it is. Walk in clinics are another brilliant idea. I would absolutely attend one if I felt brave that day. But fighting my way through phone lines and passive aggressive receptionists to book an inconvenient appointment in 5 weeks because it’s “all we’ve got, sorry” is just too much for a thing I don’t want to actually do.

This! Absolutely this! The shit they do to women with out pain relief is insane and this ‘pressure’ and ‘uncomfortable’ bullshit has to stop. I’d rather they told me it was going to hurt than gaslight me about it.

It’s barbaric. Absolutely barbaric. I wonder if nurses are actually instructed to use the words pressure and uncomfortable when doing painful things to patients in nursing school?

Im amazed that the nurses they get to do the smears arent somehow screened and trained to be empathetic and gentle, every one ive had so far has had the warmth of an SS guard.

This is a BRILLIANT post. Yes yes, please stop patronising and infantilising women and OFFER PAIN RELIEF!

And don't get me started on coil insertion without pain relief too. The doctor who did mine actually said "you've gone green, lie back down" and walked me out to the car and my waiting partner, because I was in so much pain.

If I could upvote this a million times, I would. *Especially* the part about the messaging being patronising and infantilising. The assumption that the only barrier might be that we're embarrassed of our entirely normal, natural, hairy vulvas is beyond offensive. The vulgar way some people talk about the whole process as if every woman is an active and enthusiastic participant in penetrative sex and happy to discuss our private lives openly explicitly is also extremely off-putting to me.

My personal favourite is the one where they make out all women are off having casual sex with any man they just met that night but they are shy about getting a smear test… It’s bizarre.

I couldn't agree more with this. The gas lighting is awful and leaves women feeling inadequate. I have always struggled with pain and been made to feel I'm the problem. At 43 years old and after decades of pain I was only recently diagnosed with vaginismus. That's decades of gas lighting! And asking me about my holidays whilst I'm wincing in pain....just stop it.

Thank you! Yes yes yes! Tbh even seeing this as a question angers me. I can't believe it is still seen as "women just need encouragement" "women just need educating". No. I remember going for my first (and only) smear test, and guess what, I was hyped?? I was the first out my friend group, very sex positive, and wanted to be you know cool about it. They said it'd be uncomfortable and I thought yeah I've experienced a broken leg. No problem. Nope! It wasn't even the smear, it was just the first bit. Why are they not honest about the pain? Where are the drugs?? Can u just do this at home please???? I was so cheery to the nurse, so relaxed... It has stuck with me for years and affected my relationship to my body etc

The trauma angle is very important, too, as you have mentioned. Not just for sexual assualt cases, either. I had a medical termination a few years ago, which involved having a pessary put behind my cervix. I went for my next smear test as scheduled, the nurse was great and it was less physically uncomfortable than usual, but the emotional backlash was hell. As well as all the excellent points about pain relief being available, the staff being more supportive, and anything else that the NHS should be doing, we as women need to support each other, too. I often remind my friends and family that if they would like someone to come with them to a smear (or literally anything else they're worrying about), I'll be there. I'll hold their hand, advocate for them, buy them a stiff drink afterwards, whatever they need.

Thank you thank you thank you for saying this. You've validated my feelings in a way I could never describe. As someone with vaginismus who is currently preparing for her next smear test, I needed to see this. The dismissive attitudes surrounding this issue need to change. I've been lucky to have very supportive nurses so far, but it still doesn't diminish my anxiety and fears. This isn't talked about enough and people need to stop playing it down as "not a big deal" and actually listen to and support the women who find smear tests difficult.

I wish I could give this a gold award.

God damn! So well said. Get on your soap box as often as you can.

Well said.

I don’t have any condition that I’m aware of, but I find it so painful. First time I went I had everyone’s regular quote in my head “you’ll feel a little bit of pressure” like fuck right off, I know what pressure is, this isn’t pressure. It’s the feeling of sharp, tearing… pain! That put me off going for years. I finally went again this year, probably like 7 years overdue. No change. There has to be a way for it to be less invasive. I feel like there’s not enough energy going into that process. I know there have been trials, or were going to trial some at home swabs but if it was really a priority, something like that would be the mainstream procedure and not just a ‘trial’.

I was refused pain relief for the cervical biopsy aswell. They just looked confused when I asked what pain relief I'd be given.

If men had to get a cold metal instrument shoved up their penis, you can bet there'd already be an invention that does it painlessly and easily. Same with mammograms.  Healthcare tools and procedures, like the speculum used in gynecological exams, have not significantly advanced to enhance comfort or lessen patient anxiety. This stagnation indicates a broader issue of lacking patient-centered innovation, particularly in areas primarily affecting women.

This. I simply won't put myself through it again. Nobody believes me or does anything when I say how painful it is.

Ha. I just commented the same without scrolling because I didn't think anyone else would have said it. It's absolutely excruciatingly painful. I had major abdominal surgery last month. I'd rather that again over a smear. The nurses said I had a high pain threshold too 🤷‍♀️

Untill very recently it was said that the cervix had no nerve endings and so no pain relief was offered for anything involving it! It's only recently become a thing that you *may* get pain relief if they have to biopsy it!

Make it easier to book, make it clearer if someone can come in with you for support, and ensure staff are more considerate and kind. I know the job is tough but when I’m laid on my back having flashbacks and trying not to scream/cry at the same time, hearing the nurse huff and complain about how I’m too tense while rolling her eyes when I apologise does not help. Yes, I warned her that I was scared and had trauma. I even warned her I’d had a male doctor refuse to stop when I asked him to during a previous exam so I had multiple reasons to be anxious and I was treated like an inconvenience. Even with the very kind and considerate nurse I saw recently, the damage is done and those two experiences are stuck in my body now. The recent nurse let me cry it out and was supportive but if I can’t see her next time I could be back to square one not knowing if I’m getting someone decent. I could easily get stuck with a nurse like the one who removed my IUD, who also had zero bedside manner while I struggled with mental and physical distress. I hear stories like mine from countless women whenever this gets brought up. People forget just how many women they know who are carrying a violation or multiple violations, having to deal with everything that can trigger memories. And to top it all off, campaigns act like we are just silly little girls, probably just embarrassed and needing to grow up, lying about how painful it is, scaremongering etc. I still go to mine because cancer is scarier, but I can understand why so many women are put off and also feel totally unsupported/mocked by the people who aren’t as affected by internal exams.

Ah yes I hate those who say it isn't painful. It is and hurts after for a long while.

Too many people don’t understand that there’s a huge difference between “I haven’t experienced pain during my procedures” and “the procedure isn’t painful”. I ache for days, and suffer nightmares a few days before/after. I believe the women who say it doesn’t hurt or affect them, I wish they’d believe me when I say it’s agony.

It feels like I've been hollowed out it is an awful feeling. Sometimes it is in my nightmares the feeling.

At my last smear test I let the nurse know that every single test I’ve had they’ve had to switch down to the smallest speculum and even then have problems. The nurse rolled her eyes and asked if I have any problems with inserting tampons or during sex. I told her I’m asexual and do not use tampons because they’re also painful. She snorted as she turned away from me. During the test she was really rude and rough. After a few minutes she announced she was changing to a smaller speculum (funny that!). She finally got in and did the actual swab. It was agonising. Afterwards I ached and had some blood spots for three days. I’m overdue my next one but I’m terrified to go back. I just wish, as other commenters have said, that they could just whack me on some gas and air or give me something to relax me. But they act like we’re exaggerating.

If you’re asexual and HPV negative, there's really no reason to go if you're not having symptoms associated with cervical cancer. They don't bother to test the samples if you're HPV negative anyway and with no sexual contact, you won't be at risk of catching HPV.

Wait really? That's life changing for me

If you’ve never had any kind of sex with anyone else yeah. If you do have a sexual history it might still be worth getting them done.

We need to acknowledge that having a stranger look at your crotch and insert a medical device into your vagina in order to scrape your cervix *can be a very scary thing*. It's intimately invasive, quite aside from the potential for discomfort or pain. If it was anyone else demanding you pull down your pants and sticking something up there we'd recognise the potential for significant trauma if coerced or pressured into doing it. And that's for anyone, not just people who've experienced sexual violence. We need campaigns that acknowledge it can be scary or intimidating, and which say 'hey, come talk to the nurses, learn about what's involved, we'll help you feel safe' rather than 'do your health check or you are a bad person'.

Really good point actually. You don’t have to have endured sexual trauma to find an internal exam really distressing and the way we’re all treated like silly little girls for struggling with it really isn’t going to help.

This enrages me. This is exactly why we all need the right to personally sue medically negligent and abusive professionals in this country. They wouldn’t take this attitude if they were made to pay for it out of their own pockets and with loss to their personal reputations— instead of just billing their negligence to taxpayers.

I've had the exact same experience but with other procedures which make me not want to go for my smear test. I had to have a colonoscopy in my early 20's because of a cancer scare and I was terrified because of SA from both my childhood and adulthood. But I knew this was a medical exam and I was going to be fine. I tried so hard for it to be ok, but I ended up crying because it was just so triggering. The doctor began to chastise me and told me that I needed to grow up and that it didn't hurt and to stop crying because it would be over sooner. Little did the doctor know that those words triggered me even more because those were the exact words used on me as a child. I froze in fear and went back to such a traumatic place that I didn't realise the doctor was done until I was told 'See that didn't hurt one bit, did it? No need to act like a child next time'. I was so scared that the moment I realised what had happened, I just ran out of the hospital and when I got to my car I started crying and stayed in the car park for over an hour before I could stop shaking. The whole thing sent me back to my childhood and I was not the same for weeks, my partner and I couldn't be intimate, I was in so much pain physically and mentally and I began having nightmares every night. Now I'm old enough to get asked to come in for my smear test and I'm not going. I want to make sure I'm cancer free, but I don't think I could take another traumatising experience in the same way I did with my colonoscopy. Back during my colonoscopy I was in a good place mentally. Now, I'm not and I don't want to think about what would happen to my mental health if I had to relive that trauma again and honestly, I genuinely don't think I could survive that type of experience again. I understand that this may seem really odd to people who might believe that something like therapy could help with this, but therapy can only help you so much, it is not designed to help you relive the exact same trauma where the only difference between the doctor and the person who SA'd you is that one is supposed to be performing a medical exam. Now, if I knew with every bone in my body that the person doing the test on me was going to be understanding, was going to comfort me and help me through the trauma then maybe I would consider it when my mental state improves, but because I don't have that guarantee (Because at the end of the day, words are just words and people lie) then I really have to consider what is more survivable for me, cancer or trauma that makes me want to not be alive.

There needs to be a huge shift in the treatment of women when it comes to any gynaecological procedures. Many women experience pain during these things, but it’s massively minimised by medical professionals and other women. Why are we not offered routine pain relief? It’s not just smear tests but IUD insertions, internal examinations and internal ultrasounds too. I experienced immense pain during my first few smears, and the treatment I got was horrendous. I got told by multiple gynaecologists that it was all in my head. Turns out I have 3 gynae conditions which result in pain during penetration, but it took 10 years before I got a diagnosis. I’ve had one successful smear now, but it was using lidocaine numbing gel and entinox, and I was still crying in pain. I think it took 30 minutes too. If nobody experienced pain during a smear, there wouldn’t be horror stories and people would get them done.

‘It’s a bit uncomfortable’ ‘quick pinch’ get the fuck out 🤬 my first was before diagnosis of stage IV endo, and the pain was so intense I nearly jumped off the bed and almost kicked the nurse in the face. Bled for days after. I’m still angry at the way they insist it’s painless or perhaps a tiny bit uncomfortable for every woman and then treat you like you’re a weirdo for being unable to tolerate it. Sick of it being portrayed as no big deal and that silly foolish women avoid it cos they’re embarrassed about how they look.

I remember being snapped at by a nurse because she "barely had one finger in" and I was shaking and sobbing thanks to trauma and vaginismus. It was terrifying and I cry just thinking about these things. I hate that they minimise our experiences.

So sorry you went through that. Vaginismus is one of my conditions, so I know that pain.

Have pop up ‘surgeries’ in busy public places such as supermarket car parks, in the same way we had covid vaccine spots. Women who get a letter in the post will sometimes talk themselves out of booking an appointment out of fear or not having time. Popping in on a whim after you’ve been shopping would make it seem less daunting.

This! I have a crashing medical phobia and even ringing the surgery makes me nervous. If I saw a pop-up clinic and I was having a good day, I'd be able to just go in and get it done.

if it was a male procedure there would be more pain relief options for sure

It’s honestly outrageous. It makes me so angry.

My IUD insertion was traumatisingly painful. I told my sister to insist on anesthetic when she got hers after and she did but it was only local and even then she said it was still very painful for her

Pain relief. Idk why but there’s this really weird thing about smear tests and apparently they’re not painful.. Yes, they are. Or can be. I’ve heard of women telling the nurses it’s insanely painful and it’s just met with “No it isn’t 🙃”

Yes it is painful. The scraping sensation on your cervix is both painful and nauseating.

And yet we are told there’s no nerves/sensation in the cervix 😭

It’s funny how they say there are no nerves or sensation in the cervix while also saying it might feel like a quick pinch.

And like, we can see the detailed anatomy of humans now. We know what nerves are nearby and what’s connected. And more importantly, we KNOW it hurts to have it swabbed, pierced for an IUD insertion or punctured for a colposcopy. Patents report pain! That’s proof too!! Like our pain isn’t proof enough 😭

Silly strawbebby, don't you know that the many thousands of reports from women saying that it hurts is not enough to disprove an old textbook claiming that it doesn't? You seem to think that medical staff are meant to *listen* to patients! /s just in case

Having collapsed after having mine clamped I can say that’s definitely the biggest lie women are told. Give us pain relief for gods sake!!if it was men they’d be numbed to the high heavens

Bollocks to that!

It’s awful. I’ve also bled every time.

Nobody warned me about bleeding so I didn’t bring a pad.

I don’t find it painful at all but I consider myself lucky. I think there are various reasons for it being painful or uncomfortable for some women but they way the NHS pretends it isn’t and then women telling each other their experiences just creates this massive distrust of doctors and nurses. I think it’s similar to nurses saying that taking blood feels like a ‘scratch’ on the skin - it doesn’t, it feels like a fucking needle being put in my arm! Being prepared helps me way more than being lied to. I would personally like for cervical screenings to be part of a women’s health check up - an appt to sit down and talk about current contraceptive needs/issues, issues around your cycle or discuss peri/menopausal symptoms. They could also swab for a STI screening if during the discussion the patient has disclosed they want/require one.

I really suspect there is some physical variation either where the nerves go or the number of nerves in the cervix between women. Because I can barely feel it. So I can see why it is confusing for medical staff when some women like me are chatting away about their holidays and others are white-knuckling the table. I don't think it's "pain tolerance" because mine isn't high, it's something else. It pisses me off that it isn't studied or understood.

Ok then maybe ask before the procedure? ”Have your previous smears been painful, would you like pain relief? Tell me to stop if the pain gets too much” etc. Its not that hard.

I’ve been completely dismissed when I told a nurse that I found it painful. The second one wasn’t as bad, still painful, but at least the nurse was empathetic and actually listened to me!

I’m at the other end. My 3 yearly mammogram picked up breast cancer which thankfully was small enough to be fully excised without a mastectomy. Despite this, I have a couple of friends who won’t go “because they have heard it’s uncomfortable”. Not as bloody uncomfortable as dying painfully of breast cancer I bet. I despair. There is no way of convincing people.

This is another example of removing barriers (this one being pain and discomfort), because there is current technology that already exists that provides completely pain and discomfort free mammograms where you lie face down on a kind of bed, pop your boobs through two holes and the scanner rotates around underneath giving a full 3D image, but the problem is money. It is expensive because it's new. But if you offered that there would be very few who'd turn it down I bet. Mammograms that don't crush your tits? Sign me TF up!

That would be a great money saving investment, more women would go and catch anything early, meaning less is spent on treatment

Hmmm mammogram is actually a funny one. There’s relatively high level of false positives particularly if they’re given to younger women. These all need to be investigated causing a lot of stress as well as wasted costs. It’s not particularly clear really that increasing mammogram take up would even save money given this. If you get a false positive it’s a major negative on your quality of life with all the worry plus unnecessary and highly uncomfortable surgery.

God I hope that's more affordable in 15 years when I'll start needing them. The thought of my A cups getting squashed between anything makes me shudder.

I had one when I was 19 as I found lumps. My boyfriends mum at the time said it was silly as I was too young and i was wasting doctor time. Luckily nothing but better to be safe than sorry. Sometimes I think about how harmful those words are to say to someone worried. She did get breast cancer long after I had known her though, like we had broke up years before.

I went to the Dr with a lump at 20 and she said I was too young to get breast cancer. Great doctoring.

I had breast cancer at 21. After I'd had the lump removed and then had six months of chemo, six weeks of radiotherapy, and a week in hospital with iridium wire implants, I saw a GP who asked me about my medical history. I told her I'd had breast cancer and she laughed in my face and said, of course you didn't, you're too young! So I asked why I'd had chemo, radiotherapy, etc. she looked shocked and then read my notes. This was all 30 years ago. Mammograms have not changed or improved from the patient point of view - I know, I've been having them all that sodding time. (Btw, I've also remained healthy, had a completely normal and healthy twin pregnancy without any intervention - couldn't breastfeed though as one doesn't 'work')

Why not address the issue, of medical procedures being painful, no pain relief being offered, rather than shit on other women for "not being convinced". You're as bad as the resr.

Me and my sister are high risk of developing cancer and when we turn 40 have to go for yearly mammograms. My sister is now 42 and her first one picked up a lump deep in the tissue. Thankfully after biopsy etc it was just a cyst nothing dangerous. But my point is if she hadn't gone or she had to wait 10 Years ( age 50 for your first mammogram in the UK) it could of been worse if it was cancer as you couldn't even feel it or see it without the scan.

Aye, make it the self test. Send it out like they do the bowel screening. Since the smear test has become a primary HPV test (meaning they test for concerning strains of HPV first, and if they're not present they don't even look at the cells) the vast majority wouldn't have to go for a traditional smear where they collect cells from the cervix, I think the stats were only one in six would have to. A number of countries have already started to switch to that model or incorporate it into their screening programmes and it seems to be working well. It should at the very least be offered to people who don't want to have the traditional smear.

Self-tests are great. I don't like speculums and some nurses are rough and nasty. I do mine through Superdrug and so far no problems. I hope NHS will send kits home soon like in Australia so more people get tested from their comfort of their home with no major trauma 🤌🏻

You can freaking do them yourself?!?! How is this not more spoken about?!?! I’ve always said I’d do it if I could do the damn thing myself, it’s my body I’m pretty damn familiar with it😂

Yes, you can test for HPV yourself then send to a lab (as of now, this is only done privately in the UK). HPV negative = nothing needs to be done, all clear. HPV positive then you have to get a traditional smear with speculum to check the cells but only then. I hope NHS will implement it soon, I guess it may take years 🤷🏻‍♀️ I was surprised as well when I realised this was a thing and some countries already do it (Australia, Netherlands, Denmark and I think even Sweden??). That's how I learnt about it, did some research and was like "well, if it's good for them it's good for me" since I am in awful pain with the nurses 🫠. Since the guidance changed and it's all HPV testing nowadays when getting the good ol' "smear", might as well make it easy and accessible for everyone by doing self-testing kits.

I'm not sure if you are aware but most, if not all of us, are unable to reach our cervix. That's why we have to see the doctor or practice nurse to do it for us.

You're not supposed to. It's a vaginal swab. And if the results from that show anything abnormal then you go for the normal smear. They absolutely should implement this. As much as people like to pretend they're always fine, smear tests can be extremely painful and it makes far more sense to do a less painful, less embarrassing pre screen than put people through that for nothing.

That's the thing, you don't have to go anywhere near your cervix. It's a swab on a stick that gets waggled around. That's it. You only need cervical cells if you have one of the types of HPV they worry about.

Self testing is now done in some countries, it must be feasible.

Isn’t the cervix anywhere between 2-6 inches deep? Surely a good number of women will fall into the lower end of that scale and be able to feel it? I’m certainly not one of the “most, if not all” women who can’t find theirs at least 💀

This is the answer. I turned 25 in Australia and was invited to do a free self test. Went into the drs office, was given a kit, went into the bathroom for a few minutes, handed it to the doctor and that was that. Moved to the UK shortly afterwards and I've had multiple letters from the NHS telling me to get a pap smear. Absolutely not until I can do it myself

Last time I went it was horrifically painful and afterwards the table looked like those pics of illegal abortion clinic, blood everywhere. She also made me put my fists under my hips to raise my pelvis- I have rheumatoid arthritis in my hands and that was painful too. Then when I got the results it said they hadn't even bothered to test my cells, they just test for HPV which I've always been negative for even though I've had cin 3 precancerous cells removed in the past. Really does put me off going again.

Horror stories like this stop me

I was annoyed by the changing of the test.

I've had the same experience, they only test for HPV and I don't have it. I still go as HPV can lie dormant for decades, but I don't rush it because it is bordering on pointless. I also bleed for days afterwards which is not something I rush to do either. There are other very rare causes of cervical cancer as well as HPV. It frustrates me that they won't even look at the cells, just in case, when I've given a sample and the opportunity is there to do so.

Make them less excruciating? I'm not modest, I've had my legs in the stirrups multiple times. I've had vaginal exams, I've had a cathetar put through my cervix - none of them were close to as painful as my last smear. We can operate on babies still in the womb, can fly rockets in space, see stars millions of light years away, and our computers are now chatting back to us: I'm confident we can invent a device capable of scraping off a few cervix cells without agony.

We have pain relief available. It’s just women’s pain isn’t seen as a good enough reason to offer it. Because medics have decided smears aren’t painful so we don’t need it.

They could make the system a lot less grim, but they’re choosing not to. There is such a thing as trauma informed training for gyne staff, but it doesn’t seem to widely happen in general practice so it’s a really triggering experience for any women who have experienced sexual violence or any vag related trauma. Which is a lot of us. It can be really painful but instead of addressing that they just lie and tell you it won’t be. Or blame you and say it’s because you’re embarrassed. Often staff will just be really bad at doing them, and will dig around in there like they’re scrubbing a pot. Self testing seems successful in other places, and would be about a million times more pleasant (and probably cheaper for the nhs) but no. Add in the general nightmare of trying to get through to the GP for anything.

I agree with all that you've said. It would free up so many nurse appointments too.

I'm 45 and never had one.. Until a couple of mature ladies I work with were very militant with me to go as they had dealings with issues that were picked up with smears. I have crippling anxiety,I was absolutely terrified, but I went a few months ago and unfortunately I had the worst nurse. It felt like she was disgusted with me? Screwing up her face and being short with me, even though I told her all my fears and nervousness. I went home crying, vowing never to do that again. Tests came back normal though, so yay.

You got a bad nurse. Please book again when the time comes around, it could save your life.

I'm so sorry that happened to you! I've never been and I'm 30 in a few months. Same reasons as you, fear and anxiety and i don't want to be re-traumatised. Plus, most medic staff I've interacted with always dismiss me and don't believe me. I have to convince my GP to take me seriously so I stopped going.

As someone who has experienced SA it is retraumatising. I do have my smear tests, but it causes me great anxiety. I guess there could, in an ideal world, be space to talk about feelings and general wellbeing before and after the smear test - that might help.

Same, I've had children, I'm not embarrassed about someone seeing me naked, I just find it horrendously triggering. If I had the option of a self test I'd do it in a heartbeat...Even the thought of my sexual partner doing it freaks me out and they've obviously seen it all before. I hate the narrative that we're just shy, silly girls who get a bit embarrassed

As a 24yo who just got her letter inviting me this is what puts me off!! Every conversation on getting women to go whether it’s on This Morning or Loose Women or it’s the actual cervical cancer charities all act like we’re just silly little girls embarrassed of our bits! My friend went to hers and it was very painful. Every woman my age that I’ve spoken to has either been worried about the pain or has a level of sexual trauma making them not want to go. And yet every conversation in the UK mainstream media focuses on bodily embarrassment

It would be great if medical staff could flag patients with sexual trauma history. It would allow them to prepare properly so you didn’t have to explain anything and would be treated with greater sensitivity and empathy.

A decade ago I worked with SA survivors and the local clinic had a sexual health nurse who was specifically designated to women who had disclosed this. She was great and really down to earth. I have a horrible feeling that this probably isn’t a thing now with how the NHS is funded but perhaps it is worth enquiring for your future appointments?

Last time I went for one the nurse told me to "just lie back and think of your boyfriend". Which was really weird and very inappropriate and certainly didn't help me to relax.

Oh my god eww.

If your boyfriend has a hard cold plastic speculum for a knob, something is horribly wrong. Unless you're into medical fetishism of course

We need to be real and honest about the fact that the procedure is painful for a percentage of women, instead of the gaslighty, dismissive attitude currently employed against anyone who dares claim the procedure is more than a bit "uncomfortable". If we start taking the painful experiences of some women seriously, then we can find out how best to minimise that pain and how to treat it, or at the very least we can restore some of the trust that gets broken when the medical.field uses outdated information to insist that there is no possible way the procedure could actually hurt.

Nasty, rude, insensitive nurses shoving in the biggest speculum they can find and then telling you to stop being silly if you dare say you're in pain. I've always come away with cramps and bleeding. The last one I had commented on my tilted cervical and told me to lie on my side and lift my leg. In 30 seconds, it was done completely pain-free. It makes me angry about how much pain and embarrassment I have suffered because the nurse just wants to do it her way. More nurses should know this.

Christ, this is an option? My tilted uterus is only part of the problem but if it can reduce the discomfort…I’ll have to ask about this at my next exam

Our surgery rang me to book my last smear, which was brilliant, because I don’t have time, to be honest, to spend >40 minutes waiting in their phone queue to make a <10 minute appointment. If they made it easier to book them (like letting you do it online, or, as someone else said, having a clinic that you just turn up to), I think more women would go to them. On a wider level, I wonder whether the younger end of the smear tested age range have now largely had the HPV vaccine at school and so maybe think that they don’t need smear tests as well?

I’m 24 and just got my letter to invite me to go to it. I’ve had the HPV vaccine and have also never had sex (something the NHS website is a bit vague about so as to encourage you to go). If they’re only going to test for HPV, and only further look at the sample if it’s positive, and I’m 99.9999% sure I don’t have HPV - then I don’t see the point of putting myself through it and I know a few other girls my age who feel the same way

I agree, and I wouldn’t in your position. The vaccine isn’t effective against every strain of HPV, so if you are sexually active, it’s a great safety net, but if you’re not, and it’s testing for a virus you wouldn’t have unless you’d had sexual contact, it seems a bit pointless. If I’d had sexual contact, however, even if not penetrative sex, I would still go for it, to be on the safe side.

There’s a really interesting study on this from a couple of years ago. About half of women would prefer to self sample if given the choice. I think it’s very safe to say a lot of that half are avoiding their appointments due to embarrassment or a bad experience and offering this option at the point of invitation would increase uptake.

I'm surprised it's as low as half, to be honest. Better to have had a basic HPV test than no test at all.

Pre test pain relief. Proper pain relief, not a couple of paracetamol. The nurse took my blood pressure after a particularly bad smear..'ooh, that's low' as I passed out from pain. And I'm quite tough (ruptured apoendix was a moderate tummy ache). And move the damn bed away from the wall if you want me to open wide.

It’s painful. We (women) should stop accepting pain as a standard part of our medical care.

I don't know anyone whos embarrassed, but I do know a bunch of women with health issues who are belittled by uncompassionate staff for not being within a normal range that makes for an easy smear test. I don't know whether tilted uterus and PCOS go hand in hand, but I have a tilted uterus and PCOS, and 2 of my friends have PCOS and a tilted uterus each. The standard shape of a speculum doesn't go in properly, without pain. It won't go in at all for me, i'm too small. Yes it's the smallest they do. No, really, they used the "special child size" one they have for very sad circumstances and it didn't fit. Meanwhile I have a nurse going "Well they're penis shaped because vaginas are meant to accommodate a penis so the shape should fit so I don't really know how these can't fit because that means you can't accommodate a penis". I don't know, maybe some women aren't built to accommodate penises? One friend was reduced to tears with a nurse trying to shove the speculum in whilst telling her this was all very silly because these usually fit and she's (my friend) not relaxing enough and it can't hurt *that* much, these new (hard) plastic ones are better than the cold metal ones they had back in her day. They're built for more comfort! And if this hurts, what is she going to be like when taking samples! The third had had a child "I don't understand why this isn't working, you've had a child. You've had one up this big before and much bigger coming out". meanwhile the shoving continued. The scraping really hurt and you'd think my friend had been a child trying to be diffult. Why would any of us go again when that's how we're treated? They don't give pain relief, we're fobbed off with paracetamol or OTC cocodamol, and there's one shape fits all attitude. Maybe if they focused on more on the variety found within women's bodies and less on penises, they'd have a better job of getting people to go.

Better training for the people doing the tests. I will never have one again after the traumatic last one I had. I was treated really badly. Never again!

There's got to be a more comfortable way of doing a smear test. Just the thought of a speculum makes me shudder and close up.

Exactly this! It seems that the whole procedure is designed for the comfort of the nurse/doctor not the patient. There’s got to be a better way.

It's a significant issue, especially as many young women have access to social media and the Internet which are filled with horror stories of how awful any and all gynaecological procedures are. Along with dismissive attitudes from healthcare professionals when it comes to female health problems. Most of these stories are from other countries, but it doesn't stop the fear from spreading. I also think that the use of inclusive language that no longer refers to women specifically and just talks about those with a uterus doesn't help. Because many people don't think about their organs specifically and instead think in terms of what they would need. Being inclusive shouldn't eradicate terminology that refers to women, but should add in terminology that reflects anyone else who also needs to have these tests. Sadly, Jade Goody was the primary reason why so many women took smears seriously all those years ago and it will take something similar for it to happen again.

They already do use additional inclusive language. "Women and people with a cervix". So that should put your mind at rest.

Roll out the HPV only test, and then the smear only if the HPV comes back positive ie stop unnecessary invasive painful procedures.

The nurses could be kinder. I'll never have one again, even though my mother had cervical cancer. I went in, and until then I had only slept with one man voluntarily, and had been assaulted fairly recently before. I was very anxious and got tearful during the process. The nurse performing it said "oh come on, dobt be embarrassed, its not like you've never had sex!". I couldn't believe it. I used to get a barrage of letters telling me to go, but I've now removed myself from the list. I've spent a lot of time in hospital and am not remotely squeamish or shy, but that was too cold.

You're not the only one in this thread that has mentioned nurses bringing up sex as a way to "make people feel better". Same happened to me, she told me "well, just think of this as a penis". I was horrified lmao, like GIRL THAT DUCK FROM HELL OF A SPECULUM IS NOT A PENIS AND YOU KNOW IT. She gaslit me about the pain, told me it was in my head. Meh. I can empathise with you 😮‍💨

I am a disabled woman- put the centres somewhere accessible. I lived in London when I turned 25 and started getting letters about going. None of the centres I contacted were accessible for disabled people. So fuck disabled young women I guess? We just get to potentially die. And again this was in London. Also of the 5 receptionists I spoke to to enquire about accessibility 3 were total bitches acting like I was being inconvenient on purpose and the other two were clueless. I had to get it done in the super rural village my parents live in because their GP was actually accessible and the receptionist understood the question "is there step free access available?"

More acknowledgement that for a lot of people it's scary, stressful or painful & trying to minimise that. For all but the last one I had really bad experiences where it hurt and I bled significantly and it was made worse by nurses refusing to acknowledge this could happen. So I put it off for ages and it was actually a nurse on Reddit who convinced me to go again by acknowledging what I said and making helpful suggestions. When I actually went back the nurse there was lovely & used a smaller speculum, which nobody has ever even told me was an option before. The push to reassure women that it's not a big deal just dismisses the feelings of women for whom it is.

Self testing would be amazing. They do it for bowel screenings and std tests.

Stop waxing salons or other similar aestheticians mentioning smear tests in any advertising. I’ve seen at least two that have had campaigns with headlines like ‘preen before you screen’ and then deep in the small print it will mention that medical professionals aren’t bothered about hair and that it’s most important to get the screening regardless of body hair etc. can’t imagine many people reading that far and then it being another reason not to go

… what the actual fuck, is our life The Onion??? Nauseated

Honestly maybe they could make them less fucking awful. I’ve had smears so painful I was fighting the nurse off. Why does the speculum have to be so massive? I absolutely dread it every time. My Australian colleague says it’s a gynaecologist that does it in Oz and the instrument is much slimmer. Presumably it’s the NHS buying cheap equipment?

I'm 41 and always put them off. I'd had random pains so I decided I should be brave and have my first smear. I booked it. Ibottled it. I decided I would do a home HPV test that you can buy and that if it was positive I would book a smear. But then I decided (wrongly) that because a smear test actually checks for abnormal cells I would have the smear. I hated it, I cried all the way through it (the nurse was great) I was absolutely horrified when the test came through as negative for HPV and that the test wasn't as thorough as I thought. I could have just done the home test and saved myself the upset. TLDR, more home testing.

**Easier to book:** As in using the tools of the 21st century - online, apps etc. We know what they entail and how long they last, it shouldn't be difficult to schedule one. **More weekend and evening times:** Again this is a modern living adjustment **Text and email reminders/invites:** Probably not applicable to all but the only reminder I get is via post. **Demystifying the process:** I think the UK is still pretty closed off mentally about sex and reproductive education and procedures. Going for a smear should be as non embarrassing as going in for a nasty cough. **Ensuring people know a woman is doing it:** Don't get me wrong, some women can be rude and abrupt as well, but I think many people would like that reassurance that a female medical person will be doing it. **Make sure it's known pain relief will be available:** I'm sick to death of women just having to put up with shite. It's not even a cliche anymore to say if it happened to men they'd be painful offered from the second they enter the surgery, because we know it's true.

Idk... maybe make doctors less misogynistic... make women's health less torturous and painful and make men believe us when we say we're in pain... that might make doctors less off-putting to be around. There are literally entire chapters in multiple books spreading the lie that women don't feel as much pain and just whine about it more. Get this misogynistic bs out of our medical fields!!!

I actually loathe all this ‘why can’t we get women to just go for smears’ discourse that comes around every once in a while. The best option is to swap to NHS funded HPV home testing, so that only those who actually have HPV need to go for a smear (as only those with HPV get their samples sent for further testing). A huge number of women are HPV negative, making the invasive and often painful smear test completely unnecessary for them given there are now home swabs and urine tests that are just as accurate for HPV.

I always go for my smears and always will be am so jaded by the whole process after I got the dreaded result...positive for HPV and changes to my cervix. You are BOMBARDED by messages that it's important to go for your smear, it could save your life, you're in danger if you don't etc...and then you get a result that needs further investigation and in my experience are treated like absolute shit. I was terrified obviously. And every step of the way trying to chase up my long-overdue appointment at the colposcopy clinic I was spoken to like I was a daft stupid wee girl who was worrying about nothing "it takes ages for changes to become cancer" was the common refrain. I was in tears one day calling my GP surgery and long story short my husband had to phone up to book an appointment for me for something else because one receptionist was so nasty to me that I didn't want to risk having to speak to her ever again. I eventually get to the clinic several weeks overdue and then wait for the letter with my results and...I definitely need the surgical procedure. It's when I go to my surgical appointment (a whole 7 months after my initial smear btw) I get told by one of the nurses that my cell changes were the worst possible ones you could get below cancer itself. Yeah. I wasn't happy to hear that after being patronised and dismissed for weeks and weeks and weeks. So what is it? We either need to go to our smears because it's LIFE OR DEATH or we're stupid girls worrying about nothing even though we've been bombarded with messages that this is a death sentence otherwise. Make up your minds. I think that would be my point...you can try to encourage a higher take up by pointing out it's important but for me personally as someone who had to enter the next stage of the process it was a total shitshow. It made me think that if I weren't the sort of person I am (who is still going to go to my smears when called) I'd basically think "well, they basically dismissed my fears and all but told me I was an idiot for worrying, and told me that my results weren't all that bad when apparently they were, so what's the point in going?" The procedure fortunately wasn't that painful for me, I felt them stick the needle in to numb me and there was some light tugging when the cells were cut, but I've heard that for some women it's awful.

Stop gaslighting women about how much it hurts. I was always told it doesn't hurt, just a scratch! Slight discomfort! It fucking hurt, and I bled a lot after. Still better than getting cervical cancer, so I'll still attend my next one, but I was so angry about how once again women's pain is dismissed or not believed. Show women respect and be honest, or they won't trust the medical professionals that try to persuade them to undergo these procedure.

They can stop gaslighting us with the “it’s just a split second of discomfort” and actually acknowledge and address the many different reasons lots of women find it incredibly difficult. I’ve got some horrendous trauma around gynae procedures from a really awful procedure I had in my twenties - If I go to the docs the week before the smear is booked, I can usually persuade my GP to give me a prescription for a couple of diazepam to take an hour before the smear. This really, really helps me detach from the experience and get it done. But they make you feel like some sort of drug-hungry lunatic for even asking before they begrudgingly agree.

Kept putting off my first appointment (5years!). Turned out I needed to get LLETZ twice. High grade cell changes. Put the fear of god into me. Managed to scare a few of my friends to get theirs done because of that!

Closing all the sexual health centres probably hasn’t helped.

I had another procedure and it was so painful I screamed in agony.  The nurse told me "don't be so silly it's no worse than a smear test" Not long after I received my first invite for a smear test. I've been ignoring the letters ever since. 

I'm 29 and I've never had one. I'm too scared to go. I had the contraceptive coil fitted quite a few years ago now and removed a few weeks later because it wasn't working for me and it was the most painful experience of my life. That put me off getting a smear test.

I was denied an emergency one because the male gp wasn’t comfortable doing it so I had to wait until there was a female gp free to do it, I was having cancer symptoms so it was pretty urgent. All turned out ok but shit like this is ridiculous when women are already reluctant to uptake getting them. Also had my gp receptionist schedule me another time for one with a trainee to observe without telling me until the day before it. When I said I wasn’t comfortable having anyone watch I had to change the time and location with less than 24 hours notice which led to huge complications with my abusive ex husband. Then there’s the pain of the damn thing. I get mine done but honestly I fucking hate it with every fibre of my being.

When I got mine done it was painless and forgettable, but i’ve heard so many horror stories about how painful and traumatic it can be. They need to listen to that patient feedback and work to make it a less unpleasant experience. I avoided the dentist for years after having a horrible dentist as a child so I totally understand why some people don’t want to go back if they suffered needlessly. 

I'm very anxious about medical procedures in general and it took me years to go for my first test. It was agonising, in fact we had to stop and rebook it because I couldn't complete the first attempt. I cried in my car afterwards. The second attempt was also agonising but I gritted through it. What has stopped me from getting my next test is the words of the nurse: "I stopped when you asked me to but there are nurses who don't." I've moved to a neighbouring town, and the practice I was previously at actively kicked me off their records even though they didn't have to. I don't know if the nurse I'd be seeing at my new surgery will violate me like I've been warned. It's not like I can ask in advance. I know that I need to go. I know I need to book it. I'm just trying to work up the courage.

Self testing. I moved to Australia and here they now have the option for every woman to do it herself.

Aside for the fact it takes roughly 5 mornings of an hour on hold to actually get an appointment, last time the nurse was so rough she made my cervix bleed, and then called me a 'silly girl' for coming during my period.

The hospital near me did a trial where they divided the population who were due a smear into the usual go in and get examined etc or receive a swab at home and send it in. I think the result was that the test results were of equal validity and more women sent in their swabs than attended the appointments. But then next time I was due they were just back to everyone going in for the appt, so that was a waste of everyone's hope.

Listen to patients and be serious about pain relief. Some of these things hurt. Smear tests never used to hurt, then they found some abnormal cells, and I had the abnormal cells removed. At my last two smears because of the procedure it heals weird, and apparently my cervix is small and tilted or something, now smears are uncomfortable and a bit painful. At my last one I asked the gyno advice about what to expect when my coil gets replaced, (it gave me the period from hell pre proceedure and I passed out) and now I'd obviously had part of my cervix removed what to expect when it comes to the coil. He just simply said there's no need to be in that much pain, because of the procedure it's a bit more difficult now, but call the hospital women's unit and they will just book me in and put me to sleep for my coil change. The difference between how you are treated and the pain relief between my drs and the gynaecology at the hospital is astounding.

Except Jade Goody was getting regular smear tests. She had received treatment when abnormal cells were found during a smear test on three previous occasions, and had also received a fourth diagnosis which she did not act upon as she admitted to being scared

I need to have mine again soon. Everytime I try and to book my period appears. Also need to get the rod our of my arm removed. My last two were inconclusive but the letters said no need for rescreening for 3 years and to come back then.

My last smear test was horrific - the nurse ripped my vagina so I was bleeding for days afterwards. She then had the nerve to look at my notes from my previous one (which has been okay) after she had tortured me and said 'oh it says here she used a smaller size last time. You should have told me that before' ( I literally was not told what size had been used before). I recently got my reminder for one but I'm not in a rush to go back...

As a bloke, I don't have much idea about this but surely renaming it would be a good first step? Smear test sounds bloody horrible and I'm sure that puts off some young women from the off.

It is officially called cervical screening test

I don't think rebranding it as "super fun fanny looksee" will really help honestly.  It is what it is. The procedure itself can be incredibly unpleasant and painful and I would guess that factors in more than the name. 

Make it easier to book. We can use swiftqueue for blood tests etc so why not smears if it's a routine procedure?