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‘It was over before I knew it’

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  • Post last modified:February 2, 2025

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People not knowing about options to make their cervical screening easier and more comfortable is “costing lives”, a cancer charity warned last month.

To find out what having the test is really like for first timers, the BBC spoke to six people who have had their first cervical screening, formerly known as a smear test, in the last six months.

Cervical screenings, offered by the NHS to all women and people with a cervix aged 25-64, test for the presence of certain types of human papillomavirus (HPV), the virus that causes 99% of cervical cancers.

During the test, a nurse uses a speculum – a tool to open the vagina – and a brush to take a sample of cells from the cervix.

This is what having the test done for the first time was like for six people, and what they wish they’d known beforehand.

Erica Donnelly, 26, who lives in Sunderland, waited about a year to book her screening appointment after receiving an invite.

Bianca Ionici, 27, who lives in London, says she put off her cervical screening “for at least two years” because of concerns about pain.

Other people say they booked their screenings as soon as they could.

The NHS wants to encourage more people to go for their cervical screenings. NHS England has promised to eliminate cervical cancer by 2040.

Women aged 25-49 are encouraged to have a screening every three years, while women aged 50-64 should have one every five years.

NHS England data from March 2024 showed 44.5% of women aged 25-29 had not been screened in the last 3.5 years. For those aged 30-34, this figure was 35.3%.

A display at the Vagina Museum in east London last year encouraged visitors to write improvements they’d like to see to the NHS’s cervical screening service on slips of paper.

Artist Ella Clancy, who produced the display, says common requests included more information about the adjustments available – especially asking for smaller speculums – nurses talking people through exactly what they were doing as they performed the screening and staff being more trauma-aware.

Some people prefer to carry out medical tests in the comfort of their own homes where possible. Do-it-yourself cervical tests are available in some countries, and researchers at King’s College London trialled them in London in 2021 with “fantastic” results. They involve doing a vaginal swab which is then sent to a lab.

The NHS said last year it was assessing whether to roll the scheme out more widely.

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