Here at Priory Gate we want to help you take control of your health and look after yourself to prevent developing illnesses and diseases. One of the best ways to do this is to take part in all the screening that is offered to you and ensure you have all your immunisations. Please read on to hear about how having your smear test can save your life.
Cervical screening is one of the best ways to protect yourself from cervical cancer.
Your reminder to book your smear test and normal results will be sent via your NHS app. If you do not read them within 72 hours then you will be sent a paper copy. Abnormal results will still be sent through the post.
How cervical screening helps prevent cancer
Cervical screening checks the health of your cervix and helps find any abnormal changes before they can turn into cancer.
It's not a test for cancer, it's a test to help prevent cancer.
Cervical screening checks a sample of cells from your cervix for certain types of human papillomavirus (HPV).
These types of HPV can cause abnormal changes to the cells in your cervix and are called "high risk" types of HPV.
If high risk types of HPV are found during screening, the sample of cells is also checked for abnormal cell changes.
If abnormal cells are found, they can be treated so they do not get a chance to turn into cervical cancer.
What is HPV?
HPV is the name for a very common group of viruses.
Most people will get some type of HPV during their lives. It's very common and nothing to feel ashamed or embarrassed about.
You can get HPV from any kind of skin-to-skin contact of the genital area, not just from penetrative sex.
This includes:
- vaginal, oral or anal sex
- any skin-to-skin contact of the genital area
- sharing sex toys
Some types of high risk types of HPV can cause cervical cancer. In most cases your body will get rid of HPV without it causing any problems. But sometimes HPV can stay in your body for a long time.
If high risk types of HPV stay in your body, they can cause changes to the cells in your cervix. These changes may become cervical cancer if not treated.
If you do not have a high risk type of HPV it's very unlikely you'll get cervical cancer, even if you've had abnormal cell changes in your cervix before.
Click here to find out more about what HPV is.
Important
Finding high risk HPV early means you can be monitored for abnormal cell changes.
Abnormal changes can be treated so they do not get a chance to turn into cervical cancer.
Who's at risk of cervical cancer
If you have a cervix and have had any kind of sexual contact, with a man or a woman, you could get cervical cancer. This is because nearly all cervical cancers are caused by infection with high risk types of HPV.
You can get HPV through:
- vaginal, oral or anal sex
- any skin-to-skin contact of the genital area
- sharing sex toys
Click here to find out more about the causes of cervical cancer
You're still at risk of cervical cancer if:
- you've had the HPV vaccine – it does not protect you from all types of HPV, so you're still at risk of cervical cancer
- you've only had 1 sexual partner – you can get HPV the first time you're sexually active
- you've had the same partner, or not had sex, for a long time – you can have HPV for a long time without knowing it
- you're a lesbian or bisexual – you're at risk if you've had any sexual contact
- you're a trans man with a cervix
- you've had a partial hysterectomy that did not remove all of your cervix
If you've never had any kind of sexual contact with a man or woman, you may decide not to go for cervical screening when you're invited. But you can still have a test if you want to.
If you're not sure whether to have cervical screening, talk to your GP or nurse.
Cervical screening is a choice. It's your choice if you want to go for cervical screening. But cervical screening is one of the best ways to protect you from cervical cancer.
Risks of cervical screening
You may have some light bleeding or spotting after cervical screening. This should stop within a few hours.
If abnormal cells are found and you need treatment, there are some risks, such as:
- treating cells that may have gone back to normal on their own
- bleeding or an infection
- you may be more likely to have a baby early if you get pregnant in the future – but this is rare
For more information to help you decide click here to read the NHS cervical screening leaflet on the GOV.UK website which is available in many different lanaguages.