This month is Cervical Screening Awareness Month. How much do you know about this important test?
1 Cervical screenings are easy to carry out. True False
2 A cervical screening is a test for cancer. True False
3 Only older women need to have a cervical screening.
True False
4 If your results are ‘abnormal’, it means you have cancer.
True False
5 You can have a cervical screening whenever you want to. True False
1. TRUE Cervical screenings are simple. You will be asked to lie with your knees drawn up and spread apart. A nurse will insert a speculum into the vagina and then gently scrape the outer layer of the cervix to obtain cells. These are then sent to a lab for analysis. The process may be slightly uncomfortable, but it only takes about five minutes to carry out.
2. FALSE Cervical screenings don’t test for cancer, but are rather a way of looking for changes in the cells of the cervix. Changes are often caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), a common virus that’s usually harmless, but can become cancerous. If these changes are left untreated, they can develop into cervical cancer.
3. FALSE Cervical screening is offered to all women aged 25 to 65, with women aged 25 to 49 being invited every three years, and women aged 50 to 64 every five years. Cervical cancer most commonly affects sexually active women aged 30 to 45. It’s very rare in women under 25, so they are not invited for screening, as it could lead to unnecessary treatment.
4. FALSE Most women who have ‘abnormal’ results don’t have cervical cancer, but rather changes in the cervix. If these changes are found, you will be called back to your GP for further tests and may be referred for a colonoscopy. In most cases, these changes are confined to the outermost surface of the cervix, which means there’s no sign of cancer.
5. TRUE All women who are registered with a GP are invited for cervical screening every three or five years, depending on their age. This is usually an adequate time frame to detect any abnormal cells, but if you feel you have a problem, such as discomfort or irregular periods, you can ask your GP for a test whenever you feel you need to.