Hey Debs,
It's not very good is it really, I think it's so unfair that they just drop this bombshell and be like "see you in a year!" - i'm like woah, hang on!
I went to see my GP last night, (i'd not seen him before) and my goodness, what a gem he was! I took my letter which he read, and asked me what I was scared of and what i'd read. I basically told him I was terrified of getting CC and that I didn't really have a clue what HPV was.
What he told me was that CC can take up to 10 years to start, it doesn't just happen over night like a switch, otherwise smears would be absolutley pointlesss. He said there is about 6 stages to it becoming cancer: Normal Cells > Abnormals Cells > CIN 1 > CIN 2 > CIN 3 (this still isn't cancer) > Cancer.
So even if women do miss a year, the fact that they screen every 3 years, would ultimately mean that if you did miss a screen, on the 6th year you would still be caught and any changes would be treated. :)
He said and by that point, you'd have been checked and screened and it would've been all lasered away by that point. He also said that it would take 41,000 smears to find that one woman who'd have CC straight away (because generally, everyone one else would've been screened and would never actually get to that point) The majority of women will relapse back to the start, even when they're at CIN 3.
I also asked him if CC was the second biggest killer in women, and he said that wasn't true - it's about the 15th. It just happens to be the most common cancer in young women, which is why there is so much money thrown at it in order to help prevent it and treat it.
He said also, that if it was any consolation (which at this point, i'd listen to anything!) that only about 3000 women were diagnosed with it last year, and only 800 women died - and those women were probably those who didn't go through the regular screening processes and or never got screened. (obviously that's not for everybody) but the considering there is about 31million women in the UK, the odds are fairly slim.
Anyway, I feel lots better after seeing him, and I just flipping wish they'd tell you this in the letter, rather than frightening women and just expecting them to be okay. I did tell him how anxious i'd felt, and how upset i'd been - and he said that I wasn't the only women he'd seen and had to have the same conversation because they were so scared.
I asked him about having he vaccine for further strains and if it was worth having, and he did say that he thinks i've probably missed the boat (I think because i'm too old - i'm only 31!)
I also asked him if there was anything I could do to try and fight it, and he said there wasn't much apart from try to stay healthy with a good immune system.
I'm due for my next screening in August 19, but after all this, i'd happily have them every 6 months that's for sure!
I hope this makes you feel a bit better and somewhat re assured :)
Lots of love xxx
hence why I come on here thanks to it being on the bottom of my letter with results..
