Hello, I'm almost a year all clear now, which feels great.
I have been to an appointment at the hospital today as they had gone through my smear history. Needless to say, what they have discovered is not great news for me and I am struggling to process the information. I just wondered if anyone else had been through this and heard the review of their smear history.
Hi Ruthie
Did the review show that your previous smears were read/reported incorrectly? I'm just waiting on my smear review at the moment. Shoud get it in about 3 months.
xxx
They show that they were incorrectly classed as negative...
it is so much to take in..
ruthie x
Sorry to hear your news, it must be tough to know it could have been picked up earlier.
I hope you don't mind me asking ... I spoke to my gynae oncology nurses about a smear review last year but they had never heard of it and drew a blank. Is this something everyone should have and who should I ask?!?
Thanks
Kirsty
Hi,
It's something that is done routinely in my area, you are sent a letter asking you if you want to see the results. I would speak to your consultant and possibly your GP. Failing that you could ask your local CCG (Clinical commissioning Group).
Ruthie x
Presumably the purpose of this is to guage how effective cervical screening actually is? A government measuring stick to work out whether or not to keep providing money for smear tests. I cannot see any purpose in passing this information on to the patient because it can only be no news or bad news, surely? i.e. It will either achieve nothing as far as the patient is concerned or cause upset. And if everyone to whom it caused upset then lodged a complaint or tried to sue their Area Health Authority that would mean more money in legal fees and compensation and less money available for screening and treatment. I despair at this latest British Government but I suppose this is not the place to get political.
Be lucky :-)
Tivoli
Yeah I think the purpose of the review is to try and put measures in place to prevent it from happening again. I'm not even sure there would be a good chance of suing successfully........personally I am glad that they are sharing the info with me. It terrifies me that my cells went from normal to cancer in between my smears. I almost hope they did miss it on the smear rather than me having such a fast growing cancer. If it did grow that quickly and it's happening often to people, then perhaps this info will give them enough reason/evidence to make screening MORE frequent (wishful thinking I'm sure!)
I also went to my docs with bleeding after intercourse and they saw that my cervix was red on inspection. they said this was due to cervical ectropian and it was harmless. They said this because my recent smear was cleaR! I am not one to obsess over the what ifs, BUT I do want assurance from my doctors that they will investigate symptoms further if this happens again with another patient. Whether they have a clear smear or not.
It it is a tricky subject and a very personal decision but I will keep pushing for my review xxx
Hi Nellie
I hope you dont mind me posting but I work in Health & Safety so I know the law and i can 100% say you have a case to sue for negligence, both the hospital for misreading your smear and your GP for not refering you for a colposcopy as there is no way from a visual inspection they could tell it was cervical erosion.
I know this as i am suing myself for the same thing. Clear Smear in Jan 2012, Abnormal bleeding April 2012 which GP said was nothing. Smear in March 2013 showed 7cm tumour on cervix.
I have found myself a brilliant lawyer in London called Field Fisher and they have taken my case on.
No I understand that not everyone is the same and some feel differently about this but i have Stage 4 cancer which if diagnosed a year earlier would have been a Stage 1 so i am angry. No one can tell you what to do my lovely but i just wanted to say that from what you say and what i know of the law it may be something you may wish to persue if you feel like you want too.
much love
Anna xxxx
Hi Anna,
It's helpful to hear your experiences - my 2005 smear was incorrectly reported as being negative when in fact there were abnormal ceels which were then untreated and I developed CC, my cancer was particularly aggressive so I have had to have a hysterectomy at 33. Leaving me unable to have any children, there isn't a price that anyone could put on this that I would consider appropriate compensation for the fact that I'll never be a biological mother, let alone all of the hurt and fear that my family went through when I got diagnosed. That said, I completely understand and support your decision to take action - I truly hope it's successful for you.
I would simply like to see that the processes are properly reviewed and that this kind of situation does not arise for other people in the future.
R xx
Hi Ruthie
You are absolutly correct and i am sorry to hear of your experiences. I too cannot now have any children.
My motive is to improve my quality of life and financial gain will help. I was stupid enough not to have any critical illness cover and as i am single, i have no other way to pay my mortgage other that working. Whilst not too hard now, when in treatment it was impossible and i felt very nervous about my fiancial state. Fortunatly i work for a good company who have a good sickness polisy but i know that this may not always be the case. I do want compensation for the mistake they made as i believe they owe me for all the treatment i had to have, the loss of my potential life span, the ability to have children and that i am now physically disabled. Money wont make it better, but it will make it easier and if you are entitled to it, then i would encourage everyone to look into this.
much love
Anna xx
