PAPSMEAR Reminder Thread

For all the lovely ladies that

A) Have never had a pap smear
b) know they need one but keep forgetting to book an appointment
C) Have let it slip your mind completely being a busy mum
D) deliberately keep putting it off

NOW is the time to take ten minutes to book an appointment that may help save your life. too many women put off pap smears or forget and I have just booked mine...

my last one was before DS so atleast two years.... And it's not ok , especially when cervical cancer runs in the family.... i can't believe I left it so long and to think we are trying for another baby and then I would it it off even longer .....

So do you need one ? join me in booking your appointment today !

I was due April. I keep putting off, can't take the kids, then AF comes round always some excuse! Waiting for DF to start holidays then definately going to book in. We have bit history too, mum had to have hysterectomy at 37.

great thread, My GP who ive had for years knows how bad i am at having mine, canceled appointments etc that last time i went to see her for an unrelated issue she sprung it on my and made me have one right there and then! but that was my first in about 4 years!!!!!

I to have put mine off....for such a silly reason...I dont want to go to my lcal dr as I dont feel comfortable having it done there.

I put mine off for years and years and ended up needing treatment for CIN2 and 3, so as much as I hate them I go regularly. I am back to 2 yearly now but still go yearly because I am paranoid. Boomba I was the same, I didn't like going to my local Dr and through a recommendation now go to a wonderful lady at a local womens clinic. Maybe you could do the same and find someone you feel more comfortable with? Especially if it is a family planning or womens clinic. They are just wonderful. Google and call now chickies xox

Get in there and spread your legs girls....

(I prefer pap smears to cleaning the oven :hide: But it's just one of those things you have to do...)

Ok while while are on the subject of them

Recently on here iv heard talk of PS not always being done properly or the wrong results from the Dr not taking the right smear or something,anywho i had one done recently all clear,but now its got me thinking should i go request another done to make sure that is really is clear? Yeah i know im freaking myself out

Already have mine booked for next week. Lucky me...

I'm getting my skin checked over at the same time.

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Ok while while are on the subject of them

Recently on here iv heard talk of PS not always being done properly or the wrong results from the Dr not taking the right smear or something,anywho i had one done recently all clear,but now its got me thinking should i go request another done to make sure that is really is clear? Yeah i know im freaking myself out

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shell you can ask when in your GP's room before undressing that you would like a *ThinPrep Test* too (it's apparently meant to pick up better detection) and it comes with a fee $ (it use to be about $25 not sure how much now) ... it's just an extra swab they do on top of the already conventional papsmear test your GP will do ... i use to ask for this every single time i had a papsmear for years & years but when i moved to the country a few years ago my GP here was strong about not doing a thinprep too and she kept telling me i didn't need one BUT to be honest it still doesn't feel right for me not too but anyway at least i DO have my papsmear !


Another thing too gals that doesn't hurt to do is what my GP does for me ... every time i have a papsmear she also uses that appt to check me all over for any skinspots ... lucky i did that last time cause turned out i had one spot turning cancerous and had to have it removed. So ask your GP if she/he thinks it's worth doing too when having a papsmear. It seriously only takes them about another 5mins to do :thumbsup:


(*snap* Tash just noticed you mentioned the skinspot check :D)

Oh thanks Smiles , i am going to ask my DR about it

I have an appoitment to get my skin checked at a skin cancer clinic (they bulk bill my one) phheww :) next week ,its very important as well.But yeah GP can do it as well

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Oh thanks Smiles , i am going to ask my DR about it

I have an appoitment to get my skin checked at a skin cancer clinic (they bulk bill my one) phheww :) next week ,its very important as well.But yeah GP can do it as well

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WOW Shell they bulk bill at your skin cancer clinic that's awesome :D ... well in that case gals i would recommend DO your check there instead as i felt the surgeon who was the one that checked me over 'again' was better and also he had these special googles he wears that the GP clearly doesn't have and when the GP cut a biopsy of the main spot of concern the surgeon said she didn't cut it all out properly and didn't have it all to test (and my GP is a great GP but clearly not a super skinspot specialist) :think:


(and if any of you ever need to have a skinspot removed i highly recommend a Plastic Surgeon and not a regular surgeon cause they will make the scar look as pretty as possible, but keep in mind plastic surgeons cost more $$ ... I went to the SkinSpot clinic here and it cost me nearly $400 just to remove 'three' small spots, health insurance didn't cover it :shakehead:).

>>>>> DON'T FORGET GALS WHEN BOOKING YOUR PAPSMEAR APPOINTMENT YOU NEED TO TELL THE RECEPTIONIST IT'S FOR A PAPSMEAR TEST SO SHE CAN BOOK IT AS A DOUBLE BOOKING and not a regular length booking <<<<<<

I'm getting mine at my 6 week post natal check up with my GP after this bub is born. I refuse to get one whilst pregnant. I think they are really important and once you've had a baby, it's not a big deal having a papsmear anyway ;) (as in, less embarassing as everyone has already seen your bits LOL)

What a great thread.
My MIL was in hospital last week having precancerous cells removed which were found at her papsmear. She is 59 so not terribly old.
A friend's sister in NZ discovered she had VERY advanced cervical cancer at 35, she had put off getting pap smears, she is alive still but with lots of complications "down there".

I agree! I was a year overdue at the beginning of this year and something was nagging at me to get it done as we were going to TTC. Well, lucky for me i did as it came back with high risk CIN3 precancerous cells (and im only 30). I ended up having to have surgery to have these removed in April. My recent pap smear since has come back all clear, but now have to have them every 6 months. Had i not have had that pap smear and then just went on to TTC who knows when i wouldve had my next one and those cells could have turned into cancer!

So get it done! Stop putting it off because its annoying and uncomfortable and embarrassing.. mehh.. those doctors have looked at HUNDREDS of hoohaas and done THOUSANDS of pap smears.. they dont think twice about doing it. And not to mension alot of woman who put it off have given birth! And theres nothing more uncomfortable than pushing out watermelon out the size of a lemon. So if you can do that, a pap smear is a walk in the park... and well.. it just may save your life!

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(I prefer pap smears to cleaning the oven :hide: But it's just one of those things you have to do...)

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Me too! I would trade pap smears for oven cleaning any day if I could... unfortunately you all have to go get your own :rofl:

My first test at 18 came back with pre-cancerous cells, I had them 6 monthly for a few years & now every 12 months. The GP tells me I don't need to but I feel better doing it that way... I stress less.

Um. I'm overdue by ... a lot ... but my doctor is not open now! Remind me tomorrow!

Excellent idea!!!
As someone who was diagnosed with cervical cancer as a 16yo virgin, I urge all women to be check regularly.

I was due for one, but am pregnant at the moment. I went to my (public hosp) hospital ob appt and she said "oh, you're due for your PS, do you want to do it now?" All done at once! I think that ob saw all of me that day!

Glad to see so many ladies jumping on the wagon.......

ok, i'm confused (easy to do these days!)

i thought paps were every two years unless something comes back abnormal
i had a pap at the 8 week PP check with DD so late July last year. i got a letter today from a different clinic (haven't been there except in emergencies since BFP, and not much before that really) telling me i haven't had a pap in 12 months and it's now overdue

now, anyone that knows me knows i'm a bit of a stress head! so now i'm thinking that either they're doing a catch up with everyone that was a former patient (i've never had a pap there) and checking their record (but wouldn't the pap register tell them i'm not due yet) or that something has come back weird cos my last GP appt was with them (ended up in hospy with suspected ectopic pg then had to rule out appendicitis)

it IS every two years right? i'm leaning towards the first option in my theories cos i trust the doc (and the practice manager is a friend at the GP i seen while pg - she'd make sure i followed up if results said i needed to)

Yeah BG its evry 2 years UNLESS you have had abnormal cells /or results and they ask you to have a one every year or every 6 months which iv had before ..

If you were over due i think the Pap register would send you a letter ,thats what i thought anyway..

at the age of 33, i had my first pap smear today. Shameful I know but at least it is done now.

the GP didn't say anything about more regular ones, but i may call the clinic that mailed this out and ask what the go is. if it's just a "we haven't done your pap in x amount of time so we're mailing" i'll ignore it, if there is a trigger, i'll be in contact with the GP that did the last one to follow up (she is a GP training up for OBGYN so i doubt she'd overlook something like that)

Good on you Muminalice!!

DD asked me an interesting question the other day- she was one of the girls given the cervical cancer vaccine at high school, does that mean she doesn't have to have pap smears ?

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Good on you Muminalice!!

DD asked me an interesting question the other day- she was one of the girls given the cervical cancer vaccine at high school, does that mean she doesn't have to have pap smears ?

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No i would think she still needs them, from what i unserstand the vaccine only protects from certain types of cancer etc but not all , its not 100% affective and doesnt stop all cervical cancers. from what i understand i could be wrong

I did think similar but was unsure, I wonder how many girls out there now think they never have to have one since they are "vaccinated".

great thread :)

one of my friends had a work colleague who was way overdue, she went & found out she had (treatable) ovarian cancer. which then started all the girls in their workplace going. my friend found out she had a massive cyst that she had to have operated on. which in turn sent me (and have gone on time since). all happy endings, but it seems crazy that it takes so much to kick our bums into gear sometimes.

ETA - i didn't realise that mrsmac. i'm gonna have to do some proper research now.

Pap smears do not usually detect ovarian cancer so please be aware that its important to watch for signs of ovarian cancer. Your pap smear will not pick it up. I am very passionate on this subject as my mum died of ovarian cancer and I have done a lot of research into the subject. Mum had regular pap smears and still didn't find the ovarian cancer until it was very well established.


ETA just found this: Although the Pap doesn't detect ovarian cancer, it may detect cancer cells that have migrated to the uterine cervix from the ovaries or abnormal cells in the uterine cervix.

Do you know the signs /what to look out for mrsmac?

And i am sorry about your mum x

Sadly they are very generic female symptoms- bloating, heavy feeling, spotting or break through bleeding, UTI like feelings, fatigue, indigestion, feeling full, unexplained weight loss or gain.
My friend died at 39 from ovarian cancer so its not necessarily an older women's problem.

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at the age of 33, i had my first pap smear today. Shameful I know but at least it is done now.

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good on you , Mumma..... bet it only took a second and wasn't worth being scared of.... YAY for getting it over with !!!!

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Good on you Muminalice!!

DD asked me an interesting question the other day- she was one of the girls given the cervical cancer vaccine at high school, does that mean she doesn't have to have pap smears ?

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no it doesn't... she should still have one every two year once she is sexually active but she is immune to the different types of studs that cause cervical cancer believe.... Hmmm off to google... I remember askingmydoctor, he said if I plan on staying with my husband not to worry that it's a vaccine for a type of hpv, or virus that creates cancerous cells, ( caused by having multiple partners....)

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Pap smears do not usually detect ovarian cancer so please be aware that its important to watch for signs of ovarian cancer. Your pap smear will not pick it up. I am very passionate on this subject as my mum died of ovarian cancer and I have done a lot of research into the subject. Mum had regular pap smears and still didn't find the ovarian cancer until it was very well established.


ETA just found this: Although the Pap doesn't detect ovarian cancer, it may detect cancer cells that have migrated to the uterine cervix from the ovaries or abnormal cells in the uterine cervix.

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good point to bring up MrsMac so many here don't feel this is the answer to all finding on it's own in the tests, as my SIL at 27 had her routine mamogram (due to family BC history) and was given the all the clear only herself to find a lump a couple of months later and had advanced breast cancer and she passed away at 28 (last year).

(so sorry MrsMac to hear about her Mum :()

... I look at any tests i have done whether it be papsmear, skinspot check or mamograms (& U/S) as an added bonus as to what i already do to keep a watchful eye on things regarding my health !

I have just stumbled upon this thread. I am having a pap smear tomorrow. I think my last one was about 4 years ago, after birth of DS1.

My grandmother died of ovarian cancer. It was discovered after it had already spread to her stomach. Hugs mrsmac, your mum was so young. So tragic.

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no it doesn't... she should still have one every two year once she is sexually active but she is immune to the different types of studs that cause cervical cancer believe....

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Sexually active OR when you turn 18. My sis is 26 and refuses to get one because she's a virgin.

BG - Victorian clinics are crazy, and seem to just contact you at random. The first place I went to down there (in 2005) called me for the first time LAST YEAR as a reminder. I was pretty mad. Fortunately, this is something I keep track of, so had gone off to another clinic to get my next one done. But I let fly at them, and let them know they were more than two years late, oh, and by the way I live in Brisbane now, so please don't call me ever again, I want nothing to do with your useless clinic. It felt kinda good.

So don't rely on reminders. Keep track. See if you can sort of time them with an event - mine used to be with mum's odd numbered birthdays, but am about to swap to sister's odd numbered birthdays (next one will be at 6 week checkup)

i will be due the day before DH's birthday on the "even" birthday years for DD - so i should be able to stay on top of it

i had to take the poppet to the clinic in question today - asked if they could explain the letter seeing i had a pap last year - it wasn't through them so they were doing a mass mail out. no idea WHY they contacted me at all considering i've never had a pap through them! oh well, late july next year i'm due again

great thread :)

mines booked for next week at the same time as ds check up. fun :o lol

just walked in from having mine, 2 minutes and it's over for 2 years!! woop woop!

Bumping :bump: