Nope none of my friends have been called. My 20 year old cousin, been on the pill 3 years - not been called.

How strange. That's definitely not in keeping with the government screening policy (or what I've heard from other people living in England). And did you say you get called every year? That's odd too, because the whole UK is supposed to be on a 3-yearly screening schedule.

Obviously I can't explain why these GPs you talk about are doing their own thing, but I'd guess the majority of the UK follow the actual government screening programme, as I described it.

I didn't, but all my friends who have been on contraception 2 years + have been called yearly.

That's just weird. And pointless (unless they've had abnormal smears at some point), since cervical cancer is so slow to progress. I wonder if the GPs doing that are managing to get government funding for it, or if they're having to pay for the additional smears out of their own practice budget.

No idea, but if you don't go they don't give you any other medical contraception until you will go.

Yeah my cousin has been on the pill 3 years, is 20, and has never been called. I just texted her lol.

Ah, okay, that makes sense now. I definitely do think England should change that rule, and the age of 20 is quite reasonable.
I just found out recently that a former coworker (age 25) has had ovarian cancer removed and is now facing chemotherapy and having to freeze embryos in hopes of having children someday. She just got married in December, and she went for her first exam that month, where I guess things led to the discovery of her tumor. I have no idea if her going any earlier would have helped, as luckily it was caught and removed-but I would think having exams before 25 would be a good idea in general.

If she has ovarian cancer (and not cervical cancer), then it would not have been picked up on cervical smear anyway.

I wasn't implying that, as that would indeed not make sense. What I mean is, if she hadn't gone to get the smear (which I'm sure she thought would be a normal, routine visit and that would be all ), the cancer would not have been discovered until much later . The gynecologist is the one who discovered she had a mass, while she was examined at that same appointment.

Oh, I see. I misunderstood. I think that's partly because cervical smears here are done by practice nurses (or family planning nurses) or GPs, not gynaecologists (women are only referred to a GP here if they have a specific problem which the GP can't manage themselves). And practice nurses usually just do the smear, but don't do bimanual palpation at the same time, so they probably wouldn't find a mass like that.

ah, okay, that makes sense. I figured that it must have been that a smear is done alone or something.

here w the OB-GYN performs the pap smear, the bimanual palpation, (though I never knew that is what it is called! now I have been educated! lol. :-P) as well as a breast exam at the 'annual exam'.

You get a breast exam too!?! Geez. Talk about overkill. Young breasts are so lumpy anyway, I wonder what the point in that is. Oh well, I guess if you're paying for it (rather than the government), you may as well get your money's worth!

I had a feeling you'd say that ;) lol. Yes, they do that too. I suppose as long as I am in the gown they might as well feel them too just to see, lol. :-P I am the paranoid sort of person that wouldn't mind anyhow.

I will say I am glad that I found some good coverage for myself. I only pay 20% for the visit. I can't recall my last bill from it right away, but I do remember being really pleased that the exam didn't cost very much. Of course our system is just not fair to a lot of people a lot of the time, but that is a whole other thread ;).

I meant to say only referred to a gynaecologist, by their GP. Oops.

I have heard from various sources, including the NHS site itself, is because under 25, the cervix is still changing and false positives for abnormal cells are very common, resulting in unnecessary anxiety and in some cases unneeded treatment, which is pretty scary!

But if you have a family history of the disease or are exhibiting symptoms, you can definitely request one.

If anything changes, I think all it will be is to make it easier to request a smear under 25, because apparently some doctors can be arseholes about doing it to younger women.

I reckon more people would go if they changed the name! How nasty is the word 'smear'! ;D

That is true. But in the rest of the UK it was decided that the risk of cervical cancer (while low) was high enough to justify screening at 20. Finding abnormal cells at that age may be unusual (although not as rare as under 20), but it does happen, and women in their 20s are dying from cervical cancer as result of not being offered a smear under the age of 25.

IN THE UK, WHEN YOU REACH 18, YOUR DOC STARTS BUGGING YOU ABOUT GETTING A SMEAR TEST. YOU GET LETTERS IN THE POST INVITING YOU TO HAVE A SMEAR TEST. AND, LIKE, YOU GO TO THE DOCTOR BECAUSE YOU HAVE A WART ON YOUR TOE, AND HE'S ALL 'ARE YOU SEXUALLY ACTIVE?' IF YOU'RE NOT, THEN YOU DON'T NEED A SMEAR TEST. IF YOU ARE, THEN THEY TRY TO GET YOU TO HAVE ONE.

I got one after being registered at my doctors for 4 days!

They don't anymore!

I've received them twice, one from a surgery in England and now from one in Wales.

Ahh did you have one in Wales first? Apparently they will send for you in England if (a) you are 25 or (b) you have received a smear before the age of 25 before.

No, the first one was in England a few days before I turned 18.

Gosh that's so strange, because I'm older than you and have lived in ENgland my entire life! I even see a gynaecologist every year because of PCOS.
Must be to do with the area, maybe?
I did read somewhere that certain parts of London start screening at 20 because of the high incidence of teenage sex.

REALLY? I STILL GET LETTERS IN THE POST INVITING ME FOR A SMEAR TEST. BUT FINALLY THE GP'S HAVE STOPPED ASKING ME IF I'M SEXUALLY ACTIVE - I THINK THEY ARE STARTING TO BELIEVE IN MY ASEXUALITY NOW, YO!

Yeah they only send for you once you hit 25 now.