500 signatures reached
To: Rishi Sunak
LOWER THE AGE FOR WOMEN TO HAVE A SMEAR TEST!
Lower the age for women to have a smear test.
Why is this important?
I have recently been diagnosed with cervical cancer at the age of 30. It was picked up on a smear test, I was very fortunate to be able to have an operation that has hopefully cured me (only time will tell).
The age for smear tests is 25, yet the reason women get cervical cancer is due to the HPV virus that is in essence an STI (sexually transmitted infection). It starts as pre cancerous before it turns to cancer and there's not enough evidence to suggest that it takes 5 years to change from one to the other as that wasn't the case for me as i had a colposcopy in 2017, two biopsies and it came back clear. I was refused a smear in 2020 due to covid, yet I probably wouldn't have been in this situation had I have had one then. More and more younger girls are becoming sexually active. They are unknowing to whether they carry the virus or whether they have changes to their cells due to the fact they cannot have a smear because they are too young. I've met women that have had the vaccination and have still ended up with high risk HPV and changes to their cervix. Nothing is one hundred percent. Girls younger than 25 are dying or being diagnosed with cervical cancer because they haven't had the option of a smear test. Women are having babies earlier which also changes the cells in the cervix so smears should also be offered after having a baby. Something really needs to change. When I had my diagnosis I was told there's more and more women younger and of my own age that are in similar or the same situations as me. Everyone I've spoken with has agreed the age needs lowering. I have no idea where to start to but I'll try anything to try and get somewhere. I don't want anyone to go through what I have been through. I've been lucky enough to have children, but there's girls/women out there that may want a family some day and will lose that option due to the fact smears are not available to them all due to their age, plus taking into account having to potentially go through the menopause a lot earlier than the average age a woman goes through menopause and mental health that all comes with it. Please let's finally take this seriously. Let's think of the younger and older generation. Let's save lives.
We need to change the age of smears, we need it lowering to stop so many cases of cervical cancer in younger women. Consider the ages of sexually active women/girls. The implications of not having a smear and having pre cancerous/cancerous changes go undetected. Women that miss out on having families, women going through early menopause, women dying. It's about time that it's looked at as an importance. Too many years have passed and it's spoken of but nothing ever gets done. Please let's make a change together to save lives.
The age for smear tests is 25, yet the reason women get cervical cancer is due to the HPV virus that is in essence an STI (sexually transmitted infection). It starts as pre cancerous before it turns to cancer and there's not enough evidence to suggest that it takes 5 years to change from one to the other as that wasn't the case for me as i had a colposcopy in 2017, two biopsies and it came back clear. I was refused a smear in 2020 due to covid, yet I probably wouldn't have been in this situation had I have had one then. More and more younger girls are becoming sexually active. They are unknowing to whether they carry the virus or whether they have changes to their cells due to the fact they cannot have a smear because they are too young. I've met women that have had the vaccination and have still ended up with high risk HPV and changes to their cervix. Nothing is one hundred percent. Girls younger than 25 are dying or being diagnosed with cervical cancer because they haven't had the option of a smear test. Women are having babies earlier which also changes the cells in the cervix so smears should also be offered after having a baby. Something really needs to change. When I had my diagnosis I was told there's more and more women younger and of my own age that are in similar or the same situations as me. Everyone I've spoken with has agreed the age needs lowering. I have no idea where to start to but I'll try anything to try and get somewhere. I don't want anyone to go through what I have been through. I've been lucky enough to have children, but there's girls/women out there that may want a family some day and will lose that option due to the fact smears are not available to them all due to their age, plus taking into account having to potentially go through the menopause a lot earlier than the average age a woman goes through menopause and mental health that all comes with it. Please let's finally take this seriously. Let's think of the younger and older generation. Let's save lives.
We need to change the age of smears, we need it lowering to stop so many cases of cervical cancer in younger women. Consider the ages of sexually active women/girls. The implications of not having a smear and having pre cancerous/cancerous changes go undetected. Women that miss out on having families, women going through early menopause, women dying. It's about time that it's looked at as an importance. Too many years have passed and it's spoken of but nothing ever gets done. Please let's make a change together to save lives.
