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Cervical
Cancer screening in pregnancy
If I am pregnant is it safe to have a cervical smear procedure? |
| Yes, it is perfectly safe to have a smear at any time during the pregnancy. |
Should I be screened before I plan to conceive? |
| If you are due a smear it is always best to have this done and wait for the results to confirm everything is fine before attempting pregnancy. However, if you have had a smear within the previous 3 smears and are not due a smear, there is no need to have this repeated just because you are planning to get pregnant. |
I have just given birth and have been called for a screening, will the results be affected by pregnancy hormones? |
| It is perfectly fine to have a smear from 6 weeks after giving birth. This is usually the time for the post-natal visit and would be a good time to have a smear taken if it was due. |
Does pregnancy make my cervix more vulnerable to "abnormal cells"? |
| No, there is no evidence that pregnancy increases the risk of developing cervical pre-cancer or cancer. |
Some Facts and Information about Cervical Cancer
The effects of Cervical Cancer
- Every day 3 women in the UK will die of cervical cancer
- The second most common cancer in women under 35
- Each year around 2,800 women are newly diagnosed
- The chances of survival are good if the disease is caught early
- Cervical cancer is not thought to be hereditary It is a largely preventable disease
What are the symptoms of cervical cancer?
In the early stages of cervical cancer there may not be any symptoms If symptoms are experienced they can include:
- abnormal bleeding: after sexual intercourse, during or between periods
- unusual and/or unpleasant vaginal discharge
- discomfort or pain during sex lower back pain
The Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) and Cervical cancer
- HPV is a very common virus transmitted through skin to skin contact in the genital area
- Up to 75% of people of reproductive age will be infected with HPV at some point in their lives
- HPV types 16 & 18 cause 75% of all cervical cancers
- The presence of HPV is seen in 99.7% of cervical cancers
- For the majority of women this will not result in cervical cancer Cervical cancer is rare while HPV infection is common
Other risk factors...
...associated with an increased risk include:
- smoking
- cancer-causing chemicals from cigarette smoke found in the cervical mucus of women who smoke
- smokers who also have a 'high risk' type of HPV infection are twice as likely to get cervical cancer
- sexual activity several sexual partners
- weakened immune system
- poor diet
The impact cervical cancer can have is:-
- Physical, personal, emotional
- Invasive treatments and surgeries
- Impact on fertility Financial – work issues
- Social - impact on friends/family/work
- Devastation – life threatening disease
Who receives cervical screening?
There is a National Screening programme in England for
- women first invited for screening at 25
- saves around 4,500 lives a year
- aim is to prevent cancer
- only around 7-10% will receive an inadequate or abnormal result, with the majority indicating a grade of CIN, a pre-cancerous condition and is NOT cancer
What are Abnormal results – CIN
In the UK women who receive an abnormal smear result are usually informed that they have a grade of cervical dyskaryosis or dysplasia.
- Borderline smear indicates slight abnormality
- CIN1 indicates mild changes
- CIN2 indicates moderate changes
- CIN3 indicates more severe changes (not cancer)
An abnormal result doesn’t necessarily mean there's a problem. And an “inadequate” result refers to the smear, not to you.
- 1 in 20 shows CIN1. Can revert to normal without any treatment, but follow-up with further tests is the rule. If changes persist, may need colposcopy.
- 1 in 100 shows (CIN 2). These too can sometimes revert to normal, but it’s usual to be referred to the colposcopy clinic
- 1 in 200 shows (CIN 3). These women need referral for colposcopy
- Overall, less than 1 in 1,000 smears shows an invasive cancer. These women are referred straight to a specialist.
Cervical screening uptake – a concern
National Screening programme saves around 4,500 lives a year. The uptake of women attending screening is down for 13th year running with almost 1 million women who declined in 2007-2008. The attendance of women (30-34) declined from 84.3% in 1995 to 76.8% in 2007-2008. With 33.8% of women (25-29) who chose not to attend screening during the financial year 2007-2008 and 250,113 young women in England who should have been screened, were not.
The Jade Goody effect
Something positive out of a tragedy Jade wanted to make a difference Massive media interest in her story Huge screening uptake as a result of media interest Positive impact on work of Jo’s Trust 350 % increase in demand for services in that period Reaching target group – could save lives
Now we need to keep up the momentum
Where to next?
- Read about Cervical Cancer Awareness Week
- How to manage other common pregnancy problems
- Get advice, swap notes and stories from parents in the same boat as you. Visit our discussion forums
