Cervical smear tests are offered to women to detect pre malignant changes of the cervix from the age of 20 to 60 years.

If you are found to have an abnormal smear, don’t worry!

Remember this is a test to look for pre-cancerous cells; if some are found and treated early, they mostly don’t go on to cancer. (It’s like the dentist finding tooth decay doesn’t mean your teeth will fall out.)

If you do have an abnormal smear, you will be told either to have another in six months or referred to hospital for a colposcopy (see ‘Hospital tests’).

Remember you can ask questions at any point and discuss your options.

We at The Poundbury Clinic offer Thin Prep smears, (Lyquid Based Cytology - LBC) as well as Detection for the Human Papillomavirus. The Human Papillomavirus is a common viral infection. 70-80% of sexually active women will acquire a Human Papillomavirus infection at some point in their life. However most infections are transient, asymptomatic and
regress spontaneously. The Human Papillomavirus is the main cause of cervical cancer. The majority of cervical cancers are associated with Human Papillomavirus high risk sub-types. Cervical cytology combined with testing by RNA for gene activity/expression provides a more sensitive, specific and reliable assessment of a women’s risk of developing cervical cancer. We therefore use The Doctors’ Laboratory in London to test not only the Thin Prep Cervical smear but the Human Papillomavirus RNA test.

Liquid Based Cytology - (LBC)

For the last five years The Doctor's Laboratory has been offering an advanced specimen collection method for Doctor's taking cervical smears - called Liquid Based Cytology. Using this technique the cells are collected from the cervix in a similar way to a conventional smearand placed in a vial containing preservative fluid rather than being
spread and fixed on a glass slide. This vial is sent to the laboratory for processing. During the preparation the technology removes the majority of unwanted material from the sample and prepares a slide with a thin layer of cells which is then reviewed microscopically by specially trained laboratory staff.

The aim of this method is to reduce these inadequate smears and provide a significantly clearer image for review by the cytoscreeners and cytopathologists.

This method of sample taking allows for additional testing from the same sample if suggested or recommended by your doctor. These additional tests are HPV (Human Papillomavirus or wart virus) and Chlamydia.

Ovarian Cancer Screening

At present, general screening for ovarian cancer is being evaluated. Only women with a strong family risk are given a special blood test; regular pelvic examinations and ultrasound scans may also be advised.

If you are worried, we are very happy to discuss.