Suzy Says

I know it’s really bad that I haven’t had a check-up, including a Pap test, in three years. Basically, since I no longer need a birth control prescription, I don’t go. My niece, on the other hand, at the wise old age of 19, had an appointment scheduled today for her very first Pap test. She lives in England. Here’s her e-mail to me describing what happened:

“You won’t believe this. I went to see the nurse today for my Pap test and she said she wouldn’t give me one because I’m too young. She said that I have to be 21 to have a Pap test and that when I’m due for it I’ll get a letter in the mail. You are basically only allowed a test if you’ve had the letter or you’ve been referred by your doctor because you’ve had some unusual discharge, etc. She also said you’re only allowed to have them every three years.”

Now, here’s a young woman who is trying to take care of herself and is being refused care by the national healthcare system (NHS). Apparently they are unaware that cervical cancer is a young woman’s disease — I know two women who got it, and they both got it before the age of 25. They both also discovered it through, you guessed it, their annual Pap test. And both women had it treated immediately, and years later, have no recurring symptoms. The American Cancer Society suggests that a woman start getting Pap tests at the age of 18, or upon becoming sexually active, whatever comes first. They further recommend that everyone, including me, get a Pap test once a year.

My sister Beth, who is my niece’s mother, asked her doctor about getting a mammogram when Beth was 37. That year, our mother had a radical mastectomy, and gave all three of her daughters the medical records, so Beth brought them with her when she met with her doctor. Her doctor told her that she couldn’t get a mammogram before the age of 50, no matter what her family history was. Compare that to what happened to me. I was 35 at the time. I went to my doctor with the same medical records, and she scheduled a mammogram for me that week. She said the guidelines in the US recommend getting a baseline mammogram before the age of 40, and having them every 1-2 years until the age of 50, when they should become annual. Given how bad my mother’s cancer was my doctor felt it was wiser to err on the side of caution, and I’m thankful for that. By the way…my Mom’s fine and has even finished her chemotherapy.

It just blows my mind that all English women, including my sister, are getting this kind of misinformation and poor medical treatment. Come to think of it, my niece’s boyfriend’s mother died of cervical cancer before the age of 40. Someone should get the message to these women that the English healthcare system is completely unacceptable. But what can they do, since the healthcare system is government-run?