Lesbians ‘discouraged’ from cervical screening
January 22nd, 2010 by Chloe.Setter
Lesbians are being “discouraged” from cervical screening by GPs and practice nurses, despite research showing that the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), which is present in nearly 100% of cervical cancer cases, can be transmitted in same-sex relationships.
It is hoped that the study, by Dr Julie Fish of Leicester’s De Montfort University, will help to disprove the common and incorrect myth that lesbians are not at risk of cervical cancer and do not require screening.
According to Fish, results from cancer equality surveys last year demonstrated how “poorly represented” lesbians were as a group.
The current research, which has been used as part of the NHS Cervical Screening Programme 2009 Annual Review, showed that any exchange of bodily fluids can pass the HPV between two people, meaning a woman can contract the HPV infection from a female partner.
According to the NHS, although HPV is more easily transmitted via heterosexual intercourse, lesbians can transmit the virus through vaginal fluids on hands and fingers, or by sharing sex toys.
It is also thought that up to 80% of lesbians have had sexual relations with a man at some stage in their lives, meaning they may be carrying the virus.
NHS research claims that studies of lesbian/bisexual women have found between 3%-30% tested positive for HPV.
Fish, who has recently conducted a nationwide study with Stonewall into lesbian and bisexual health and social care, said: “Some lesbian women have said they feel discouraged from being screened because they are asked questions such as how regularly they have sex with their husband or boyfriend, or whether they use contraception with them.
“Such discourse conveys the assumption that cervical screening is only necessary for heterosexual women.”
As a result of the study, she is calling for clearer information to be available to lesbians, as well as healthcare staff, to help dispel the myth.
Professor Julietta Patnick, director of the NHS Cancer Screening Programme, said: “A clearer understanding of the transmission routes of HPV is crucial in helping to encourage all eligible women to accept screening invitations, enabling the programme to continue and improve its valuable work in detecting cancer early.
“As a result of Dr Fish’s work, the NHS Cancer Screening Programme has now produced the first national screening leaflet for lesbians.”
Fish added: “It is a very important issue because lesbian women have died from cervical cancer in the past, but now, I hope this group of women will receive the information and care they need.”
According to the NHS, regular screening prevents around 75% of cervical cancers from ever developing.
Cervical screening involves checking the cervix, which is located at the neck of the womb, for abnormal cell changes, which may develop into cancer. It is recommended every three years for women aged 25-49 and every five years for women aged 50-64.
For more information, download the NHS’s leaflet about cervical cancer in bisexual and lesbian women.
Oh boy, do I ever get this!
I have to go to the GP regularly for a skin complaint, and the high turnover rate of doctors at my local practice means I rarely see the same person twice. Some of the medication also functions as a contraceptive, and some of it would be very harmful to a fetus, and so the question of contraception invariably comes up.
I understand that ~95% of the patients a doctor sees will be straight. I understand that straight people don’t really think about gay people very often. But when your doctor talks about only two options - (a) “using contraceptives”, or (b) “not being sexually active” - it’s like being told you don’t exist.
I don’t think most doctors are homophobic, just very heteronormative. But I hate this assumption of universal heterosexuality. That kind of treatment is not only discouraging, but also quite humiliating. I am very grateful for members of the medical profession and for the NHS, but I just wish it would occur to them that some of the people they treat are lesbians.
Anna R ∼ January 22nd, 2010 4:18 pmTo Anna R,
to be honest, I have a lot of lesbian friends with kids, so I don’t necessarily see anything wrong with doctors pointing out the contraceptive nature of your medication. Likewise, I am told that my medication can disrupt contraception - to me that is value-free information that is up to me to use or disregard as I see fit. It is not for my doctors to know or ask the intimate details of my love life! (as it happens I’m lesbian in a civil partnership).
As for the cervical smear test, every woman should be offered it. It is up to us if we take up the offer, or how we perceive our own risks. We might have had sex with a man, we might have used artificial insemination, we could even have been a rape victim or something like that. But it is none of the doctors business unless we choose to share it.
Medical information should be just that - information, not a value judgement, and should always be delivered impartially.
Anastasia ∼ January 24th, 2010 12:21 pmAsking for intimate details of your love life is invasive and irrelevant, as even virgins can get cervical cancer. It should be up to the patient to decide whether - and how often - they are screened.
Bella ∼ May 9th, 2011 2:32 pmI was repeatedly told I didn’t need a smear, from university at age 18 up until I was 35.
Then I moved and the nurse at the new surgery encouraged me to have one. She seemed shocked I had never been offered one before. I was extremely reluctant but after support I went through with it. The results meant I had to have several more smears until I was given the all clear last year.
As a very shy lesbian it was all to easy for me to slip through the net and the attitudes of some of the healthcare professionals were very poor. I’m lucky I was not effected by the lack of screening.
s ∼ May 9th, 2011 3:07 pm