Frequently Asked Questions

A cervical screening test checks for Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) infection and changes in the cells covering the neck of your womb. These changes could develop into cervical cancer if they aren’t treated. Around 3,200 women in the UK are diagnosed with cervical cancer every year. Worldwide, it’s the fourth most common cancer in women. Screening can pick up changes in the cells of your cervix that could lead to cervical cancer in the future. Cervical screening saves about 4,500 lives every year in England.

Cervical screening is highly effective at preventing cervical cancer. Screening means testing for early signs of an illness before you have symptoms. Cervical screening detects the presence of Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) and, if present, changes in the cells covering the cervix (the neck of your womb) that could develop into cancer in the future. It isn’t a test for cancer. It’s a test for abnormal pre-cancerous changes in these cells, which can then be treated to stop cancer developing. The sample that your clinician takes will be tested for certain types of HPV. HPV causes more than 99% of cervical cancers. If you don’t have HPV, you are very unlikely to have abnormal cells or to develop cervical cancer. This means the cells in the sample won’t need to be examined further. If HPV is found, your cell sample will then be checked for any abnormal changes.

If no HPV is found, it’s very unlikely you have abnormal cells or are at risk of developing cervical cancer, so no further testing is needed. If HPV is detected, your sample will be checked for any cell changes. If you'd prefer, you can request this additional check even if HPV isn’t found—just let us know. There is more information about what happens next in the section: "Receiving your results" of our dedicated Cervical Smear Tests page.

Women and people with a cervix who have had any type of sexual contact with men or women should have cervical screening. If you’ve ever had sex, even if you aren’t now having sex, you should still have ongoing screening. Screening detects Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) infection, a very common virus which causes changes to cervical cells and can lead to cervical cancer. Most women acquire HPV at some point in their lives. For the majority of these women, their body will resolve the infection and they won't know that they have the virus. Unfortunately, the virus can also lie dormant and cause abnormal cells to develop later on meaning you may have unknowingly been infected with HPV by a previous partner, months or even years ago.The NHS screening programme is tremendously effective but, it is our belief, despite the overall risk being low, that individuals should have access to more frequent screening than is available via that system should they wish or should be able to catch up with a missed cervical smear appointment as soon as possible. If you haven’t ever had any form of sexual contact, you might decide against screening. If you’ve had a hysterectomy, you won’t need screening unless your cervix wasn’t removed. Depending on why you had a hysterectomy, you may be asked to have a different type of test called a vault smear. The process involved is similar, but please ask one of our clinicians for more information before booking as we may require Consultant's oversight to offer this service.

It’s best to have your screening test appointment when you’re not having a period. If you’re bleeding, your sample may be difficult for the laboratory to process and you may need to return to repeat the test. The best time to have screening is halfway between one period and the next, although this is not essential. During the two days before your test, you shouldn’t use any spermicide (including condoms coated with spermicide), lubricating jelly or vaginal creams. This is because chemicals in these products can affect the test. We are unable to offer cervical screening if you are, or may be, pregnant.

Normal Result: This will be the outcome in seven out of eight patients. You are welcome to book your next smear with us in one or two years’ time (depending on when your NHS smear is due and your preference). Despite the reassurance that accompanies a normal cervical smear result, you should still always report any unusual vaginal bleeding or discharge to your GP.

‘Inadequate’ or ‘Unsatisfactory’ Result: Sometimes the result may be 'inadequate' or 'unsatisfactory' because there weren’t enough cells in the sample or the cells couldn’t be seen clearly. This may be because of an infection, for example. If this happens, you’ll be asked to have another test after three months or you may need treatment before it is repeated.

Abnormal finding on examination: Very rarely, your clinician may identify an abnormality of your Cervix, Vagina or Vulva on examination. At this point they will invite you to attend for further review or offer referral to a specialist for more investigations. We are able to write to your NHS GP to recommend an appointment or refer directly to a private specialist. Please note, the NHS will have their own processes for managing referrals and, unfortunately, other than presenting our findings, we are unable to influence these.

Abnormal finding on laboratory testing: If you receive an abnormal result, it doesn’t necessarily mean you have cervical cancer. It means one of the following three things:

• You have HPV but your cervical cells look normal

• You have HPV and also have borderline or mild changes to your cervical cells

• You have HPV and moderate or severe changes to your cervical cell

Changes to the cells from your cervix is called ‘dyskaryosis’. This is where the nucleus of the cell appears abnormal. These changes might go away on their own, but they might develop into cancer if they’re not treated. What happens next depends on how abnormal your cells are.Although we do not provide treatment for abnormal smear results at The Hove Practice, if your screening test shows cells with moderate or severe changes, you’ll be referred to a specialist to have a procedure called 'colposcopy'.

The Hove Practice can either refer you to a private specialist or write to your NHS GP to recommend that they refer you. If colposcopy identifies an area of your cervix that looks abnormal, the specialist will take a small sample of the abnormal tissue (‘biopsy’) that is sent to a laboratory to be examined further. Depending on the result, you may need to have treatment to remove or destroy the abnormal cells. The usual way to do this is with a large-loop excision of the transformation zone (LLETZ) or loop diathermy. During this procedure, your doctor uses a precisely targeted wire loop with an electric current to remove abnormal cells.

Alternative treatments exist and will be considered and discussed on a case by case basis with your specialist. In the vast majority of cases, these treatments are curative and, other than following a regular screening programme, there is little more required.