Smear Tests - at what age is it too late?

Cervical cancer once again has hit the headlines. Seemingly cropping up once every six or seven months, the illness is responsible for yet another premature death within young women, and yet another who was refused a smear test because she was under 25, the minimum required age to receive a smear test on the NHS. Sophie Jones from Liverpool was aged 19 when she passed away after doctors blamed her stomach cramps on Crohn's disease and refused her the smear test. Of course smear tests are not the sole way to test for cervical cancer, but the screening can be the difference between treatment and . The government have, yet again, been called to action - this time hopefully to some effect. But the real question is, at what age should young women be given the option to undergo a smear test?

A quick visit to the NHS website tells me everything that I think I need to know about smear tests. To sum up cervical cancer and the smear test process. Here's an appropriate little bullet pointed list:

• Cervical Cancer is very rare with women under 25
• 3000 cases of Cervical Cancer are diagnosed every year.
• The most common symptom of Cervical Cancer is abrnomal bleeding.
• HPV (Human Papillomavirus) is the main cause for Cervical Cancer, a virus that is often spread during sex. Although there are over 100 types of HPV, and most are harmless, a small percentage are not. The viruses HPV 16 and HPV 18 are known to be resposible for 70% of Cervical Cancer diagnoses.
• Since the introduction of Cervical Screenings in the 1980s, the amoutn of cases of Cervical Cancer has decreased by around 7% each year.
• Smear tests ARE NOT a test for cancer, but a test for the changes in cervical cells that MAY lead to Cervical Cancer. 1 in 20 woman who take a smear test will see changes in cervical cells but not all will be diagnosed as Cervical Cancer.
  (Source: http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/cancer-of-the-cervix/Pages/Introduction.aspx)

So what do we get from this? That the NHS are skirting around the fact that, if HPV is soemthing transmitted through sexual activity, and if the recent survey is correct and the average woman loses her virginity at 16, isn't 25 years old a little too late? I asked my female Facebook demographic what they though. Should the age be lowered? Is there any need if the cases of Cevrical Cancer are so rare under 25? And should the NHS outright refuse young women a smear test if they're under that age? There was a variety of reponses.

Most of those who answered my question agreed that 25 is too high to be a minimum age for the smear, and the majority also agreed that the smear test should be given after a woman becomes sexually active. But how long after? Some said as soon as, others disagreed and said 2-5 years after sex become a part of a yougn woman's life. Then there were those who said that because the HPV strain that causes Cervical Cancer is so rare, women under 25 should only have to take the smear test if they request it. But there is a common ground here - all the women who answered me agreed that, if a young woman under 25 wishes to have a smear test, then they should be granted it, and that offering the HPV vaccine after you become sexually active is a pointless consolation prize after the refusal of the test.

But if this is true, how happy would you be to be to have the invasive smear test at 16, prividing that's when you lost your virginty. If we were to pry into the sex lives of all teenage girls, we might find 14 and 15 year olds being forced the smear test too, and that seems rather unnecessary.

My initial thought to myself was that the smear should be given to all women aged 18.You're an adult now, you can drink, drive and have sex legally. All at once if you really want to. But Cervical Cancer is rare, and we, as women know that. It makes up 2% of all cancer within women and less than 1% of those cases are within women under 25. But that 1% is still a number, and a preventable one at that.

However, Medical Experts seem to think that this rare casing of cervical cancer under the age of 18 is not cause enough to start smear testing, not just yet. With the funding to the NHS being cut, no plans have yet been made to lower the smear test age. But this surely, should be optional. If you request a test, you should be given it, and that should be the answer. Recent visits to my local GP have ended in the question: "Not old enough for a smear are you? You'll have to wait a few more years." But what if I wanted the test, for piece of mind, for safety, and to guarantee there are no complications. Surely this voluntary option should be the answer.