K, I am currently going through a similar situation. Complex endometrial thickness and what they think is a cyst on my ovary. I’m also 29 and had a baby 8 months ago. What did you end up doing to get things back to normal? I have an app with a gyno soon.

The good news is that Australian cervical screening pathway is currently being reviewed, and it’s likely that Australia will follow in the footsteps of these European countries. It’s a long and slow process (as with many things in the Government) but it’s happening (more info can be found here http://www.cancerscreening.gov.au/internet/screening/publishing.nsf/Content/ncsp-renewal)

I know we’re a little out of date on some of the evidence, but it takes a long time and a lot of checking to change government health guidelines. They have to be sure that they’re making a decision that benefits as many people as possible. Keep in mind, though, that the incidence of cervical cancer has halved since the program began in 1991, and cervical cancer continues to be a leading killer of women in developing countries without screening programs.

I entirely agree that sometimes, the best thing to do is to focus on getting your immune system healthy enough to fight the virus, but having regular Pap smears still means you can know whether or not you’re on track 🙂

Thank you for this! This is wonderful for people to know.

Look at oversea programs that are evidence based…like Finalnd and the Netherlands. Since the 1960s the Finns hae had a 7 pap test program, 5 yearly from 30 to 60, they have the lowest rates of cc in the world and refer far fewer women, their program produces fewer false positives. The Dutch have the same program, but their Health Council has recommended scrapping population pap testing and introducing 5 hrHPV primary tests at ages 30,35,40,50 and 60 and ONLY the roughly 5% who are HPV+ and at risk will be offered a 5 yearly pap test. The Dutch are already using a HPV self test device, the Delphi Screener, also available in Singapore and being rolled out in other countries. Excess and misinformation is the norm here, women should demand evidence based testing. We need an independent enquiry…why wasn’t our program changed years ago? Why are women being given bad medical advice that risks their health? There was never a need to worry and harm so many women…

As a low risk woman my risk of cc was near zero, the risks were too high for me and I have always declined to test. I’ve found official sources of information to be unreliable, go to HPV Today, Edition 24, which sets out the new Dutch program and the Delphi Bioscience site talks about HPV self testing.

I also know of women who have waited years to get a Pap smear with very sad results, and unfortunately had a colleague who waited 4-5 years and ended up having end stage cervical cancer.

I really believe the best way with preventing cervical cancer is regular Pap smears, and trying natural methods and immune support FIRST before any invasive procedures (unless its very far advanced, that’s another story I guess :)). Great post, really passionate about this one!