At the age of 30, Claartje, like every woman in the Netherlands, received an invitation for the first time to participate in the cervical cancer screening program. She went to the doctor for a smear test and turned out to have the HPV virus, the cause of cervical cancer. Nothing alarming in itself, almost everyone gets HPV sometimes and in most cases your body clears the virus itself.
But because troubled cells were also found in her uterus, Claartje had to go to the hospital for a biopsy, a very small ‘bite’, with which the possible severity could be better assessed. The result was good: there appeared to be nothing wrong.
Last year, Claartje received another invitation for the population survey. Normally she wouldn’t hesitate to participate, especially after the previous result, but now she was pregnant. “I read online that participation during pregnancy is not recommended, so I decided to wait a little longer,” she says. “But when that pregnancy ended in a miscarriage, I immediately took the self-test.”
Wrong stuff
Once again, or still, she turned out to have the HPV virus. That is why she still had to go to the doctor for a smear test after the self-test. Again, troubled cells were found, which turned out to be wrong after a biopsy in the hospital. She got the results CIN 3the last precursor of cervical cancer.
There were seriously abnormal cells in the lining of Claartje’s uterus, which could eventually turn into cancer cells. “I was a bit shocked by that, I had had no complaints at all. I mainly thought: shit, this has to go, get rid of it. And luckily that was possible quickly.”
Claartje underwent a loop excision, in which the abnormal part of the cervix is removed. The procedure was not too bad for her, she says. “The idea that they are working on your uterus is not necessarily pleasant during your childbearing age, you are not doing it for pleasure. But just like with the dentist, I found the anesthesia the most annoying. I was outside again within 15 minutes.”
Normally you get a control smear six months after such a loop excision, but because Claartje is now pregnant again, this only happens three months after her delivery. “I’m not very worried about it. What had to happen has happened; the abnormal cells are gone. If all goes well, the smear is only a confirmation.”
Recognizable preliminary stage
Cervical cancer and colon cancer are the only types of cancer with a recognizable precursor stage, so you can detect them – like Claartje – before it is too late, says GP Eline Schreuders. “With other types of cancer you either have nothing or cancer, but these two types are preventable if you catch them in time.”
Cervical cancer is caused by the HPV virus. HPV is transmitted through sexual acts, even if no penetration is involved. Schreuders: “It is not considered an STD and almost everyone will experience it one or more times in their life.”
There are different types. Since 2010, children have been vaccinated against the two variants that most often lead to cervical cancer, but this vaccination does not provide 100 percent protection because other types can also cause cancer.
Not always complaints
If you have bleeding outside your period, or have bleeding after sex, that is always a reason to call your doctor, says Schreuders. But cervical cancer and its precursors do not always cause symptoms. All the more reason to participate in the population survey.
This can initially be done at home. Since July last year, all women who turn 30 receive one self test included with the invitation. “Wiggle a cotton swab a few times, that’s it. Just like with corona, but not in your nose.”
You send in the swab and you will then receive the results by letter. For most women, this self-test alone is enough. If it turns out that you have the HPV virus, you will still have to go to the doctor for a smear test to take some cells for further testing. “I notice in practice that women sometimes dread the smear test. Lying with your legs spread out on an examination couch is never pleasant and with the duckbill it can be a bit sensitive, but in principle the smear itself does not hurt. Afterwards I always hear that it wasn’t too bad.”
Well-considered choice
Whether or not you decide to participate in the population survey, make that choice well-informed and well-considered, Schreuders advises. In any case, Claartje is happy that she participated. “If I hadn’t taken the test, I wouldn’t have known, and who knows where that would have led. I feel like I missed out.”
Participation of young women is lagging behind
Every year, approximately 900 women in the Netherlands develop cervical cancer and 200 die from the disease. Cervical cancer occurs most often in women between the ages of 30 and 45, but participation in the youngest group in particular is lagging behind. While in this group, 1 in 5 women have HPV – the biggest cause of cervical cancer. Research commissioned by Population Research Netherlands shows that 79 percent of 30 to 34-year-olds say they are willing to participate, but only 41 percent actually accepted the invitation in 2022.
Hoping to change that, ask Population survey in the NetherlandsIt RIVM in KWF Next week we will jointly pay attention to the population survey for the first time with a national campaign. In particular, it should stimulate the conversation about cervical cancer (BMHK), because the aforementioned research also shows that one in three women does not talk about the population screening because they find it difficult or have too little knowledge about it.
For more information, go to bmhk.nl
2024-01-12 10:15:50
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