Out of every 100,000 women who have a pap test, 5,000 will be falsely diagnosed with cervical cancer. That’s a lot of women who will be told they have cervical cancer when in fact they do not. These women will be … Continue reading
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Tag Archives: unnecessary pap test
Pap Tests Are NOT Mandatory
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All cancer screening is optional, including pap tests to screen for cervical cancer. Unfortunately, some women mistakenly believe pap tests are mandatory. The mistaken belief that pap tests are mandatory is mainly due to the fact some doctors fail to … Continue reading
Doctors Need to Stop Pushing Pap Tests
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Doctors need to stop pushing pap tests, especially in light of new findings. Some doctors have been getting away with the practice of withholding informed consent for a long time. Women rarely get offered a choice about whether or not … Continue reading
Review of “The Truth About Smear Tests They Don’t Want You To Know”
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The shocking truth about women’s health care is revealed in this newly released eBook. A rare account of women’s experiences about what goes on behind closed medical doors is offered in this collection of essays. These raw accounts are told … Continue reading
Pap Test Practices Around the World Reveal Interesting Findings
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One might reasonably assume that frequent pap tests would result in lower incidence of cervical cancer, but a closer look reveals that this is not the case. After comparing pap test practices from a number of countries and looking at … Continue reading
How Accurate Are Pap Tests?
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There’s so much propaganda promoting pap tests as safe, effective, and life-saving that it can come as a shock to discover fact-based information that states otherwise. But an extensive systematic review of the literature on pap tests revealed that the … Continue reading
Cervical Cancer Compared to Other Things That Can Kill You
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There’s a lot of pressure placed on women to have pap tests to screen for cervical cancer. Some doctors give more attention to cervical cancer screening than to any health condition or concern a woman has. Some doctors are more … Continue reading
Gynecological Procedures Can Cause PTSD
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Women’s experiences of gynecological/obstetric procedures can be sufficiently distressing to cause post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). 500 women took part in a study about the psychological effects of vaginal exams, pap tests, and other gynecological/obstetric procedures. Of the 500 women who … Continue reading
Saying “No” to a Pap Test
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Every time I go to a walk in clinic the doctor asks me “When was your last pap test?” Even though my reasons for visiting have nothing to do with my reproductive organs — once I went because of a … Continue reading
Pap Smears Considered ‘Animal Cruelty’
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A woman was arrested for performing pap smears on her dog. She was charged with animal cruelty and sent to jail. Yet women are expected to tolerate the same exam. Women are expected to lay down and take it, often … Continue reading
Informed Consent, ‘Planned Parenthood Style’: Guest Post
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This guest post is written by Diane, a valued contributor to this blog. Leading medical organizations state a pelvic exam/pap test is NOT medically indicated for women wanting birth control pills. However, some physicians continue to abuse women’s rights and … Continue reading
Way Too Many Unnecessary Pap Tests
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Doctors’ overuse of pap tests has recently been put under closer inspection. Up to now there has been no concerted effort to quantify the extent of doctors’ overuse of unnecessary tests, but a U.S. task force has devised a method … Continue reading
New App for Birth Control Pills: No Humiliating Exams
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Planned Parenthood is working on a new app that will enable women to purchase birth control prescriptions without needing to visit a doctor. The app will enable women to converse online with a nurse practitioner and obtain mail-order birth control … Continue reading
Women Offered Bribes to Have Pap Tests: Guest Post
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This is a guest post written by Diane, a valued contributor to this blog: I have this health plan. My doctor was very nice when I told her that I did not want a Pap or pelvic exam, and she … Continue reading
Open letter to doctors re: cervical cancer screening “invitations”
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The following letter by an anonymous author was posted on a UK Health Forum and shared on this blog by Elizabeth (Aust): “Dear Doctors, Thank you for your recent letter in which you informed me that I am at risk … Continue reading
Poll: How many women won’t go to doctors because of pap test coercion?
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Some women who choose to decline pap tests are having a hard time accessing health care. Pap tests are used to detect abnormal cells on the cervix which are thought to potentially lead to cervical cancer. Some women do not … Continue reading
Study: Women’s vaginas don’t need yearly supervision after all
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Research-savvy women who avoid doctors and forgo birth control prescriptions in order to escape pelvic exam coercion have recently been handed additional evidence to support their decisions. A study looking at the pros and cons of pelvic examinations found that … Continue reading
When Doctors Won’t Take “No” for an Answer
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People were outraged when the furtive practice of performing pelvic exams without consent on anesthetized women undergoing surgery came to light. People discovered that women who were admitted to hospital for surgery were not being informed that their vaginas could … Continue reading
Top Five Reasons for Opting Out of Pap Tests
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For years women have been presented with only one side of the story when it comes to pap tests to screen for cervical cancer. The ways in which pap tests are presented have led many women to believe that they … Continue reading
Women Drive Change by Opting Out of Pap Tests
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Women have huge purchasing power and when women stop buying a bad product it tends to disappear from store shelves. This pattern might extend to the pap smear as more and more women are opting out of this questionable method … Continue reading
Pap Test Coercion Getting More Attention
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When women visit a doctor they often are not going for the purpose of a pap smear, but find themselves having one anyway. Frequently this is not because women have asked for one but because their doctor has told them … Continue reading
2013 in review
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The WordPress.com stats people prepared a 2013 annual report for this blog. Happy New Year to you and thank you for visiting. Here’s an excerpt: The Louvre Museum has 8.5 million visitors per year. This blog was viewed about 230,000 … Continue reading
Why are doctors sticking their fingers into women’s vaginas?
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You might have wondered why doctors routinely perform bimanual exams (insertion of fingers into the vagina) during pelvic examinations. Well, if you asked your doctor for an explanation you might not get one because doctors themselves are a bit vague … Continue reading
The Hidden Truth About the Female Penis (Warning: Graphic Images)
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Did you know that female and male reproductive organs aren’t all that different from each other? During the first few weeks of fetal development the internal and external sex organs are the same in both boys and girls. It is … Continue reading
“Choosing Wisely” Means Fewer Pap Tests or None At All
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A public campaign called “Choosing Wisely” is helping to raise awareness about the potential harms of unnecessary medical tests and treatments. The campaign, launched by the American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation and nine American physician organizations, promotes discussion between … Continue reading
Discussion Forum (Unnecessary Pap Smears: Part Two)
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This post has been created to provide an additional forum for discussion. Thank you Alex for suggesting the addition of an open forum devoted to discussion on this blog. (click on title or graphic to go to comments)
References and Education: Pap Testing and Other Women’s Health Topics
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This publication is a compilation of the links to the references and resources found on *forwomenseyesonly*. The references are sorted by the posts on this site and are presented from newest to oldest. Many of the links have been provided … Continue reading
Doctors Mistake Toes for Genitals
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This woman has difficulty finding a doctor who can tell the difference between her toenails and her genitals: Twice, TWICE this year I have gone to doctors to be seen for toenail fungus. For those of you who have not … Continue reading
What Pap Testing Should Look Like in 2013
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We know what pap testing looked like in the 50’s because on the surface not much has changed. Even though it has been 60 plus years since the introduction of pap tests to screen for cervical cancer, the stirrups are … Continue reading
The Other Side of the Colposcope: Clinic Employees’ Opinions
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Interesting comments found on “Unnecessary Pap Smears” from women who work at a colposcopy clinic: • 495 – Colposcopy Clinic Employee May 14, 2010 at 8:08 pm The money generated in that search amounts to billions. The industry banks on … Continue reading
Woman Fights Back Against Pap Test Marketing Tactics
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The National Health Service (NHS), a publicly funded healthcare group, utilized marketing techniques designed to tug on women’s heartstrings and instill fear in an effort to increase cervical cancer screening in the United Kingdom. The NHS used carefully crafted appeals … Continue reading
Gynecologists duke it out with task force over pap testing young women
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Recent recommendations by the Canadian Task Force to stop pap testing women under the age of 25 have not been sitting well with the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. The numbers of women undergoing cervical cancer screening have been steadily … Continue reading
Women boycott unnecessary pelvic exams by buying birth control pills online
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The World Health Organization (WHO), American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), and other health leaders have advised doctors that a pelvic exam/pap test is not medically indicated for women wanting birth control pills. In fact, women taking birth control … Continue reading
Marketing of Pap Tests can be Misleading (Warning: cone biopsy image may be disturbing)
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The marketing of pap tests to promote screening for cervical cancer among young women can be misleading and often does not tell the whole story. The ads feature young, happy, healthy, smiling groups of women, engaging in activities such as … Continue reading
Why Pelvic Exams are Not called Vaginal Exams
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The term “pelvic exam” is a bit misleading. A woman who didn’t know better might think it meant having her pelvic bones examined. Imagine her shock when she discovered that the doctor did not want to see or touch her … Continue reading
Psychological Harms of Pelvic Exams
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There is a lack of research on the harmful psychological effects of pelvic exams. The lack of research highlights how the harmful effects from pelvic exams have largely been ignored, or have been considered not important enough to warrant investigation. … Continue reading
Patient Sex Abuse Problem Makes its Way Into Mainstream Media
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The problem of patient sexual abuse at the hands of doctors has reached the point where it can no longer be ignored and covered up. It is encouraging to see mainstream media tackling this issue by bringing it to the … Continue reading
Three Ways to Combat Doctors Bullying You Into Unwanted Pap Tests and Pelvic Exams
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If you have gone to a doctor for a health concern that is unrelated to your reproductive health, and if you do not want a pap test/pelvic exam/STD test, but find your doctor pressuring you into one – even after … Continue reading
What Doctors Don’t Want You to Know About Pap Tests and Pelvic Exams
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You might have wondered why doctors are so persistent when it comes to your pap test and pelvic exam. You might also have wondered why doctors don’t give you information and offer you a choice in the matter. Here is … Continue reading
Family Doctors: Lay Your Speculums Down . . .
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Women are having a difficult time accessing health care without being coerced into a pap test. Some women are bullied to the point of having to leave without having the reason for their doctors visit addressed. This is a far … Continue reading
What some male Doctors do when women say “No”
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Many women are uncovering the facts regarding pelvic exams and are discovering that cervical cancer is rare, that a pap smear is an unreliable testing method, and that they face a very real risk of harm from followup procedures. Some … Continue reading
The Other Side of the Speculum: A Male Doctor’s Point of View
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Hang on to your knickers and read what a Doctor has to say on the subject of pap smears and pelvic exams. What follows is a comment from Blogcritics.org written by a Doctor that uncovers an honest and all-male point … Continue reading
Cervical and Prostate Cancer Screening Driven by Physician Preference
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Incidence of cervical cancer is only .0073% (Stats Canada, 2008), but the incidence of prostate cancer is much higher. According to Stats Canada (2008) incidence of prostate cancer is .01402% (http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/82-003-x/2012001/article/11616/tbl/tbla-eng.htm ). In other words, prostate cancer is 19.2 times … Continue reading
