Cervical Cancer Smear Tests

Debate between Emma Hardy and Hannah Bardell

Monday 28th January 2019 Westminster Hall

[Emma Hardy (Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Roger. I thank everybody who signed the petition and all the women who have come to listen to the debate. I know that getting down to London can be quite tricky—I say that because I come from Hull—so I thank them all for coming.

I agree that having a smear test is not pleasant, but I think that we would all agree that it is crucial. While we are in a sharing mood, I will share a little bit with you all as well. I too had abnormal smear tests and was found to have pre-cancerous cells when I was in my early 20s. I had just finished university and decided to move to Leeds to spend time with my sister. It was fine, because I had the biopsy and—they had to remove the cells—went through the various bits and pieces of the operation. Since then I have been on a yearly recall, so I have had so many smear tests. Every time I ask whether I still need to be on a yearly recall, they say, “We’ll let you know,” and then the following year I have to go back. I am due to go back again, so this debate has prompted me to pick up the phone and arrange that.

I did not take my mum with me to that procedure, because unfortunately she was unable to come, so I took my sister, who is five years younger than me —I was only about 21 or 22. The experience of coming in to watch terrified her; she was there to offer me moral support, but I found myself reassuring her throughout my operation, saying. “Don’t worry; it’s fine. I’m perfectly okay.” I think that we should be a bit more open and honest about these things.

We should also do the brilliant thing that we all do when we get a little embarrassed: laugh about it, because it can actually be quite comical. As I said, I have had so many smear tests, and when my friends are worried about them, I joke about the ridiculous, small piece of blue towel that is meant to preserve our modesty. The midriff is hidden by the piece of blue towel while all the rest is exposed to the world—that is funny. It was also quite funny when, not long after being elected, I was lying there and someone asked, “Are you our local MP?” I said, “Oh, yes. I am.” We then proceeded to have a conversation about how I was finding life at Westminster. I said, “Well, slightly more comfortable than this, thank you very much!” We should find those things funny and we should laugh.

While I am in the sharing mood, I have a little tip for all the women out there. If, like me, they suffer from a hidden cervix—apparently mine is quite shy—a towel or cushion under the bottom lifts it up so it comes into view. That is a little bit of health advice while I am here.

In all seriousness, there is a growing problem. In Hull, the figure for women having smear tests has dropped to only 73.1%—that is a huge fall. The figure is slightly higher in East Riding, at around 78%, but that is nowhere near the 80% for which the NHS is aiming. I echo the words of all hon. Friends and hon. Members who have spoken when I say that the Government need to conduct some kind of survey to find out why. Is the problem, as my hon. Friend the Member for Warrington North (Helen Jones) said, that women associate smear tests with sexual activity? Do they think that they have no need for one? Do their working hours mean that they are not able to attend tests? Let us find out and make life that bit easier for all of them.

We know, when looking at the NHS cure rates, that 92% of those whose cancer was detected are cured. That is wonderful. I cannot possibly say what would have happened to me had mine not been removed—I do not know. I am here today, all is well, and I will book my next smear test. Some 66% of all those diagnosed after developing symptoms are also cured. We need to do more to push that message out to people and get rid of the myths. I absolutely support what my hon. Friend the Member for City of Chester (Christian Matheson) said in his beautiful speech about the importance of reducing the age to 18 under a doctor’s advice.

I have been involved in a campaign for teaching menstrual wellbeing in schools, on the education side of the issue, because I am not sure that everybody understands what the abnormal signs or symptoms are. I became involved in the campaign through my support for the charity Endometriosis UK, but I think that removing the taboo around periods, smear tests and so on would also help a lot of people. We must start talking in schools about menstrual wellbeing, what normal and abnormal periods are, and what normal and abnormal symptoms are. If we start to have that conversation, we will give people the language and ability to talk about the matter without feeling really shy and saying, “I’ve got a problem with my—I can’t say the word.”

We should be able to talk about it, which reminds me of a brilliant story. When I was doing a radio show for my campaign on vaginal mesh, I spoke to the show’s producer before I was due to speak live. He said, “We’re very supportive of the campaign, but it’s a breakfast show, Emma, so could you not say the word ‘vagina’?” I therefore spent the entire interview talking about problems with “mesh” that was “in” women’s bodies. We need to dispel all of that nonsense and shyness and start being a little more open, and I implore the Minister to work with the Schools Minister in support of my call for menstrual wellbeing to be taught in schools.

[Hannah Bardell]

I absolutely agree with the hon. Lady about how, for some reason, we cannot talk about parts of our bodies at that time in the morning. In the same way, I still find it incredible that adverts for sanitary products depict women’s period blood as being blue rather than red. I do not know about anyone else, but I have never bled blue in my life.

[Emma Hardy]

Perhaps that is the royal family only. The hon. Lady is absolutely right. For years I was convinced that if we used Tampax, it would suddenly make us fitter, more active and able to roller-skate—[Laughter.] Sorry, we are descending into farce.

On a serious note, I ask the Minister, please, to look at what my hon. Friend the Member for Warrington North said about lowering the age to 18 when doctors give a recommendation. I also ask him to support my call for menstrual wellbeing to be taught in schools, and to have a wider survey into understanding why people are not attending tests, so that we can do something to change that for the future.