A
female
age
30-35,
anonymous
writes:Sorry, this'll be a bit off topic. I moved to Canada last August and I've just signed up to a medical centre here. I found most of the staff to be extremely rude and they signed me up for all sorts of tests without telling me what any of them were for or would even entail. Well, they rang and left a message for me to ring them back. I haven't even had any medical exams yet so I found it pretty odd. When I rang, they said that it was to organise a pap smear. I'm 18, in England we start those at 25 so I feel it's a bit premature. My mum, years ago, had something iffy with her results, but so far she's been absolutely fine. Now, I was reading up about pap smears and I found that most of the time they do more harm than good. Plus, I've had the HPV jab, so I'm more protected that way as well. Point blank, I don't want a pap smear. I was raped 2 years and I also had an abortion a year ago which was very torturous to me as so many things went wrong and I spent days with nurses checking my vagina and scraping and doing all sorts to it. So, I don't feel real good about having a pap smear. I'm extremely shaken after those experiences. What do I do? Can I just refuse them point blank without necessarily explaining why? These doctors seem to have no problem telling my mum my information so I've purposely kept them in the dark about the rape and the abortion.
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male
reader, Danielepew  +, writes (17 February 2012):
 I don't know about Canada, but I think you can change a clinic, and complain to the new staff that the others were rude and whatnot.
A
male
reader, C. Grant +, writes (17 February 2012):
 At 18 you cannot be compelled to have any medical procedure. Be very clear with everyone at the outset of your appointment what you consent to and what you do not.
If you have specific examples of information they have shared with your mother, you can register a complaint with the provincial college of physicians and surgeons.
The suggestion that you find a new doctor is a good one, although depending where you are in the country, more easily said than done given the shortage of docs.
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A
female
reader, So_Very_Confused  +, writes (17 February 2012):
 IF you are sexually active you need pap smears..
I've been having them since age 14... waiting till age 25 seems a bit excessive. 18 here is the latest I would start them.
we have HIPPA laws here they can't talk to anyone about your medical issues without your consent.
the bigger issue is to me have you been treated for the rape and abortion ( meaning have you had therapy to work through the traumas)... because the fact that your mother does not know about them is a huge red flag to me that you have unresolved issues about the events.
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A
female
reader, anonymous, writes (17 February 2012): Maybe change clinics or talk to the manager of your clinic and make a complaint. They are NOT allowed to share your medical information without your consent and they need to be more patient friendly. You dont have to tell them about your past rape and abortion. Also the smears arent done earlier in the UK because until you are in your 20`s the results can give a false positive due to natural hormonal changes. So if you dont want a smear test, dont have one until you feel ready. Just tell them you do not want the smear test...thank you!
I am sorry about your past trauma. If you havent sought any help for the ordeals you went through, maybe you should consider talking to your mom and getting some counselling.
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A
female
reader, anonymous, writes (17 February 2012): I'm not familiar with the Canadian system so can't answer your questions about your rights there. I can't imagine, though, that doctors would force you to have a test against your will.
Here in the US there are privacy laws that would prevent your doctor from talking to your mother without your consent; I've always thought that there is a similar law in Canada (but I could be wrong).
Also, here the National Institutes of Health recommends that women start getting regular pap smears when they become sexually active or at age 21, so apparently there are differences from one country to another.
I'm not sure what you mean by the test doing more harm than good. A false positive would be hard to deal with, obviously, and there are occasional false negatives. But overall, paps have substantially reduced the number of deaths from cervical cancer in women who get them regularly. In the US something like 70% of cervical cancer deaths occur in women who haven't been tested in 5 years or more (sorry, can't find the citation with the exact number). The HPV vaccine helps but it doesn't protect you against all the causes of cervical cancer, and it also doesn't protect you if you were exposed before you were vaccinated. (See http://www.cdc.gov/std/hpv/STDFact-HPV-vaccine-young-women.htm)
You've had some pretty traumatic experiences in the last couple of years, and your reluctance to having the test is understandable. However ... there aren't any symptoms of cervical cancer when it's in the treatable stage; that's why the pap smear was invented. Have you had counseling since you were raped? If not, please find a therapist. This is a terrible burden for you to deal with on your own.
I'd also strongly encourage you to tell your doctor why you don't want a pap test now. He or she can better advise you on how long you can avoid the test without it adversely affecting your health than I can.
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A
female
reader, Ciar +, writes (17 February 2012):
 Change medical clinics. You're in Ontario?
For starters, it is illegal for them to share any of your private medical information with anyone without your consent. That includes your mum.
Unless things have changed since I was young, doctors recommended PAP smears from the age of 16 here (or at least when one became sexually active or there is a famliy history of reproductive problems). That may differ now with the HPV jab, but I doubt it.
You're not obliged to undergo any test or treatment you don't want. What you could do is go for the physical without the pelvic exam (and do that later when you're ready).
You're not obliged to inform them of the rape, but if you had a medical facility you trusted, you would probably feel more comfortable doing so (there may be advantages). You might feel more at ease using a clinic no one in your family uses.
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