My Cervix My Service
My Cervix My Service is an empowerment campaign. We believe it is your body, and you have a right to access healthcare in a way that makes you feel affirmed and respected. This campaign is going to be bringing you voices from our community as they share their experiences of cervical screening and the things they do to have a positive experience at their appointment.
Cervical screening is for anyone with a cervix. It’s highly effective and research shows that screening saves over 2,000 lives each year in the UK. Despite these huge benefits, people in our trans and non-binary community are less likely to attend for their cervical screening. Though there can be additional barriers for trans and non-binary people when accessing or attending a cervical screening appointment, it is important that all eligible people do consider booking in with their GP or local sexual health clinic to protect their own health.
Why not try some of these tips at your next appointment:
- Call the clinic ahead of your appointment to discuss how to make it a better experience
- Ask for a double appointment so you have enough time to ask any questions you may have
- Let them know which name and pronouns you would like to use for the appointment
- If you are anxious about your name appearing on a waiting room screen, ask them to call you in without using the display
- Ask to be seen at the beginning or end of a clinic to avoid long stays in the waiting room
- Tell the person carrying out the smear test the language you would like them to use when referring to your body
- Ask for a smaller speculum to be used during the procedure
- Ask if you can insert the speculum yourself
- Ask your GP to remind you when you’re next due for a smear test
- Ask to bring a friend with you to your appointment
A walkthrough at CliniQ
Join us on a walkthrough of CliniQ, a trans-led clinic in South East London offering a variety of services including cervical screening. In these videos, we follow Octavian as he talks you through what to expect from your cervical screening appointment. Dr Brady, the lead doctor of the clinic, also explains how a sample is taken and gives you tips on how to have a positive experience that can be used at any screening appointment, no matter where you are in the UK.
Full version (5:25min)
Short version (2:32min)
Meet the CliniQ Team (2:03min)
Setting up screening reminders
If you are registered as male with your GP you will not be automatically invited to your cervical screening appointment. The current assumption is that you will request this appointment every time you need it, but this is far from ideal. To help our community affected by this issue, Dr Owen Carter has introduced a system that GPs can use to invite trans and non-binary patients with a cervix to their cervical screening appointments, bringing better equity to the system. Watch the video to find out more!
MORE CONTENT COMING SOON
My Cervix My Service is a joint project between OUTpatients (formerly ‘Live Through This’) and the South East London Cancer Alliance
We're Here for you
OUTpatients provides a safe space for anyone who identifies as part of the queer spectrum and has had an experience with any kind of cancer – at any stage.