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A study published in JAMA Internal Medicine reveals a no-brainer: girls and women are traumatized by pelvic exams and avoid seeking care which involves them. Further, the study finds that many of these exams are unnecessary.
I've always wondered about the necessity of frequent pelvic exams. I have a history of sexual trauma, and I find those exams very traumatic. In fact, I went for almost 30 years without getting one. The only reason I ever went back to an OB/GYN was that I was experiencing post-menopausal bleeding. A D&C determined that I had simple endometrial hyperplasia with normal cells which means I have only a very slightly elevated chance of developing endometrial cancer (1.6%, that's one point six). I did not deem it necessary to have the radical hysterectomy which was being pushed at me. Had the D&C revealed complex hyperplasia or abnormal cells, that pushes the chances of developing endometrial cancer to 36% greater than normal, and I would have had the hysterectomy.
I refer to 2018 as the year that revolved around my uterus, and I do not see the reason to go through another battery of invasive pelvic exams and transvaginal ultrasounds which leave me feeling as if I've been raped by a robot. I've never had an abnormal pap test, I'm beyond my reproductive years, and I'm not sexually active. Further, the endometrial hyperplasia has resolved. I see no reason to submit myself to this humiliating procedure again. I'm not sure why the U.S. insists that women have this procedure every year when other first world nations do not.
"The American College of Physicians and the American Academy of Family Physicians advise against pelvic exams on women who aren’t pregnant and don’t have symptoms," Qin added.
Agreed.
I don't have any problem with getting a mammogram although I put that off for years. It's mildly embarrassing and sometimes slightly uncomfortable, but it isn't painful or invasive. Also, I can see a clear need for it. Someone in my age range is at a higher risk of breast cancer than someone in their twenties.
~Sly Has Spoken~
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Yeah, pelvic exams, even when done by female physicians (which they weren't when I was younger) require some mental and emotional girding.
ReplyDeleteAh yes, the "good" old days of male-dominated OB/GYN practices. Back when menstrual cramps were dismissed as being "all in your head, Honey." No, you stupid bastard, it isn't in my head, it's in my fucking abdomen. I would get cramps so bad I couldn't even walk but it was dismissed as being "all in my head."
DeleteIt was about then that I started wondering how these doctors would feel if someone pulled their scrotum up over the top of their head.