Introduction

Update March 03 2012.  In a change to our usual schedule, I'd like to address the fact that in America, there appears to be a number of people who have declared war on the female half of the population.  For those looking for information on this.....liberal feminists get right on my wick at times, but http://www.feministe.us/blog/ and
http://pandagon.net/ have been consistently commenting and blogging on this.  As have http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2012/02/26/knitting-souls-with-an-approved-wanton-sounds-like-fun-to-me/  and http://freethoughtblogs.com/blaghag/2012/02/prepare-to-rage/ and http://drjengunter.wordpress.com/2012/02/29/if-governments-were-really-serious-about-reducing-abortion-iuds-would-have-no-co-payment/

And many, many others.  Go Google stuff, okay...? Not difficult.

 Now my blog is founded on a fairly critical view of mass screening programmes, and Planned Parenthood pushes these same screenings pretty heavily.....however, screening is only part of what they do, and if a woman decides to withdraw from a screening programme, this should be down to her making an informed decison.  Not because she can't afford the test. Not because affordable healthcare clinics have been driven out of the area.  Not because the atmosphere around female healthcare is so hostile that she doesn't feel safe accessing healthcare.  Okay?

I will take this moment to direct people to the USA Planned Parenthood website http://www.plannedparenthood.org/, where you can donate money to help low-income women access reproductive healthcare.  I made a donation, even though I live on the other side of the Atlantic, with a tax-payer supported, Free At Point of Use NHS, which, despite many other issues I have with it, has never, for one second, attempted to interfere with my right to access to contraception or reproductive healthcare for the sake of someone else's religious scruples.

I will also direct you to a short story I read recently, by Panda Monium, which is a frankly terrifyingly real description of what would happen if all this legislation was taken to its illogical conclusion http://amandaching.wordpress.com/2012/02/20/67/

....and so I will leave you with this, a short excerpt from Amanda's story that pretty much says everything that needs to be said.......

"HELLO THERE. WE HEARD U NEED THIS.
DON’T WORRY, WE LOVE YOU.
EVERY PART OF YOU BELONGS TO YOU."


************************************************************************Welcome to my blog on cervical screening and associated medical programmes. The blog has been set up to provide links to various articles, forums and medical journals covering the subject of cervical screening, the risk of cervical cancer, the pros and cons of screening, women's experiences of screening, ethics and informed consent, and the financial incentives healthcare professionals may receive for promoting screening. Whatever your opinions and experiences re: screening I hope you will find this information interesting and thought-provoking.

Information is split as follows:

• Rates of cancer, cervical cancer and other major illnesses
• Wilson and Jugner screening criteria
• Informed Consent and Ethics
• Smear testing - pros, cons and effectiveness
• Women's perceptions and experiences of screening
• Incentives for healthcare professionals to promote screening
• Frequency of screening
• Official recommendations and screening information
• Discussion forums and anecdotes
• Newspaper articles
• Screening as a prerequisite for hormonal contraception
• Screening after hysterectomy
• Pelvic examinations in asymptomatic women
• Amendments to screening procedures and policies
• Developments in screening technology and techniques
• HPV / HPV vaccine
• Mammogram screening
• Prostate cancer screening
• Academic references
• Miscellaneous articles

The links are not exhaustive; 5 minutes with Google would no doubt turn up additional information, if you find a topic interesting. Please note that some links require registration with the linked website to access the full document or article. Each section is regularly updated with new links being placed at the bottom of the page. I will also mention a new website by Dr Joel Sherman:

http://patientprivacyreview.blogspot.com/2010/11/informed-consent-is-missing-from.html

from whose website/s much of this information originally came.

Disclaimer
I make no claims about the accuracy of data contained in these links, and if you have specific health concerns you should discuss them with your doctor rather than with random people on the internet. :-)