People not knowing about options to make their cervical screening easier and more comfortable is "costing lives" , a cancer charity warned last month. To find out what having the test is really like for first timers, the BBC spoke to six people who have had their first cervical screening, formerly known as a smear test, in the last six months. Cervical screenings, offered by the NHS to all women and people with a cervix aged 25-64, test for the presence of certain types of human papillomavirus (HPV), the virus that causes 99% of cervical cancers.
During the test, a nurse uses a speculum - a tool to open the vagina - and a brush to take a sample of cells from the cervix. This is what having the test done for the first time was like for six people, and what they wish they'd known beforehand. Erica Donnelly, 26, who lives in Sunderland, waited about a year to book her screening appointment after receiving an invite.
"I was in a massive panic about it because I have PTSD relating to sexual trauma, so I was really extra nervous about that," she says. When she finally had the test done last month, she brought her partner with her for support and to help her in case she had a flashback or a panic attack. Having them there also made the experience feel more "comfortable and casual", she says.
Bianca Ionici, 27, who lives in London, says she put off her cervical screening "for at least two years" because of concerns about pain. But after getting another invite which contained a lot of.
