Well I didn’t mind because I knew that the nurse had said to me “I’m a little bit doubtful that I haven’t got enough here to be tested,” so I didn’t really, I didn’t mind. The second time it wasn’t so good, the third time it was, it was uncomfortable and it was just sore for a few minutes but she is tremendously experienced and it’s just a bit uncomfortable for a little while. But it’s worth it in the end to find out you’re perfectly alright. I’d rather, I mean I suppose I couldve left it and said no wait but I wanted to make absolutely sure everything was alright, sort of taking her word and everything and that was it. So I had no qualms about that, I’d much rather have gone for 3 or 4 knowing that it was probably going to be alright than to leave any shadow of doubt.

I think it’s literally 2 minutes of feeling uncomfortable, not painful, having something quite cold just pushed inside you while they run a little wooden spatula. It’s worth it because from experience in the surgery so many people have had routine things and things have been picked up so early and because of all the fear especially of carcinomas I think yes I would have no fear at all, you know better to be safe than sorry. And as I say I know, we do know a lot of patients, especially single ladies don’t really want it done but you know for 2 minutes, and it’s just uncomfortable, it’s worth it.

It hurt like hell and then the surgery said “Oh theres something wrong here,” and I nearly went bananas and it was simply that they hadn’t got enough testing which years ago we just weren’t told, we were all in the dark. And I thought right okay I’m not going for one of those again. It was when I came out here and then this routine letter, and 12 years and my present place of work were horrified and from then on it’s been no problem.