cervical cancer

[crunchie01]

hi everyone,

ive not been around much as i havent been too bad but the HA seems to be back,

could someone please advise me regarding cervical cancer,

in jan 2005 i had a borderline smear, i then had another smear 6 months later which was borderline i then had 3 more smears 6 months apart that were normal and so i have gone back to 3 yearly smears.

when all this jade thing happened in august i went to my gp and asked her about my smears she looked at my results and said she wasnt concerned and there was no need to bring my smears forward, i was reaasured at the time but now im panicking,

i have no pain after sex, no in between bleeding etc, no foul smelling discharge although throughtout the month my discharge changes in consistency and clear/white/creamy

im trying to stay calm but i could do with some advice

thank you

[j2]

Try to put yourself in the shoes of someone else. If someone came to you and told you about having many smears and them being okay recently and a doctor telling that person not to worry, would probably tell them not to worry based on the logical evidence. This type of third party analysis helps me sometimes. I know logic isn't exactly our strongest quality (otherwise we would be on this board) but try to be objective. Good luck.

[xfilme]

I had a smear test in september that came back abnormal. I went for my repeat smear 2 weeks ago and Im terrified about the results. All of my anxiety has been a result of Jade in all the papers etc. As much as I believe awareness about cervical cancer is good, I feel the way her case has been handled in terms of the press, has caused a lot of anxiety if abnormal results are recieve because the papers are making us panic. I feel it insensitive towards people with health anxiety... and its all in the name of dramatisation. I wouldnt be so offended if they had atleast had a doctor speak out as to why she ended up in the situation she is in, as she has admitted negligence on her part but nobody will come forward to highlight how much neglect was involved. There are so many conflicting stories, and the lack of history about her case in particular leaves many people, like for example me, presuming that even a borderline abnormality will inevitably lead to cancer. If she wants awareness, it would be better done by telling the specifics of her story so we can avoid making the same mistakes, rather than emphasising the message abnormal = cancer. We know that she neglected follow-ups... but for how long? What CIN were her results showing? How many times did she have cells removed? some say she didnt ever go because she was afraid at the age of 16... others say she had it done three times... What treatment did she have done? a colposcopy? or an actual operation? I understand she may not be all that aware of her own medical records as many people go along with what the doctor orders without asking questions, but omitting so many facts is confusing to a scared and vulnerable reader. How long did she ignore the letters asking for her to have the cells removed again? Some say weeks, some say months, some say years. Without knowing what led up to her diagnosis we naturally assume the worst. I am scared senseless. Most of the time she implies the fault lies with the doctors, but somehow it does not ring true when so many warnings were given and ignored. I really wish she wasnt in her situation. I have routine smears and always attend in good time if not early, but I am confused as to how likely it is my borderline results could turn into CIN3 in 6 months because everything says hers was fast progressing but the details of which are never mentioned. As a result, I am left living in a world of "What if?". I wish this wasnt happening at a time I am awaiting my own smear test results. The fear has put my life on hold for 6 months now, and Im getting to the point Im freaking I may not have a future either.

[crunchie01]

hi hun,

i totally agree with you on your reply. i mentioned it to my dr when i saw her last august and she said what happened to jade was very very rare and there was obviously other factors involved in her case. but it would help us with HA and everyone else if we had the facts not just the media doing what they are doing xx

[mummyto4]

I have been through all the abnormal cells stuff with smears and having repeats etc. Around our area it is normally if you have 3 come back abnormal then you are referred to the hospital for further investigation, however, there can be differing factors which can affect smear test results, which is why they like to do 2 or 3 tests before sendng for further investigation. Sometimes, even just being ill with flu or something 'can' have an 'odd' effect on smear test results which is why they REPEAT them before anything further. They 'can' put themselves right 'sometimes' with no further treatment needed. It seems that this has what has happened with you which is why your dr is not at all concerned. Please believe them. I have been through this and had to have the loop excision so am aware of some of the procedures. Also, I know how worrying it is for every lady because of what has happened to poor Jade Goody BUT it has been said on a few occasions that Jade has a particularly rare aggresive form of this cancer which really isn't the norm, so I do agree with a previous poster that there are other 'factors' regarding Jades case. If all women continue to have regular smears, this can in almost all cases be prevented. Its always going to happen somewhere along the line to someone BUT IT IS RARE. I hope this puts your mind at rest a little.
xx

[Summer74]

This is my first post, so hi to you all! To Jennie01: You really don't have anything to worry about. You don't have symptoms, and your doctor is confident to put you back in the 3-year programme.
Regarding Jade, I read somewhere a - supposedly - direct quote from her saying that when she became pregnant with her second child, the doctors were by then already concerned about her CIN, so that must have been at least, what, 4-5 years before her cancer diagnosis?
I agree, it is frustrating how much contradicting info there is about what happened to Jade, but it does look like she ignored it for years and years. When her story broke last year, I was just going for my first smear in over 10 years (I know!), and I was quite hysterical and imagining all sorts in my head. The result came back borderline and I was actually relieved!
I've just had my 6-month repeat smear, and this time it came back normal, I've just had the results (I was really nervous, which is why I came on here.) I also asked to be tested for high risk HPV, and this was also negative, which was an even bigger relief. I'm not saying this is something you girls should do, but I chose to have the HPV test as I felt that I would be more in control by knowing one way or the other. Also, I'm originally from a country where it is common practice to test high-risk HPV in conjunction with Pap smear and the results are available to women. I had my first smear at 18, it showed a low-risk (no-risk?) HPV, but it went away and I didn't need any treatment. By the way, I'm now 35.
Anyway, hope this helps someone, try not to worry, and ask me any questions, I know how it feels to stress about this.
Thanks for reading.