Abnormal pap test - GAAAAH!

[katesa]

Hi everyone,

So I'm a couple of weeks in to stopping smoking and eating healthier, and I got a letter from the hospital about my last smear/pap test saying I have mild dyskaryosis, have tested positive for the HPV virus (god knows how, I had one sexual partner before I was married) and asking me to go in for a Colposcopy this coming Friday. I had a clear smear 3 years ago so this has really baffled me.

I'm scared that it has been caused by cancer somewhere else that is spreading to my cervix - I did have a bunch of blood tests like full blood count, liver function etc a few weeks ago which were all fine, would they have been off if that was the case? Has anyone else had an abnormal result?

[Speranza]

Have they definitely told you that you are positive for HPV? That does sound a bit odd but otherwise I don't think mild dyskaryosis is too worrying - it is so common but it's because they are vigilant that they can catch any changes. I had abnormal smears for a few years and so has my daughter (who's only 27). I'm not a doctor but I think cancer would show up on blood tests, for sure.

[joelhall]

Well I sincerely doubt you have metastatic cancer! As for HPV, it's common and bound to cause cellular changes (that's how viruses work). Abnormal results are actually very common, and cancer is quite a rare cause of cellular changes. Remember that HPV is a common virus, and has more modes of transmission than sexual intercourse.

[Munchlet]

Hi

I've had abnormal paps, biopsies, colposcopies and treatment twice due to achanges on my cervix. If you look back at my previous posts I've had no end of cervical problems and was convinced it was cervical cancer, so much so got my doctor to refer me to colposcopy for biopsy which was normal.

Try not to worry these things are so common. I think the chances of you having cancer that has spread to the cervix are virtutally nil.

I'm no expert but I would imagine that if you had cancer that had spread from somewhere else then you would be experiencing some pretty obvious symptoms and as your bloods are clear that makes it even more unlikely.

Take care

[AuntieMoosie]

Please don't panic or worry hun :)

These are the most important words for you right now........

You have NOT got cancer!!!!

The reason that us ladies have our regular smears done is to detect any cells changes and treat them, that's the magic of the smears and also why they are so important :)

The cell changes that you have are NOT cancer and does not mean that you have cancer anywhere in your body.

As Joel has said the HPV virus is very common, I have it too and I've had moderate cell changes.

My gynecologist explained to me that these cell changes are extremely common and do not always mean that you would go on and develop cancer.

He said that they usually opt for treatment just as a preventative measure :)

The colposcopy is fine and nothing to be frightened of. They use a special camera to have a real close look at your cervix, the camera does not go inside you at all, in fact it doesn't even touch you :)

I had a LLETZ treatment followed by a biopsy, it was a little uncomfortable at times, but nothing dreadful and nothing that I couldn't cope with plus he did numb the area for me which helped :)

Now my treatment was back in 2002 so things may well have changed, and, as I understand it, there are various treatments that they use now so I would think it will depend on what your specialist decides will be best for you.

The good news is that I've been having smears taking every year since my treatment and they have all come back completely normal and clear and my cervix is very healthy :)

Do please let us know how you get on on Friday, but I know you will be just fine hun :hugs:

[Speranza]

Was that the laser treatment Auntie? My daughter had that as she had had abnormal smears for a while. What they didn't tell her - and we found out is totally normal - is that it can leave you with a funny smell 'down there' which disappears after the next period. If it lasts longer than that, go and get antibees. It is dead cells waiting to be sloughed off.

TMI? :shades:

[AuntieMoosie]

No I don't think it was the laser Speranza hun.

It's some sort of loop thing they use, I know there was burning involved somewhere though cos I could smell burning :wacko: Maybe they heat the loop thing to cut away the effected area? I'm not really sure though, hopefully Joel might come back to this thread and explain it better :)

Funny you should mention about smells though............I only got told that I may have some slight bleeding for a few days following the treatment, but what nobody told me was that my draws "knickers"!! lol..........would look like I'd sat in an ashtray a few days later!!!!!

That caused me some alarm I might add..........but when I rang my doctor he said that it was normal and nothing to worry about, loosing what looked like fag ash down there was interesting to say the least!!!!! lol :roflmao:

[Speranza]

Ah yes it was that, my mistake. It's some kind of burning/freezing thing! And it leaves dead cells on the cervix which clear themselves up but do smell foul for a few days. My daughter was really worried but spoke to a really helpful doctor. It would be good if they warned you wouldn't it!!