Help ease my extreme anxiety

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  1. Hi guys went for a smear test a week ago received a letter stating I was positive for the hpv virus and that I had low grade dyskaryosis im a so stressed i have 5 children and my husband is not wel I’m convinced I have cancer and I’m dying i suffer severe anxiety I have to go to the hospital for a colposcopy I haven’t had a appointment yet they said they would send one out what scares me most is because at the smear I never told my doctor that my periods had stopped in the last 6 months and that I had been getting a watery smelly discharge that I had been treating with bv gel which worked for a week but then come back again I also never went to my last smear please help put my mind at ease I don’t want to die
  • Hi  and welcome to our group

    I can tell how anxious you are from your post, but perhaps I can try and reassure you a little. I’m not sure how much you know about hpv, but it is an extremely common virus and most of the sexually active population throughout the world will have it at some point in their lives. It doesn’t mean to say that you would ever get cancer however. 

    The good thing about attending your smear test is that it has identified that you have the virus and also that it has caused some changes to your cervical cells-this is the low grade dyskariosis. However, this is NOT cancer. 

    The colposcopy appointment will let the doctor examine your cervix more closely, and they will put a liquid on to highlight the abnormal cells. A sample will be tested to confirm that these are low grade changes. There are various levels of cervical cell changes, from borderline to low to moderate to severe, and so far the information is that your changes are at the low end of these changes. This MAY change when the cells are analysed, but equally may not. None of these changes are cancer.

    I would encourage you to tell the staff at your colposcopy about your other symptoms as they would want to be aware of these, and they may be relevant to your eventual diagnosis. it’s best that they have all of your information, so please try and pluck up the courage to tell them.

    Low grade cervical cell changes aren’t always treated, as they can sometimes regress on their own, but if you do need treatment, this is done at the clinic and is very quick. The cells are removed, and you would be monitored to ensure they are all gone.

    I think it would be very useful for you to get help with your extreme anxiety if you have not already done so, and so perhaps you should talk to your gp, explain your fears and see what assistance they can give in helping you manage this, as it appears to be impacting your life very badly. 

    At the moment, no-one can say what your eventual diagnosis/result will be as you need to have the colposcopy for that but hopeful the result from this will match the smear result and only identify low level changes which can be easily treated. Sometimes there can be quite a long wait for a colposcopy appointment, so I think it’s important for you to seek help with your anxiety while you wait for this.

    It is far too early to assume you will receive a cancer diagnosis, but of course if that were the case then there will be plenty of support for you here in the group. Please feel free to post whenever you need to, but I hope in the meantime I have managed to reassure you even just a little that your smear test result is very common, but does not mean you have or ever will have cancer. Please try not to use Google for answers as it cannot diagnose you and will likely make your anxiety worse. 

    I hope you don’t have too long to wait for your appointment, and that you will be able to be reassured by it.

    Sarah xx


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  • Thankyou so much for you answer it has Made me feel a lot better I will mention my anxiety to the doctor and at the colposcopy I will 100% tell them my symptoms,the fact that it’s low grade dyskaryosis is that a good thing ?

  • Hi again  

    Low grade dyskariosis is one of the best results you could have if you are to have any type of cervical cell changes. It means that although the cells have changed because of the hpv virus, these changes are not at the serious end of the scale of changes. They are not cancer, and can be easily treated if required.

    I’m so pleased you plan to talk to your doctor about your anxiety and that you will tell the staff about your symptoms. That’s a big step forward for you and should definitely help you in coping with all of this. 

    Sarah xx


    Community Champion Badge

    Cervical Cancer Forum

    Macmillan Support Line - 0808 808 00 00, 7 days a week between 8am-8pm

  • Thankyou so much for your help i really appreciate it xx

  • Glad I could help you a bit today.

    Sarah xx


    Community Champion Badge

    Cervical Cancer Forum

    Macmillan Support Line - 0808 808 00 00, 7 days a week between 8am-8pm

  • Hi Jammy0121

    I just wanted to ask how your colposcopy went? 
    I had mine today and had received the same results as you did in my most recent smear test and everything was absolutely fine. 
    I too was very worried, but the point of the colposcopy is to check everything is fine and to detect very early signs of anything potentially more serious (in the majority of cases, the colposcopy will confirm that there isn’t anything wrong at all. Cervix cell changes are very common and normally just a part of life). 
    I also suffer from anxiety and made the doctor aware of this and she was really lovely and did breathing exercises with me which helped. 
    I hope you’re feeling okay.