Hello,
I have not been diagnosed but am worried I may have cervical cancer. I am 39.
I had sin 3 over 10 years ago, had the cells lasered. I did not have HPV at the time. As I've not had HPV my smears have all been ok since.
The last 6 months I've had, spotting in between periods, sometimes more like a period for a few days. Huge clots in period, longer than normal periods. I have been to the GP a few months ago and first she put me back on the pill, for heavy bleeding, then said to go back if I continue to spot. I also spot after sex occasionally too.
I had my regular smear last week and the nurse said my cervix was very red and inflammed and I bled. She asked if I had any abnormal pap smears before. She took lots of swobs for infection etc and they are all ok but she said if they come back clear to book in with a gp as I've been previously HPV negative if it does come back negative they won't check my cells.
Obviously I'm a bit worried as I presumed it would be a regular smear no worries. Has anyone got any advice what I should be asking the GP for ? I have an appointment on Friday, no smear results yet but told they can take a while
Sorry for the long rambling.
Kathryn
HI Kathryn and welcome to our group!
I’m sorry to see you have worries about cervical cancer, but we’re all here to help you out if we can, and we’re a lovely supportive bunch!
It’s only in recent years that testing has started for hpv at a smear test, and I’m afraid that as it’s hpv that causes abnormal cells, you are likely to have had the virus before as you had CIN3 some years ago. The virus can be dormant in your system, sometimes for years, but can become active and cause cell changes again. it doesn’t always cause cell changes however, and many people can have the virus and never know about it as it will never cause them any issues. The vast majority of the population who have ever been sexually active will come into contact with the virus in their life, but for most their immune system will clear it /keep it dormant and inactive.
The nurse is right in saying that the cells won’t be tested if you have a negative hpv test, but they will if your test results come back positive. Your cervix being red and inflamed and bleeding on contact won’t mean that you necessarily have abnormal cells, far less cancer. But it could mean you have something called cervical ectropion, where the cells from inside the cervical canal can grow on the outside. These cells are red and it’s common for this to cause bleeding. So that could be one possible explanation.
If your hpv test is negative, I would still recommend seeing your gap to check out your symptoms, the spotting between periods and spotting after sex. It may be nothing serious, but it’s always better to get checked out. The doctor can make a referral to gynaecology if they have any concerns about anything they see, and let the specialist do an examination.
For now, you’ll need to wait for the results of your smear to see if there are any next steps required from the result of that, but I would still recommend getting your symptoms checked out. Hopefully it’s nothing serious, but always better to put your mind at rest if you are concerned about cervical cancer.
You are very welcome to be here with us in the group, and please feel free to keep us posted, ask any questions, and get advice. Bearing in mind we’re not medical professionals, but most of us have either been through or are going through cervical cancer so we have plenty of experience with this, and the worries you have when you feel something might not be right.
Sarah xx
Hi Kathryn
Don't get too hung up on hpv, would be my advice. I see ladies obsess about it and insist they don’t have it in other groups, but it doesn’t actually matter in the grand scheme of things. I’ve never once been told I have hpv but I have had a type of cervical cancer caused by hpv, so it was more important to me to deal with that.
They didn’t test before so would not have known whether you were positive or negative, but since it is the cause of abnormal cells, it’s kind of a given.
However, although most cervical cancer is caused by hpv, it’s important to be aware that not all types are. That’s why, although smear tests are important to screen for abnormal cells, it’s important to investigate odd symptoms too. There are types of cervical not caused by hpv which do not go through the pre cancerous cell stage, where at least there is some warning that something potentially is wrong.
Anyway, let’s hope there’s nothing bad going on for you, and you get some reassurance soon.
Sarah xx
