Hi, I’m 37 and a mum to 5 beautiful children
unfortunately I didn’t keep up with my cervical screening I can make many excuses as to why I didn’t but all of them have landed me here
5 months ago I started with bleeding between my periods, I just thought it was probably stress and maybe the start of the menopause as I’m sterilised the doctors had warned me I could have it early, and way fast forward 5 months and the bleeding had gotten worse I now had lower back pain and generally felt rubbish, so I got my self in at the doctors where they did a smear test and swabs and referred me to the fast track clinic for possible cervical cancer, the doctors said o have white areas on my cervix that bleed upon contact she didn’t really say much else. Has anyone had this too? There isn’t much on the web. I have my appointment this coming Tuesday what will happen when I go? Will they tell me there and then if I have cancer?
im so scared my youngest is only 10 every time I look at him my heart breaks. If only I hadn’t left life get in the way and had attended my smear test
thanks for reading
stacey x
Hi Stacey31914 and welcome to our group.
Can I start off by saying please don’t beat yourself up about missing cervical screening tests? Life happens, and what’s most important now is that your symptoms are being investigated. A smear test is a screening test for the hpv virus, and if it is present then further investigation is required, but the smear test is not a diagnostic test for cervical cancer.
Being fast tracked doesn’t necessarily mean that you have cervical cancer, but your doctor will want to rule it out as a possible cause of your symptoms. The fact that you bled on contact could mean that you have something called a cervical ectropian. This is where the cells which normally grow on the inside of the cervix grow on the outside and can bleed when touched. This is a harmless condition and not cancer.
Abnormal cells can appear on the cervix caused by the hpv virus, but again these are not cancer, but a form of precancerous cells which can be easily treated.The doctor is not in a position to say much at the moment as they simply don’t know.
On Tuesday, I would expect you would have a more detailed examination where they take a much closer look at your cervix. This may involve putting a liquid over the area which identifies any area of abnormal cells, and if any are found you may have one or more small biopsies taken called punch biopsies. These are very small and in my experience were not painful.
You will not be told at the appointment that you have cancer-any biopsies need to be sent away for analysis so there will be a wait for the results. Only a biopsy can diagnose cervical cancer, if that’s what you have.
Please try and stay away from Google looking for answers, as it cannot diagnose you and is more likely to cause you to be more anxious. And please don’t let your thoughts run away with themselves before you know more. I understand you are scared, as we worry about unexplained symptoms when we don’t know all the information we need, but this is very early days in the diagnostic process for you. You need to focus on the facts that you know for now, and not thoughts in your head. I know that might be easy for me to say, but I’ve learned to stay calm and deal with one step at a time going through this process. it makes things easier-honestly!
Please let us know how you get on at your appointment, and ask any questions or share worries. There is support for you here and we can help you through.
Sarah xx
