Hello Everyone ,
I have always struggled to have smears due to the location of my Cervix . Apparently it’s up the corner and round the bend !
About 3 years ago I went for a smear check up and they just couldn’t find it . I was called back 3 times and It was awful . They had me in every position and it was extremely painful . Honestly made me have such a phobia about having them done .
They refered me to the hospital to get the smear done ( I have never had any irregular smears ) I was sent an appointment but it was covid times and I had that much going on I didn’t attend the appointment .
In the last 2 weeks I have had a sharp pain in my groin and some lower back ache . I have googled this and it all comes back to Cervical Cancer . I have not stopped crying and worrying over this .
My GP has refered me for a smear again on the 5th July
I have not had any other symptoms such as irregular bleeds or pain during sex etc - Just the sudden onset of this sharp pain in my pelvic bone and back .
I don’t know if I am working myself up in this state for no reason or if anyone else didn’t have any other symptoms and just had this pelvic pain and it was cancer ?
Looking into it , it also states that once it’s in pelvis and bones it has advanced ?
I have got myself into such a state that I can’t sleep and am struggling to concentrate in work .
My husband has told me to stop panicking and that I am fine but I honestly think it’s cancer and I’m now blaming myself that if it is , it’s my fault for not following through with the hospital referral for my 3 year smear check up .
I am 42 and have 2 children
I am probably looking for some advice to see if anyone else didn’t have any other symptoms and the first was groin pain ?
I don’t know if I should speak to the GP and demand a appointment sooner or If I really am panicking over nothing
Thankyou x
Hi SH42 and welcome to our group.
First of all, please just breathe and relax…and don’t blame yourself for not having a smear test. life can get in the way of these things and having a previous unpleasant experience will have made you more reluctant to go through it again.
The next thing I’d like to gently recommend is to give up with Dr Google! The internet cannot tell you what is wrong, but it can lead you to all sorts of things which may have nothing to do with your situation. You mentioned advanced cancer being in your bones and pelvis but this is a huge leap to make when you haven’t got a cancer diagnosis yet.
A smear test is not a diagnostic test for cervical cancer-it is a check for the hpv virus, and if that is found then your cervical cells would be checked for any abnormalities. With that in mind, I’d recommend making an appointment with your gp initially to start investigating your back and pelvic pain.
Those could have an explanation that is something other than cancer, but you do need to see a doctor to investigate,
You are filled with panic because you have self diagnosed yourself with cancer, but that’s allowing fear and things you’ve read on the internet to make you very anxious without knowing anything for a fact yet.
There can many different symptoms of cervical cancer, for example mine was bleeding and pelvic pain, but I was post menopausal so the unexplained bleeding was a concern. But everyone is different, so one person’s symptoms may be very different from the next person. What I’m saying is you can’t draw conclusions from another person’s symptoms, even if they are similar to yours so it isn’t necessarily helpful to compare yourself to others.
I’d say the first thing you need to do is make a gp appointment to discuss your pain. Please also attend your smear appointment, as although it’s not a diagnostic tool, it means that you will be screened for the hpv virus and for any abnormal cells if it is found. Abnormal cells do not mean cancer, but if they are present they often need to be treated to remove them.
Try not to focus on the fact that you haven’t had a screening for some time-the important point is that you will have it shortly and your back and pelvic pain will be investigated. You can’t do anything about what has happened in the past, but you can do things from now on that will help you.
I understand you are scared and worried, and nothing I can say will stop that, but I have discovered myself that worrying about things which are not reality is very unproductive and not helpful for you.
Hopefully you will not receive a cancer diagnosis, but there is support and understanding here for you if you do. Please feel free to keep using the group to ask any questions and we will try to help, but no-one here is a medical professional, so would not be able to say if they thought you had cancer. I always had in my head “it’s not cancer till they say it is” and that helped me.
Sarah xx
