Hi! I'm new here and very nervous. This is a bit long winded so sorry for the rambling.
I'm 29 and am worried one of the reasons I'm in this position is because statistically I'm very unlikely to have vulva cancer so it hasn't been flagged.
Following my pregnancy 7 years ago I started feeling a small itchy lump on my labia. I'd read that skin tags are quite a common thing to form during pregnancy and didn't think much of it.
Over the years the lump grew bigger but I initially assumed it was because of my weight gain and its location causing irritation.
Last year I experienced some really strange issues, such as missing periods for over 4 months, smelly discharge, unexplained bleeding (between periods and after sex) and periods that were entirely black with no fresh blood.
Fearful I booked a smear and discovered I had CIN 3. 2 colposcopys later and abnormal cells removed, the Dr noted the lump on my labia, telling me it was a wart. Shocked at the notion of having genital warts I felt confused because my lump didn't look like warts and had been present for about 5/6 years- also my partner hadn't ever formed any! The Dr told me it was a large HPV wart and she would refer me to someone.
The biopsy from my cervix came back cancer free but because I had CIN 3 I needed to make sure I kept my smears regularly.
The pandemic hit and for one reason or another I didn't get my referral. My strange periods continued but the smelly discharge and unexplained bleeding had stopped. I had a infected bartholin gland cyst form and whilst having that checked I brought my GPs attention to the 'wart' because it had began to change and was constantly itching. My GP didn't know what it was and had an nurse who specialises in sexual health to examine it.
She told me it definitely wasn't a wart and gave me some cream believing it to be a skin condition similar to psoriasis. The cream helped the itching but the lump was still growing. After realising the lump was in fact a lump I was referred to a dermatologist who told me I had VIN within seconds of seeing my now 4cm wide lump.
This was 2 days ago. Whilst in the hospital seeing the dermatologist I was given a punch biopsy, booked in for a smear and given a bag full of creams to help with the itching.
I now have to wait for 4 weeks for my results and am feeling confused and petrified. It doesn't feel like anyone has really explained anything. It wasn't until I looked up VIN that I realised exactly what they were investigating. I've had this lump growing for about 7 years and I'm really worried.
Hi and a very warm welcome to the online community
I haven't been investigated for the same as you but I do understand how horrible waiting for the results of a biopsy are. Like you I was told it would be a 4 week wait for my results so I kept myself occupied doing things that I enjoyed to stop my mind from endlessly replaying worse-case scenarios.
Lots of people find that mindfulness helps and, if this is something that you're interested in, I'd recommend that you have a look at this page on mindfulness apps from the NHS. You might also find this on how to ease worry when waiting for results helpful.
Do come back and let us know how your results go.
x
"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
