Probable cancer diagnosis

[lovelilies]

Hi,
Just need someone to talk to.
Had a smear yesterday and asked the nurse to let me know if she sees anything (I've been having symptoms) and she did.
She's referring me to the hospital immediately rather than wait for PAP results.
I'm 39, 3 kids 15,6and little one turns 4 tomorrow.
I'm being 'strong' but I want to know what I'm dealing with. I don't feel strong right now

I have no experience with this, lovelilies but I didn’t want to run. Others will be along soon with wiser words but at the moment, you shouldn’t try to jump ahead. Deep breaths and be kind to yourself.

And you are strong. You have strength because of the woman you are and the experiences that have shaped you. You can do this.

I’m keeping everything crossed for you.

Have you told anyone irl? Is there someone who can support you?

Sorry how can the nurse see cancer when doing a smear? Did you bleed when she took the swab as is a sign you need more investigation? However 99.9% of the time it is nothing to worry about.

When was your previous smear, OP? Have you had any symptoms that made you suspicious? I’m just wondering why you asked the nurse to tell you if she saw anything (because I’ve never thought to do this).

The nurses would visualise the cervix and and could identify a change.
What a scarey time for you, the colposcopy team will see you quickly. When I was sent to colposcopy they were absolutely wonderful reassuring and kind throughout all the procedures. Take care.

Oh I'm sorry OP. It's a scary time. What symptoms have you been having?
FWIW, I had a colposcopy because I was just bleeding all the time. They tried me on tablets which did stop it but it was so odd as my periods were like clock work and it was very strange for it to be happening.
I was 23 at the time so not old enough for a smear and got fobbed off by 2 doctors then finally managed to see my own who referred me straight away to the hospital.
They couldn't find a reason for it.... thankfully the bleeding did stop but I know it's a worrying time.

Sorry to hear this OP.
I don't know what your circumstances are but I had a smear where I bled a lot, and I had another smear that showed changes to my cervix, turned out to be a cervical ectropian, so neither were cancer.
What did she see do you know? What symptoms have you been having?

Thank you for your replies.
This smear was due end of April this year. Previous CIN3 18years ago had LLETZ but having spotting for 6 months, foul discharge for 4 months (treated for BV twice) and now some urinary stress incontinence and frequency plus constant bleeding and intermittent pelvic pain.

I'm also a nurse and we vaguely know each other to say hello.

She said there was a rough edged lesion about 2cm diameter around the os, not an ectropion as it's irregular and dusky, bleeding also.

She said 'I'm so sorry, I'd give you a hug if it wasn't for coronavirus'.

Hi sorry to hear this when do you go to hospital? I’m at the dr this morning so she can look as I bled after sex last time which has never happened before and I am sterilised so no contraceptive hormones. I also had loop diathermy 18 years ago. The not knowing what’s going on is worrying.

Good luck Kar. I don't know anything yet, waiting for a phone call from the colposcopy clinic 'in the next few days'.

Thanks you too. You must be so worried

Wishing you the best of luck

Hi @lovelilies good luck with everything, I had a high grade abnormal smear (CIN 2 or 3) earlier this year and LLETZ and it was completely terrifying. One thing I do remember which made me feel better is that the doctor who did my colposcopy said that with cervical cancer, there is a significant margin of time where they can identify and effectively treat it. I hope any treatment you need is sorted soon. x

Thanks Purple. I just keep crying this morning and my 6 year old is concerned.
What do I do? That's the shortest part, I can't DO anything. I like to fix things, get it sorted out.
I don't even know what needs sorting.
Bollocks.

No advice really but wishing you good luck op

It’s so difficult isn’t it, it’s just a case of waiting for the appointments/results - I found Jo’s Trust really helpful, I phoned their helpline when I first had the abnormal results back, and they offered to schedule a call back a few weeks later, it felt like a lifeline at the time. Even just being able to have a real cry and get all my feelings/thoughts off my chest was helpful.

I’m not sure how things are in your area/hospital but they had me in within 3 days after my smear results and after my CIN 3 colposcopy results - fingers crossed your referral is speedy

Thank god you were tested now. I really hope everything goes well.

I have my fingers firmly crossed that all will be well 🤞🏻

Hi @lovelilies how are you doing? I hope some progress has been made and things will be sorted soon

Hi Purple, thank you for checking in. I have an appointment tomorrow with a gynaecologist and I also received a letter in the post saying my PAP smear was negative for HPV so they're not looking at the cells (how ridiculous is that seeing as the nurse actually saw a growth?!).
So until tomorrow i don't know anything other than I'm HPV which is nice but also seems strange to me 🙄

@lovelilies oh that’s such a surprise! I remember the nurse who did my smear saying it’s only very recently that they’ve changed to first check for HPV, and only look for abnormalities if you’re HPV positive - they used to do it the other way around. Fingers crossed it’s a good sign in your case. They actually told me that if my HPV comes back negative when I go for my next appointment, it’s very unlikely I’ll ever have abnormal cells again, they said it is directly related to HPV and length of infection.

I hope tomorrow brings you more clarity

How did it go OP ? x