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Help with weird smear result

7 replies

fi123 · 12/10/2010 13:15

Well I am worried and basically after years of having normal results etc, this new result is borderline and HPV positive! My first husband left me and I remarried in 2008, both of us faithful so this is a shock. I had a baby 2009.
I have a copolscopy booked on 12th Nov and I know a borderline isnt doom and gloom but the HPV affect on my cervix is? Will it ever go? ANy advice, I am trying not to work myself up to being the next Jade goody but with my 2 young children I am so worried.:(

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fi123 · 12/10/2010 13:28

ps: SHould I use condoms with my husband? He has a vasectomy but am so worried i dont think I will ever want to do it again! :( I dont want to overreact but so desperately need some news on this hPV thing, if anyone else has it etc? x Sorry to be a pain

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lurcherlover · 12/10/2010 15:35

Don't panic. HPV is very common - the majority of sexually active people have it. There are lots of different strains and not all are linked to cancer. In most people it comes and goes - your immune system will probably fight it off at some point. You could have had it for years so it doesn't indicate anyone's been unfaithful - your first husband or an old boyfriend could have passed it on a long time ago, or your new husband could have given it to you (assuming he wasn't a virgin when you met) and it's only shown up now. Someone medical might say different, but I can't see the point of using condoms as you've already had unprotected sex so the virus is there. A borderline smear is NOT cancer. It's not even pre-cancer - it's cells that at some point in the future may or may not turn cancerous. Chances are they wouldn't, but the colposcopy will make sure by removing them if necessary. Please try not to worry - I have been in this situation and know how scary it is, but I felt so much better after my colposcopy and have had no problems since. You will be fine.

fi123 · 12/10/2010 15:54

Thanks I know its good they are doing something but i guess its the hPV that panics me as also maybe I may have had it before but as i had normal tests they didnt test for it? But has this hpV caused these abnormal cells? I think really its the hPV that causes cancer that worries me. I know all you are saying is true its just a worry for sure. Who knows how or from whom I got the hpv, I havent even had many partners, was married for 10 years before this husband. I cant dwell on that, I guess its the stigma people attach to it. But my concern is will the hpv ever go or will it just keep giving me abnormal cells? Have to wait a month now until hospital appt...

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rabbitstew · 12/10/2010 17:24

My layperson's understanding is as follows...

Most peoples' immune systems eventually clear the virus by themselves, so that they eventually do not test positive for HPV.

Some people do find the virus persists - not necessarily active, but remaining dormant, having the potential at any time to cause an abnormality (like many viruses do - eg the chickenpox virus is never cleared from the body, but lies dormant for the rest of its host's life, with the potential to cause shingles at some point, but in most people just remaining dormant...). Of those people, some will never actually need any treatment, as no permanent cell abnormality ever arises. Some will get abnormal cell changes, and some of those with untreated abnormal cells will go on to develop cervical cancer and some of those who do not get treated will just have an area of abnormal cells which never actually causes them any relevant health issues whatsoever. Of those who get treatment for abnormal cells, the majority will only ever need one treatment and will never have the problem again - possibly the treatment helping the immune system clear the virus once and for all. Only a small minority of people find they get recurrent problems (well over 90% of people treated only need one treatment).

So, in other words, you are obviously at this moment in time at greater risk of getting cervical cancer than someone without high risk HPV, but this is miles off you being guaranteed to get cancer or even any lasting abnormality in your cervical cells. And using condoms is unlikely to be a huge help, as it is likely you and your dh have already passed all your hpv strains between you - getting another dose of the same thing won't really make a difference, as your immune system can either deal with it, or it can't. And condoms do not, in any event, protect you very efficiently from HPV infection, as this virus is passed on by skin-to-skin contact, rather than by contact with semen, and a condom cannot cover every possible area of infected skin. ie "safe" sex is never totally safe.

So, in other words, it is a horrible shock to find out you have a virus that can cause cancer (I know, as I've tested positive for high risk HPV in the past, too...), but it is not a death sentence!!!!! And looking at it from another perspective, you've probably got all sorts of viruses in your body that are implicated in all sorts of cancers, but it's highly unlikely you'll end up with cancer as a result of any of the other viruses, either. Sometimes, knowledge is just unnecessarily frightening!

fi123 · 12/10/2010 18:26

I agree and thanks for the info, i do feel better and know i overreacted just needed to hear from someone else who has had it, so i may test negative for this hpv, will they test for this in subsequent smears? Even thought they hopefully may be no abnormailities? Be nice to know I also tested negative for the hpv in the future. So many questions....fi xx

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BelaLugosiNoir · 12/10/2010 20:43

Hi fi
Did you get given an information leaflet about HPV testing when you when for your screening test?
Rabbitstew is spot on - all of us at some point will have been infected at some point with HPV. Many women will clear the infection within about 18 months but if you had a smear test in that 18 months then us in the screening lab would see some changes in the cells and call it abnormal.
At present there aren't any tests for general use which we can use to tell whether your body is getting rid of the HPV or not. Follow-up cytology is really a surrogate test for seeing whether the changes caused by HPV have disappeared.
Instead the colposcopist uses a special microscope with a speculum to get a really good look at your cervix and see what's going on.
They'll be able to tell you whether they want to do a biopsy and treatment, (as your result was borderline they may just have a look) and they should be able to tell whether you'll have further HPV testing on follow up.
My lab isn't doing the HPV testing yet (it's still in pilot phase) so here are some links to the NHS screening programme website's info about HPV testing:
HPV testing
General HPV
The ARTISTIC trial linked to on the second set is one that's showed that the majority of women testing have had HPV.
Looking at the flowchart (see the first link), what your follow up will be depends on the colposcopy assessment.

Please try not to worry (easy for me to say!) :)

fi123 · 13/10/2010 08:22

thanks so much for all this, I know \i am a pain. Yes I will now read all this as i guess its the stigma attached to HPV and yes they may have caught me when i was active with it. I know I cant sit amnd worry for a month but best to be armed with all the knowledge, so this doesnt mean that the hPV will keep fighting the cervix then? Hopefully I may become immune and have a normal marriage without condoms etc? sO this wont rear again and attack it again? I will have so many questions for them when i go and i havbe to be realistic, just was quite a shock really.
Fi xxx

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