I feel a bit scared - cervical cancer

[SleepFreeZone]

I know I'm being ridiculous but I'm starting to scare myself. I've had a bad smear in the past that I think was CIN1. Had cauterisation and all was well.

My last smear was about three years ago now. It was fine but because they now test for the strain of HPV and my strain was one of the cancerous ones, they sent me to the hospital to have a colposcopy - all was fine and they said to come back after three years.

Since that appnt I've had two pregnancies, one leading to a baby. I started getting nagging letters about another smear really soon after the hospital appnt that told me to come back in three years time, so I have been ignoring them.

Last week midcycle we had sex and I had a big bleed. We are TTC and it was the third consecutive night of induppose, quite vigorous sex 😬 So I put it down to a small tear or something. But since that bleed I've had low level cramping pretty much every day which is just weird and not like me. Obviously I've now convinced myself I have cancer!

So not to drip feed I do have a fibroid that I've had for at least six years and it's never caused me discomfort and hasn't changed size in that time. I also had a TFMR in September at 17 weeks that involved my cervix being dilated, but I haven't had any bad symptoms since. My body seemed to bounce back really well.

I'm obviously going to book a smear next week but ARGH, does this sound bad?

(I'm 42 btw so age could also be a factor).

It's impossible to tell, but next week is the day after tomorrow. Maybe you could get an emergency appointment on Monday? ("Emergency" as in testing it quickly, so you get the answer quickly and don't have to fret about it over Christmas.)

Hi
I suggest you book to see your GP rather than a smear test because you've had post coital bleeding. Smears are screening tests not for investigating symptoms. The GP would usually do a visual exam of your cervix (and may do a smear if you're due), and may refer you for colposcopy for a check up.
The bleeding could be due to a combination of an ectropian (the part of the cervix where the "skin" is really thin and TTC but it would be sensible to get a GP appointment sorted out to make sure you're ok.

Hi hevonbu
See my reply - smear tests are not really appropriate when you have symptoms. The usual investigations for vaginal bleeding are: visual inspection of the cervix, swabs to rule out infection and colposcopy/gynaecology as appropriate.
Most cervical screening labs are short staffed due to people leaving with the roll out of primary HPV testing - I'm afraid it's unlikely most labs would be able to turn a test around that quickly. The testing process takes longer than microbiology or blood tests, as each sample is screened by at least two people.

I had bleeding after sex, and it brought on a period each time. Was refused a smear test so pushed for one. Second doctor actually took a look and I had a cervical polyp which I then had removed at the hospital. Wasn't anything naughty in the end but it scared me a lot !

I know I had a little lump on my cervix when I checked it with my fingers a few months back. I guess that might have been a polyp that burst as it's not there now. I'm
Nervous to have sex again to be honest as I don't want to see blood and get worried.