Referral to Gynae - Inflammed Cervix, Scar Tissue, Unusual Bleeding

[Theonlyoneiknow]

Hi All,

(posted in Women's Health but hoping for a bit more traffic here) :)

Sorry in advance for the long post..... just wondering if anyone had any words of wisdom or had been in a similar position before. I am nearly 50 so in that perimenopausal phase. Two DCs at primary school.

Cycles were getting longer and longer - up to 3 months apart when I suddenly had 2 cycles 14 days apart, and also some spotting on random days. Called GP for phone appointment and she saw me following day for examination. She said that she could see an area of inflammation and scar tissue (?) on my cervix, and that with the unusual bleeding patterns would refer me to gynae. Other points to note are I also have lichen schlerosus (which means I haven't been able to have intercourse for a very long time), and also urine urgency/incontinence when I run (I run an hour a day, this probably doesn't help my bladder/pelvic floor). My last smear was a year ago and clear. I asked GP if she thought it could be cancer and she said although it didn't look like cancer on my cervix, she couldn't say it definitely wasn't.

Anyway, I have of course now convinced myself it is something sinister.... she said it would be a 3 week wait for my appt due to covid delays - and has referred me for an ultrasound and a gynae appointment. I also had kidney, liver, full blood count and CA-125 blood tests done last week (results were "satisfactory").

I asked the GP about the clear smear and she said that the nurse would only have been focusing on getting the cell sample she needed rather than checking the health of the whole cervix so might have missed the inflammation/scar tissue (if it was there a year ago) - my cervix was very "hidden" she said!

The GP was very good though I felt and did give me a good internal exam (which is tricky due to the LS), said she couldn't feel any lumps but I had a very "extremely" tilted uterus.

Would love to hear if anyone has been through similar, thanks! I am of course now expecting the worst based on my symptoms!

Bump, anyone? Would be so grateful for any comments

Turns out my area don't do a 2-week referral and my appt is in 6 weeks time, can anyone help stop me totally panicking/freaking out :(

Hi there

So sorry you’re feeling so anxious. Please try not to worry. A clear smear is extremely reassuring, it’s incredibly rare to have cervical cancer when you’re up to date with your smears. Cervical cancer is quite easy to spot, I was told by a gynae specialist that it’s hard to mistake for anything else, so your GP saying it didn’t look like cancer is very positive. The nurse is likely to have noticed anything sinister when your smear was performed, whatever your GP says, and would’ve alerted you or the surgery if she thought for a second you might have something malignant down there.

I was also told I had ‘inflammation’ and a red patch on my cervix that bled easily, my GP (useless) said it couldn’t be ectropion because it didn’t have a ‘pouting’ appearance like a pair of red lips. I went for a colposcopy and was told immediately that it was ectropion by the specialist, who cauterised it for me there and then. It was the reason for my spotting, as ectropion is internal cervical cells growing on the outside of the cervix, so they are very sensitive and bleed easily. It’s very common and usually comes about due to hormonal changes (pregnancy, pill, natural ones like peri).

Another common inflammation of the cervix is a nabothian cyst, which can look like a clear or cream blister kind of thing, but depending on what stage it’s at, can also look red/inflamed and bleed. The ‘scar tissue’ your GP saw could be a healing/odd looking nabothian cyst.

Please try not to worry. Cervical cancer is way below the other possibilities considering you had a clear smear. And if by the tiniest chance you do have abnormal cells, it’s incredibly slow growing and takes many years to become fully fledged cancer.

Hugs to you and please do update when you know, I’ll be looking out for your reply x

What do you mean your area don't do a 2ww referral? Are you in England?

Thank you so much @DasAlteLeid that is reassuring and I am very grateful for your detailed reply. My appt is early March but I have asked to go on their cancellation list. I got my pelvis ultrasound today and it was "normal" (wasn't an internal scan)

My area of Scotland don't do a 2ww referral, "urgent" is within 6 weeks I believe (might be wrong).

I’d try not to worry, nothing is going to change much in 6 weeks.

@Theonlyoneiknow

Thank you so much *@DasAlteLeid* that is reassuring and I am very grateful for your detailed reply. My appt is early March but I have asked to go on their cancellation list. I got my pelvis ultrasound today and it was "normal" (wasn't an internal scan)

My area of Scotland don't do a 2ww referral, "urgent" is within 6 weeks I believe (might be wrong).

That’s reassuring about the pelvic ultrasound too @Theonlyoneiknow. It doesn’t sound like much would be pointing to cervical cancer here, clear smear, clear ultrasound, clear bloods. Try not to jump to the worst conclusions when nothing is indicating cancer. Your cervix is skin like any other on your body (well, it’s like the inside of your mouth actually, so very sensitive and easily aggravated!), you wouldn’t immediately think cancer if you shadow an ulcer or sore red patch in your mouth would you? This is also straight from my specialist’s mouth, so it’s not just me saying a load of rubbish, someone with decades of experience and training actually said these things to me a few months ago!

I really do understand though, I’ve had a few health worries over the past year (and suffer from crippling health anxiety!), so I know it’s hard to let go and relax while you wait for your appointment. Try to do some meditative breathing, get outside in to nature for a nice mindful walk every day and get a good book, series or podcast on the go to keep your mind occupied at those worrying moments xx

*If you saw and ulcer or sore red patch obviously!

*AN ulcer dammit 🙃

You are absolutely right DasAltLeid - there are always certain parts of our bodies where I jump to the Worst Case Scenario and start planning my own funeral due to health anxiety (not quite but you know what I mean). I also have lichen schlerosus but this wouldn't be connected internally, however it does make internal examinations somewhere difficult. I am actually delaying booking a summer holiday in case I get bad news, which I know isn't normal behaviour!

Thank you so much for calming me down with your wise words. I really appreciate it.

@Theonlyoneiknow have you had your appointment yet OP? Hope you’re ok x

Any update ? Xx