Should I take action? Pap test results showed higher than normal precancer cells, so it was thought to be HPV?

Question

At each ob/gyn visit I assured the doctors that I had never had intercourse, yet they proceeded to perform 2 cryo cotorizations and were going to perform laser surgery when I asked if my treatment would be different if I did or didn't have HPV. My doctor said that if I didn't have HPV then I would just have to have paps 2-3 times a year to keep an eye on the cell levels. I told her again that I had never had sex (hard for her to believe since I am 23 and engaged). They ran the HPV test and it came back negative. I have spent months worrying about my health and future child-bearing, not to mention the pain of the procedures and their cost.What shoud I do now? I am unhappy with the way they handeled my situation, and no one else should have to go through this. How can I stop it from happening again?

Answer 1

Sorry to hear but simply see a different doctor for a second opinion.

You should not wait as you are risking your childbearing capabilities as well as you health. Ask a different doctor, explain the situation and the circumstances to the new doc and see what he/she says. See if he or she agrees with the other doctors prognosis and treatment.

There are options but the longer you wait the less the become. Besides, if your present doctor doesn't believe you when you say you haven't had sex, why should you trust them if they do not trust you. It's not like it ultimately matters to him/her if you have had sex or not.

Answer 2

Even if you dont have HPV, you DO have precancerous cells. I have been through this situation before, personally, and I am also a nurse. I can tell you, that your options are/were to keep watch on the cells and every 3 months have a paap test. Sometimes the body is able to recover on its own and grow normal cells again. Sometimes not. Basically, by having the cryo cautery, you skipped the paap tests every 3 months for probably a year. If your body did not heal itself in that year span, then you would have needed the cryo anyway. Cryo surgery should not affect your future child bearing. It may cause scarring on the cervix, which can be fixed, but it doesn't cause sterility. I really dont think you would have treated this any differently regardless if you had HPV or not. Precancer cells are nothing to mess with. HPV or otherwise. Be glad you treated it, and move on. Get a new MD if you no longer trust them. Good luck

Answer 3

Ok here is the deal, first calm down. 2nd (just to make you feel better) 80% of women will have this at some point in their life. Abnormal cells are caused by an STD called HPV (human papilloma virus.) This does not mean that your partner has been cheating on you or anything, this is one of a few very vague STD's. It can be caused by bacteria on the head of a mans penis or HPV living on his hand and touching your genitals or it can lay dormant for years. Most women do not have any outward signs of having HPV before they get an abnormal pap smear, but some do. HPV is also the STD that causes genital warts. There are over 100 different strains of the virus, 2 cause cervical cancer and 2 cause warts. Now, the abnormal cells are caused by the HPV. Anytime you have abnormal cells they need to be biopsied to make sure that they are not cancerous or precancerous a VAST majority of the time they are low-grade cells which is not bad. The biopsy (I am assuming what you are going in for on Monday?) is called a colposcopy. When you have a colposcopy they will swab your cervix with vinegar. The vinegar will illuminate any abnormal cells so that your doctor will be able to see them, sometimes they are visible, sometimes they are not. If your doctor see's a "cluster" of abnormal cells they will biopsy it and that is basically them clipping them off with an instrument. With you being pregnant it is likely that they will not do this part though. After that they will take a little wire brush, it looks like a long mascara wand, and put it in the opening of your cervix and take a scrapping of your cells on your cervix. The "wire brush" part is a bit uncomfortable, but not much worse than a normal pap smear. The whole procedure takes only a few minutes longer than a pap smear. Your doctor will send off the biopsies from the colposcopy and it will tell you, with out a doubt, what grade of cells it is. There is low grade, medium grade, high grade (precancerous) and cancer. Like I said a majority of the time abnormal cells are low grade. 95% of low grade cells will clear on their own with in 18 months and even if you were not pregnant you would likely just take a watch and wait stance. Especially being pregnant and about to have a baby, chances are at your 6 week postpartum check up, the cells will be gone because of the trauma done to your cervix during childbirth. Even with medium and high grade (and cancer) you would have no choice but to take a watch and wait stance for now, but it is highly unlikely that in 6 months you went from normal to high grade or cancer. Don't be scared, almost EVERY woman goes through this at some point of another. *EDIT* The gardasil vaccination only protects against 4 strands of HPV and there are over 100. So you may not have one of those 4 strands, but you do have a strand. Plus, no vaccination is 100% effective.

Answer 4

Whether or not you have HPV, you obviously had abnormal cells, and while it is thought HPV is responsible for more than 90% of cervical cancers, that still leaves under 10% of cancers where the woman doesn't have HPV.
There are other risk factors for cervical cancer also - things like a weakened auto-immune system, if your mother took stilbestrol during her pregnancy, etc.

Personally I would prefer to be treated with whatever necessary - precancer cells are 100% treatable - cancers are not always successfully treated, depending on the staging. Currently I think rates are running around 72% survival at 5 years....

Answer 5

Sorry but Ladies issues are not for me but I can say that Doctors often do things which to us (laymen) seem strange / not necessary / unduly embarrassing or just not seemingly fitting the symptoms. BUT YOU SHOULD LISTEN TO THEM. They don't do things for fun, they are trying to cure the patient or treat the symptoms. Yes they should listen but they have to make a judgement call on the day using available facts.
I had to go to hospital last October: I had food poisoning (gastro-enteritis). They did some treatment for that, mainly a fluid drip but they did other tests to me none related. Seems that they thought I something more serious wrong which was not helping to avoid the food poisoning. They found it .. a form of Leukaemia. Now they are looking to save my life or at least prolong it. So you never know do you .. If they had not done tests then I'd probably be on my last legs by now .. Thanks to them I'm not, at least not yet!!
Of course if you don't like the treatment or you don't think its appropriate then you have a right to seek a second opinion.
I hope that you get well soon

Answer 6

Something's missing from your story. How is that 2 cauterizations were done without a diagnosis of HPV? Something transpired that you're not telling us because your story just isn't adding up. Is there anything you're forgetting?

Answer 7

You don't have to have HPV to have abnormal cells and you don't have to had sex to get them. HPV can cause abnormal cells, but it is not always the case, it could aswell be hormonal.

Answer 8

Ask for a second opinion

Answer 9

why are u mad at them? they are trying to help you!