abnormal pap smear?

Question

have any ladies or your close friends or relatives ever had an abnormal pap smear. my friend from work just found out hers was abnormal...and something about the possibility of it being cervical cancer. has anyone had this case also? i've heard others say it's quite common to have an abnormal pap but she doesn't believe me.

Answer 1

I've had an abnormal pap - it's very common. Usually they retest after a couple of months and possibly look for a vaginal infection which can skew the results. If the second test is still abnormal, they'll do a biopsy. Something like 90% of the time the second test is normal. Your friend shouldn't panic - just follow her doctor's advice.

Answer 2

Tell your friend that it is not uncommon to have an abnormal pap smear. Some are that way because the practitioner failed to get the necessary cells from the cervix. In this case it will come back abnormal and will need to be repeated. This is the most common cause of abnormals. Of course, they could have found an number of other problems that would make it abnormal. So tell her not to worry yet.
Hope everything comes out well!

Answer 3

It is common to have an abornaml pap. They will monitor her closely and give her paps every 3, or 4 months. If they continue to come back abnormal they might do a biopsy to see how bad it is. Most of the time it is a bacterial infection that will clear up on its own within a year. However, with mine the bacteria was growing at a fast rate and I had to get a LEEP procedure where they scrape the affected cells off the cervix. Now everything is fine. In my case it is not very common. Tell your friend to calm down and to ask her gyno any questions.

Answer 4

I have had an abnormal pap smear. They took a biopsy (cut a little piece out of my cervix), sent it to the lab to investigate if there were cancerous cells, and then sent it back. Turns out I didn't have cervical cancer but it's better to be safe then sorry. There are ALOT of things that can cause an abnormal pap smear so your friend doesn't need to worry.

Answer 5

I've had several abnormal pap smears and it's really no big deal you just have to go back and have another one. Many things can cause them, and a very small portion of abnormal paps are cervical cancer.

Answer 6

There are different types of abnormal pap smears. Some are very common, some are more severe. Your friend needs to know exactly what the finding was to know what it means.

Answer 7

I've had a couple in my lifetime. There are many things that can cause and abnormal pap, including stress. For me, it's only been a fluke. There's never been anything wrong.

Answer 8

How old is she? If she is in her 30's+, then she should feel OK about this, IF she's had her pap smears AT LEAST every 2 years. (It should be every year.) She's gonna be just fine.

Best of luck to your friend. :)

Answer 9

I have had one. They had to do a procedure called a colposcopy. It was not painfull. It's just them taking a tissue sample for tests.

Anything can cause it to be abnormal, from a 'dirty'sample or error on the lab's part. Tell her to not stress over it!

Answer 10

there is. i've had 2. but it was because both times, I had unprotected sex with my bf the night before my appointment (i'm on the pill). that's why it came out abnormal, the doctor and my mom said. i do have hpv, which is why it was abnormal also (from having unprotected sex, that's how most people get HPV) and that is why i have gotten Gardasil. ONE LESS ONE LESS