I was aware I had been exposed to HPV in college. I was initially very upset not understanding at the time that the majority of adults are exposed to this virus at some point in their life. I never had any ongoing problems that I was aware of due to this exposure.
About 6 years ago I had an ASCUS pap smear and was told to repeat it in 6 months at which time the doctor told me she could test for the HPV strains that cause cancer. Both my pap and my screening for high risk HPV strains were negative. All subsequent pap smears were normal and last year I was told I could wait 3 years for my next pap smear.
This leads us to how my cervical cancer was found... We were days away from starting IVF for which I was required to have had a normal pap smear within the last year. I was called because it was ASCUS and positive for high risk HPV. I was overbooked that afternoon for a colposcopy and biopsy. There was no visible cancerous growth but one small area did highlight white with the vinegar. The biopsy was not at all painful though the vinegar felt a little warm/tingly.
Two days later on Wednesday May 18th I was notified they found CIN3 which is severe dysplasia. Our next step was a referral another ObGyn to perform a LEEP (Loop Electrocautery Excisional Procedure) the next day. This doctor was a wonderful woman who was very compassionate which was important later. She did a shallow section because of her concern for my fertility (2mm deep, I was told later the norm is 6mm deep). I had read that sometimes a LEEP can be curative for a small area of CIN and many will not need further treatment aside from close monitoring. I was confident this would be my scenario based on my prior clear paps and that we would be able to go ahead with IVF as planned.
On Wednesday May 25th while driving to work after seeing my fertility doctor I was called by my new ObGyn and told to pull over. As I pulled over knowing my life was forever changed I received the news nobody ever expects. At age 34 and in the best shape of my adult life - I had cancer.
I immediately called my husband and after I could catch my breath we drove to the doctor's office to discuss the details. I had early stage 1A2 cervical cancer although the grading was somewhat questionable due to the shallow LEEP (the cancer went through the 2mm and was 7mm or larger in diameter and was multifocal). As I mentioned above, I was lucky enough to have a very caring doctor whose bad luck it was to deliver this kind of news. She gave us encouragement, printed information on my specific stage and treatment options and hugs as we left the office. She told us that despite the fact that hysterectomy was the usual treatment, she had already spoken with a specialist who did a new fertility sparing procedure called a trachelectomy and she was already working on getting us an appointment asap.
These links are the information she gave me:
Luckily all the stars aligned and we were pursuing IVF - we don't like thinking what would have happened if I had waited another 2 years for a pap smear. I have found many positives to this unfortunate situation and this is the main one I keep coming back to.
Lesson learned:
- Things happen for a reason
- Not all doctors are comfortable with the new guidelines recommending Pap smear every 3 years for patients they think are low risk - Thank goodness I had an annual smear this year!
- Don't browse too much online. Ask for good, reliable medical information like the links above. My husband cut me off which was very helpful - he would show me only the information he found that was applicable so I avoided freaking myself out unnecessarily.
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