Cervical Cancer

[darly]

how do you know if you have cervical cancer? can you only tell by getting a pap smear?

[Brandye]

Unless you wait until it is too late to do anything about it! Get the smear!

[Beckeh]

Hmm, I'm very curious about the HPV shots, but can't find anything about it. If anyone could help me, that would be great. I'm 17 years old and still a virgin (yes, sexually active, but no full sex yet), and I live in the UK. Does anyone know what my options are, and how to go about them?

[Brandye]

You are a prime candidtate for the Gardasil injections. There are three. I highly recommend them for all women who are in the targget group - you are.

Do a search on Gardasil or HPV vaccination.

[Beckeh]

Thanks =]

I can't find definitive information on where or how I'd get it, though. But I guess I'm just gonna go the whole hog, and contact my GP to see what they have to say. I am very interested in getting this, so we shall see.

[Brandye]

That is THE place to start. Community health clinics, women's health clinics, universsity clinics. Just get it done.

[Beckeh]

Okay, thank you once again =] I will do.

[Drusilla]

I've read through the whole thread and unless I've missed it, no one has mentioned one very important fact.

Someone did mention the concern that some girls will believe they are "protected" against all the other std's out there because they have gotten the vaccine. What about the girls who believe they are 100% safe from cervical cancer because they got the hpv vaccine. We need to remember that this is not a vaccine for cervical cancer. The vaccine is for HPV. Two very different things.

Having the vaccine and being immune to HPV, does NOT mean you are immune to cervical cancer!

There are many types of cervical cancer and not all of them are caused by HPV. I have friends who told me that they don't need to get their pap anymore because they can't get cervical cancer. Silly me assumed they must have had a hysterectomy or something...but no, they had had the vaccine and therefore believed they were protected from cervical cancer. That's simply not true.

Another misconception surrounds the list of risk factors. You might be positive for every single risk factor and not get it. BUT, it's just as possible that you can answer no to all of the risk factors and still end up with Cervical Cancer. Risk factors are just sort of a guide that help ppl know what kinds of things may make them more likely to get it. It's not a checklist of causes. You are not safe simply because none of the risk factors applies to you.

When the commercials for the vaccine came out, one of them even made the statement that "all forms of cervical cancer are caused by HVP". That was so wrong and I'm glad that one seems to be off the air.

Everyone needs to remember that the vaccine is great and it will help to protect you. Staying away from the risk factors will also protect you. Of course, that will also protect you from a myriad of sexually related problems. But your biggest protection is early discovery.

If you start having symptoms (pain or achiness in the lower abdomin...can be very slight, bleeding during/after incourse, spotting when it is not close to your period, etc...) please see your GYN asap.

Bleeding from sex isn't usually normal. Well, aside from the first time, that is) Of course there are many possible reasons for bleeding like size issues, tears, rough play, etc... But if you are with a familiar partner and you've never bled before and then you suddenly do with no apparent reason for it. Don't mess around...just go get it checked out.

Pap smears and annual exams are still the best weapon we have against cervical cancer.
Caught early, in most cases cervical cancer can be very treatable. If it is caught too late, you will die from it.

[Brandye]

You are correct in the annual exam and PAP smear being the best defense against cervical cancer. There are four forms of HPV that are statistically linked to later cervical cancer at a high level of confidence. Gardasil protects against those four strains and is a good protection against much cervical cancer.

You still need the annual PAP at whatever the target age in your particular health care system. I cheat and perform them younger than the limits in the UK NHS.

[Drusilla]

I cheat and perform them younger than the limits in the UK NHS.

Brandye, that is awesome that you do that!

Granted, I was definitely at a normal age to be getting paps at the time so that wasn't an issue. But my gyn actually told me that I couldn't have cancer because I was simply too young and didn't have any of the risk factors.

The only reason I was finally diagnosed is because I pushed her to really look. I had just recently had a pap when the pain and bleeding went from severe to unbearable. I had had both for 3 years before anyone took me seriously! After my son was born, I never quit bleeding....it was like menstrual spotting but it was constant. And I had mild abdominal pain (that progressible got worse to the point I needed pain meds) that was aggravated by sex. My gyn diagnosed my symptoms as psychosomatic. How the heck could bleeding be in my head?!? The truth was that she just didn't believe me and I was too naive/trusting to know to find a new doctor.

She had been great when I was having my son. I had some complications and she actually spent much of the night sitting on the edge of my bed watching the monitor. So I liked & trusted her....

But she wouldn't take my symptoms seriously after my son was born.

The pain got so bad that I actually considered taking my life because I simply couldn't stand it anymore. My doc accused me of drug seeking and told me I was fine. She said I should be enjoying my son instead of complaining about pain all the time. Huh?!?

I had 3 clean paps during this time, btw. But when it all got so bad that I was doubled over and crying & I finally showed signs of the bleeding when I saw her (somehow, symptoms have a way of clearing up just when it's time to see the doc...lol) , she agreed to do another pap (she used a different kind of test the last time) and that one came back suspicious. Each new procedure/test that was done showed more bad cells until I was finally diagnosed.

I can't help but think if she had done that pap with the new test (the name is on the tip of my tongue...) earlier that my cancer might not have been invasive when it was finally caught. I had been begging for 3 years for someone to do something...going back and forth between her and my gp.

I was lucky that they were able to successfully treat me. My gyn started out saying she could treat me herself but I insisted on a gyn oncologist. My gyn told me after the fact that I had been correct on that. I went to a very good doctor for treatment and I'm cancer free now. However I've been plagued by chronic pain since then. RSD/CRPS and adhesions is the official diagnoses. Probably caused by numerous abdominal surgeries, including the radical hysterectomy. I'm on pain meds now and probably will be for life unless someone can cure it which isn't possible now. I'm hopeful something will come up in the future that will help, though.

Yikes....my point when I started this babbling was just to say that I was told by 2 doctors not to worry because I was too young (28) for cervical cancer and none of the risk factors applied to me...including testing negative for hpv. I had been tested a couple of times previously and also by my gyn when we were looking for answers to begin with.

Obviously, I wasn't too young and it is possible to get cervical cancer without the risk factors applying since I received a radical hysterectomy for my 29th birthday. Not exactly the gift I asked for....