Firstly I've read a lot of people's experiences and journeys on here, not only are they inspirational but they have reduced my fears a little bit and made me a bit more optimistic, so firstly thank you.
I have my first smear in just over a week and I'm quite nervous. I have had a few symptoms which relate to cervical cancer but not all of them. Now I'm quite scared something is going to show up. I also think my body has been playing tricks on me as since reading online I now think everything is a symptom
Has anyone else had this experience and what happens if they do discover something abnormal in the smear
Hi and welcome - you’ve come to the right site asking for advice. I agree that reading things off the internet can cause a lot of worrying, as there are lots of misinformation, fake news and myths on there. It‘s wise not to diagnose your symptoms, as there are other things that may be causing similar symptoms similar to CC (cervix cancer). It’s best to consult your doctor or nurse for information and advice.
Try not to worry about having a smear. The nurses are very experienced and will understand its your first one. It only takes a couple of minutes and smears nowadays are much more accurate, with the introduction of HPV testing. Furthermore, if you’ve had the HPV vaccine, it’s unlikely they’ll find anything. But if you haven’t, doesn’t mean they’ll find something. If something is found, it would probably be borderline changes, which has a high probability of reverting to normal within 6 months. In this case, they’ll keep a closer eye on you and probably recall you for amother smear in 6 month time.
Hi i feel exactly the same!! I have been putting mine off for a good while now purely as i have major anxiety over getting the results. When i first recieved my first smear test letter my now husband had literally days before had been diagnosed with bowel cancer so now I constantly think something majorly wrong when most the time there isn’t. (Hubby is fine now and been signed off from the marsden)
I really shouldn’t but have been googling loads since going to doc with my symptoms and going friday for an internal exam.
my symptoms are long periods (fairly heavy) when i say long they can last 4-6wks
