Hi Everyone,
I had my first ever smear (I’m 25) 2 weeks ago. I got the results on Wednesday to say I have severe dyskariosis and I have a colposcopy and LLETZ booked in for Thursday morning. I am absolutely petrified. I have two young children and don’t want anymore, I’m not concerned about fertility because I just want whatever this is, gone. I’m so scared of the C Word.
My question is:
When I have the colposcopy, will they know just by looking if it’s cancerous or not? I read some threads where the specialist has looked at the cervix and said ‘I’m really concerned about this area, it looks cancerous’ or have said ‘okay well good news is that none of it looks like cancer but it is abnormal so we are going to remove it’.
Is this standard? To tell you stuff like this on the day? What were your experiences?
I have anxiety disorder and I am a survivor of multiple rape - this is a pretty big deal for me to go and trust someone with my body. I’m anxious that I’ll get there, they’ll look at it, do the procedure, send the tissue off and they won’t say anything to me and then I’ll have to wait for another god awful letter to tell me if its cancer or not.
Hi :)
wow sounds like like you've been through a hell of lot so sorry to hear. Don't be anxious, you have a consultation first so you can ask all the questions you like. when I went for mine I was really anxious too and I didn't even have it confirmed before hand I was having the treatment so I didn't really know what was going to happen. I told the nurse I was anxious and if she could talk through exactly what they were going to do, it put my mind at ease. It was uncomfortable and never nice to be in such a vulnerable position and I can imagine it will be hard for you but it didn't hurt at all and only took about 10 minutes.
with me they didn't confirm cancer or not that's what's the biopsy is for but he did confirm he was concerned about the amount of cells etc. To be honest some things still confuse me as people seem to experience different processes, I was told up to 6 week wait for results by letter but I know some people get different time frames or method of contact. Hope it all goes well for you and try not to worry xx
Hi Taularasa,
Sorry you're going through this, it isn't nice on any level.
i went for a colposcopy yesterday and although she originally planned just to do a biopsy, after having a look she decided to do a LLETZ. she said that my smear hadn't shown evidence of cancer and she implied that it was all just the pre-cancerous CIN2 that she was taking away. The sample has been sent away to be checked now so should now for sure in a couple of weeks.
The doctor and nurse were both really nice and seemed pleased I was asking questions and we're happy for me to take my time (the doctor even showed me the areas of my cervix on the TV to explain which bits were healthy and what she was treating). It's never going to be physically pleasant but they made it as good as it could be.
i too have been through sexual assault and got quite worried in advance I wouldn't be able to cope with the invasiveness of it so a wrote a little note to explain why I was scared (because I can't say outloud what happened to me) that I could hand to them if I needed to. I didn't feel the need to give it to them but it put my mind at rest to know that I could use it if I neede to, though I don't think you really need to give a reason for being scared, it's scary in the best of circumstances.
These things rarely do turn out to be cancer, but if it is, you're doing everything you can to help yourself and will get the treatment you need. There's nothing more you can do right now except look after yourself and do what the doctors say. If you hadn't been for your smear any abnormal cells wouldn't have been picked up and in ten years time you might have developed cancer, this way hopefully your bravery has saved you the heartache.
My biggest bit of advice would be to take someone with you if you can or at least have someone who can look after you (and the kids!) afterwards. I went on my own then went back to work on the bus, then because I live alone had no one around to talk to afterwards. I've been a bit teary on and off and I know it'll all pass but could really do with a hug. be good to yourself.
Good luck on Thurstay, fingers crossed.
