OT Abnormal Pap Smear!!

[Guest guest]

Hi I recieved a call from my doctor today saying that my pap smear I

had done about a week ago was abnormal and that it had cellular

changes (not sure what that means) She said that I need to have a

colposcopy and a biopsy of my uterus done. My appt for that isnt

until aug 29th. I am soooo scared. I was wondering if anyone has had

this done and could share with me what goes on and if its painful and

what the end result was. I am so scared! I dont have any idea about

any of this. I dont know if this means I could have cancer or what.

Please any one with any ideas please let me know. If you feel more

comfortable emailing me my address is Christiz75@...

Thanks

Christi mom to MYA

[Guest guest]

Hi Christi,

I know you must be worried. My mom had an abnormal pap several years ago, and I did a little reading at that time on it. It turns out that an abnormal pap is pretty common, and most often it's nothing. If they are waiting until Aug. 29th for your colposcopy, I'd say they're probably not worried about it being cancer (otherwise they should get you in right away). I know some results can be an indicator of "pre-cancerous" conditions. But these can be treated (they remove these cells) and prevent cancer from developing. Perhaps you could get more information from the doctor's office on exactly what the results mean? I bet that would reassure you and make it easier to get through to your appointment on the 29th. I'm sure you'll get a response from someone with more knowledge in this area... but I do know how stressful the waiting can be. My mom had to wait 3 months to get a follow up pap, and she (and I) were both really worried. Good luck and keep us posted!

Kia

-----Original Message-----From: CMZ1242 [mailto:christiz75@...]Sent: Monday, August 05, 2002 6:11 PMPlagiocephaly Subject: OT Abnormal Pap Smear!!Hi I recieved a call from my doctor today saying that my pap smear I had done about a week ago was abnormal and that it had cellular changes (not sure what that means) She said that I need to have a colposcopy and a biopsy of my uterus done. My appt for that isnt until aug 29th. I am soooo scared. I was wondering if anyone has had this done and could share with me what goes on and if its painful and what the end result was. I am so scared! I dont have any idea about any of this. I dont know if this means I could have cancer or what. Please any one with any ideas please let me know. If you feel more comfortable emailing me my address is Christiz75@...ThanksChristi mom to MYAFor more plagio info

[Guest guest]

Christi,

I can only imagine how scared you must be! Is this the forst result

you had come back as abnormal? Is your doctor going to do another

pap in the meantime to see if that one comes back normal or

abnormal? Just because you had an abnormal pap does not necessarily

mean that you have cancer. Two years ago my mom had 2 paps come back

abnormal. She also had a colposcopy and biopsy done. She said it

wasn't too bad, and it didn't last too long. Unfortunately hers came

back as precancerous cells, and had to have the cryosurgery done,

where they freeze the cells and scrape them out. And when those

cells were examined, it turned out that she was fine and cancer

free. She did feel a bit crampy for the remainder of the day, but

other than that she was fine.

My MIL also had the colposcopy and biopsy done last year because of

an abnormal pap. Other than being crampy, she was fine. And she

really was fine, her tests showed that everything was ok with her.

So I really think that abnormal paps might be a bit more common than

we think, and they don't always carry bad news with them.

Hang in there Christi, try not to get too freaked out (easier said

than done, I know!)

You'll be in my thoughts!!

Niki

Kaylie & Danny (STAR grads)

Phila., PA

> Hi I recieved a call from my doctor today saying that my pap smear

I

> had done about a week ago was abnormal and that it had cellular

> changes (not sure what that means) She said that I need to have a

> colposcopy and a biopsy of my uterus done. My appt for that isnt

> until aug 29th. I am soooo scared. I was wondering if anyone has

had

> this done and could share with me what goes on and if its painful

and

> what the end result was. I am so scared! I dont have any idea about

> any of this. I dont know if this means I could have cancer or what.

> Please any one with any ideas please let me know. If you feel more

> comfortable emailing me my address is Christiz75@a...

> Thanks

> Christi mom to MYA

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 8/5/2002 9:42:15 PM Eastern Daylight Time, kia@... writes:

I know some results can be an indicator of "pre-cancerous" conditions. But these can be treated (they remove these cells) and prevent cancer from developing.

Christi,

What Kia described also just recently happened with my best friend. She had 2 abnormal paps, and they determined that they were pre-cancerous. She went in and they scraped out all of these cells- and she is a-ok. They need to be taken out so that they don't become cancerous, and she was told this is normal procedure and she will be fine as long as she continues with her check-ups. Yours being abnormal could have been just a bad reading, or a bad sample, or something less serious altogether- try not to worry- but even if you put the "worst" case scenario together for cancer, they can remove that almost always with great results! I know its scary, but try to keep yourself sane and not run to many what if's through your head (take it from me who thought she was dying of menagitis a month ago- and it was shingles!!!) Let us know what happens, and lots of luck that its nothing anyway.

' Mom

[Guest guest]

Christi,

I've had two abnormal pap smears. I had to have a colposcopy done and while they

are not painful there is a bit of discomfort involved. Also, it caused some

bleeding for a couple of days so you'll want to take some pads with you. They

told me it could cause menstrual cramping so I was supposed to bring someone

with me to drive me home. I'm thinking, I drive with menstrual cramps all the

time - what's the difference! LOL! Lance came with me though since I needed the

moral support anyways. I was scared to death - I was so worried that it might be

cancer. What I have since discovered is that I have fibroid tumors in my uterus.

They are completely benign and I've been told that more women then you would

think walk around with fibroid tumors and dont' know it because they don't

usually cause any problems. So both times my pap smear came back abnormal it was

determined that the fibroids were the cause. I still have the fibroids but I

have been told my two different GYNs that nothing needs to be done unless they

start causing me problems (abnormally heavy periods or severe menstrual cramping

- I have neither of these).

I guess what I'm trying to say is that you should think the best until you know

for sure what the issue is. Sometimes they come back abnormal because they

simply weren't handled right. Sometimes there are benign causes for the

abnormality. If it is cancer (God forbid) at least you are catching it early

since you to for regular, yearly pap smears. Hang in there - it's going to be

okay! (I know, I know - easier said then done!)

Let us know what you find out.

Marci (Mom to )

Oklahoma

[Guest guest]

Thank you all for all of the replies! To answer your question Niki

this is the 2nd one to come back abnormal but the first one was 2

years ago and they just did a repeat pap and when that came back they

said I was fine. THis time they said it was abnormal and they didnt

say anything about a repeat pap. They just said colposcopy and

biopsy. I think I will do as you did Marci and take my husband along

for moral support. I wasnt sure if I should as him or not cause I

kind of felt like I was being a baby over this whole thing. But I

think Ill need him there if for nothing else just for support and I

think hed probably say he was going anyway even if I didnt ask.

I am still worried about it but I am feeling a lot better after

hearing from everyone who posted and emailed me. Thanks so much and I

will let you know what happens!!

Christi

> > Hi I recieved a call from my doctor today saying that my pap

smear

> I

> > had done about a week ago was abnormal and that it had cellular

> > changes (not sure what that means) She said that I need to have a

> > colposcopy and a biopsy of my uterus done. My appt for that isnt

> > until aug 29th. I am soooo scared. I was wondering if anyone has

> had

> > this done and could share with me what goes on and if its painful

> and

> > what the end result was. I am so scared! I dont have any idea

about

> > any of this. I dont know if this means I could have cancer or

what.

> > Please any one with any ideas please let me know. If you feel

more

> > comfortable emailing me my address is Christiz75@a...

> > Thanks

> > Christi mom to MYA