A Woman's Nightmare

About a year ago, I went through the biggest scare of my life...of any woman's life. I had gone to get my annual gynecological check-up and my pap smear results came back "altered." They diagnosed me with LGSIL, low grade squamous intraepithilial lesions (aka mild dysplasia) which is caused by HPV (human papillomavirus). As a result of that, I had to do a colposcopy, a routine procedure perfomed when your pap smear is abnormal. During that procedure, they apply vinegar and iodine onto your cervix and look at it under a special scope. The abnormal cells change color and they collect a biopsy and send that off to the lab for further testing.

I requested the results from the biopsy prior to seeing my doctor which was a huge mistake! The results read CIN III which by the way when you google that, you get severe dysplasia or carcinoma in situ (cancer in place). I was in shock, I didn't know what to do. For a day, I thought I had cancer, I was devastated. Thankfully, when I saw my doctor she told me it wasn't. Though I had severe dysplasia and that's a serious diagnosis, it wasn't cancer. She told me that I was lucky to have caught this soon because my diagnosis could have been very different if i would've waited even 3 months. 

My next step was to remove those pre-cancerous cells through a procedure named LEEP. It's an electrical loop which removes thin layers of your cervix. They removed 4mm which isn't much (your cervix measures 4 to 5 cm). They sent me home and told me to come back every 3 month for follow-up pap smears. 

Three months later, I went and got my first pap smear after the procedure. Everything was fine...I could breathe again. 

A month ago, I went for my second pap smear and my results came back altered yet again. "Here we go again!" Today, I had another colposcopy done and while I'm hopeful its nothing since my doctor didn't see anything that should concern me...I still worry. They took two biopsy samples and I should have those results again within the next week or so. 

My purpose for writing this blog, is to create awareness. I'm 25 years old and I never thought I would be going through this at this age. One in every five women have HPV and HPV is the number one cause of cervical cancer. Your bodies own immune system eliminates the virus but it takes about 18 months. Those women who carry the virus for longer than that are those who are more at risk of getting cervical cancer. They have a vaccine which protects against the HPV strings 6, 11, 16 and 18. Though there are hundreds of HPV strings, I recommend that all women vaccinate themselves. 

Please remember to get your annual check-ups. Preventative care is key to protecting yourselves.