Abnormal Pap

In my quest to find answers (even though doctors couldn't give me any explanation as to why my waters had broken early), i decided it was time for a pap smear - i was overdue for this, but figured it was something that needed to be done.

2 days after my smear i got a call from my doctor saying that they needed to talk to me.

My smear had shown high grade abnormalities and i was being referred to a gynae (not my normal gynae as he was away on holidays and this couldn't wait). I was given a punch biopsy. The gynae told me that things didn't look too bad and that he would contact me once he had the final results from pathology.

When he rang me personally i thought the worst, but he actually said that it was just pre-cancerous cells, but he was going to have to refer my to a gynae-oncologist as the suspect cells were quite high up in my cervix.

I got to see my gynae-onc pretty quickly and after having a look and reviewing my pathology results i was scheduled for a cone biopsy in July 2010.

The procedure went pretty smoothly and i had a follow up appointment a few weeks later. At this appointment i was advised that they had not managed to get clear margins, but not to be worried as the pathology confirmed that it was still just pre-cancerous cells, so i was scheduled for another cone biopsy in late August 2010.

This procedure went just as smoothly as the last and i left feeling pretty confident that things were now going to be ok. What floored me was when i went for my next follow up.

I was told that they still did not have clear margins and that i now should be considering having a hysterectomy. A what....my dream to have atleast a couple of children was shattered. Then my doc (didn't get to see my specialist for the follow up) advised that i may be a candidate for another procedure called a radical trachelectomy. I left that appointment in tears and still felt absolutely shattered. I was told to go home and have a good think about things and to call my specialist to discuss my options.

I so badly wanted another baby - so i rang my specialist to discuss the trachelectomy procedure. She advised that she was sending my pathology samples off to Melbourne for a second opinion. We scheduled an appointment with her for early October and she hoped to have enough information then to make a good assessment of what we needed to do.

My appointment came around and the result once again floored me - i had cancer!!!