Catherine

Catherine, 30 Years Old

It has been several years, but it seems like it wasn’t so long ago. I was just 21 years old at the time. I had recently gone for my annual pap smear at my doctor’s office. I was not too crazy about my doctor, but when I had first needed one a few years back because of some vaginal bleeding after sex she was the only one available and I had kept her. Anyway, when I received a call from the nurse telling me that I had an abnormal pap smear. I was really nervous. It was the first time that I had experienced a major female problem of any kind. The nurse told me that I would need to come in for a colposcopy to make sure that there was nothing wrong.

I spent a lot of time worrying and imagining the worse case scenario before I came in for the procedure two weeks later. The day came for my colposcopy. It didn’t really hurt but it was pretty uncomfortable for me. I was told that I would have to wait for those results.

About a week later I received yet another call from the nurse with my colposcopy results. She told me that my test results showed I had HPV, also know as human papillomavirus. When I asked what HPV was, she told me it was a sexually transmitted disease. She told me that if my HPV was left untreated it could turn into Cervical Cancer and that I would have to be treated. I was told that I would have to have cryosurgery done, where they would freeze my cervix to get rid of the precancerous cells. Oddly enough, she didn’t seem to be in a rush for me to get in there and acted like it was not really a big deal.

All of this freaked me out beyond belief. My initial reaction was horror and embarrassment. I cried a lot over it. I didn’t focus so much on the fact that I could get cervical cancer. I was more overwhelmed by the fact that I had contracted an STD and would have to tell my boyfriend about it. I felt like it must all be my fault because the previous year I had taken some risks sexually and not been careful all of the time like I should have.

The scariest thing for me was telling my boyfriend about it. He was seventeen years older than me and I am sure that it was the furthest thing from his mind. He took it way better than I thought that he would. He actually laughed about it. He agreed to go to his doctor to have it checked out.

The day for my cryosurgery came. I went in asking my doctor several questions about it. She wasn’t much help at all. She kept treating it like it was no big deal and did not answer all my questions like I wanted. She just seemed rushed. I would have changed doctors but I really wanted to get treated as soon as possible.

The cryosurgery itself was pretty uncomfortable and cold. Just imagine having your insides frozen – literally. I remember feeling a great deal of pain for hours afterward. I went away thinking that I was glad I would never have to do that again. My doctor told me that I would need pap smears every three months for the next year.

Two pap smears and six months later, I got yet another call from the nurse at my doctor’s office. I was told that my pap smear had come up bad again and I would need to return for another colposcopy. Sure enough, the colposcopy yielded test results that showed more precancerous cells on my cervix. I had to go through cryosurgery one more time. It was just as bad as the first time around. I just knew what to expect with it.

For the next two years following my second cryosurgery, I had pap smears every three months. After that the pap smears dropped down to every six months. I have not had an abnormal pap smear since the second one in my early twenties.

I did change to another doctor about a year after I started having the problems. I wish I had done that so much earlier. She was extremely understanding and patient. At my first appointment with her, she answered my questions for half an hour before even doing an exam. I actually cried in front of her, which was a little embarrassing. She did a full range of tests for other sexually transmitted diseases as a precaution (which should have been done my previous doctor but was never brought up). All of the tests were negative – thank God!

I had to see yet another new doctor when I moved out of state a few years later. When she examined me, she told me that I had a great deal of scarring on my cervix. She told me that if I ever had the cryosurgery again, it would make it difficult for me to have children in that I would most likely have to have a C-Section, which can be risky. I was never told that there were any risks to having cryosurgery when I had it done twice. I did know that there was at least one other option at the time but my doctor recommended the cryosurgery.

Although they are minimal compared to other women who had full-blown cervical cancer, my experiences still haunt me today. I still get really nervous when I go in for pap smears. Waiting for my test results still makes me very nervous, although it has gotten better over the years.

I cannot stress enough the importance of getting regular pap smears. If I had not had my annual pap smear several years ago, chanced are that I would have developed full-blown cervical cancer. Pap smears are wonderful tools for early detection. There are now programs available everywhere that allow women to get pap smears for free if they don’t have any insurance. I know that it can be totally scary to go through, especially if it has been a long time. But it’s better to know and get it treated than to be in the dark about it.

I have a much different outlook on my experience now than I did back then. At the time, I would not have told anybody about it unless I absolutely had to. I told a friend once but swore her to secrecy. I now look at it as something I got past that made me stronger, something that could have been so much worse. Years later I have found out that so many women and girls have HPV that they came out with a vaccine for it. HPV and the HPV vaccine have been in the news a lot and everyone is aware now. I think that’s really cool!

Lessons Learned from Catherine’s Story

· If you feel like your doctor is not doing a good job, then find a new doctor.

· Insist that you doctor answer any questions you have when you go in for a procedure or surgery of any kind.

· Ask about the side effects of any procedure or surgery you are having done. Ask what the alternative treatments are.