Cervical screening

[kiransingh]

Hello everyone,

I recently had cervical screening done and got my results back yesterday saying there were some abnormal changes to the cells. They did a test for HPV infection which came out negative. So the risk of cancer at this stage is very small.

I am very worried because my Mum passed away nearly 5 years ago after battling with cancer for more than 10 years.

Should i be worried?

[Hidden]

All sorts of things can cause abnormal cells, for example an infection. I would explain your mother's history and ask for an appointment with a specialist to make sure. But ovarian cancer doesn't show on a cervical smear.

Maybe a good way forward would be to repeat the test in a month or two and then make a decision. You need expert advice. I hope you find reassurance.

[wendydee]

Hi!

I can understand how worried you are, but I'm sure your GP will be monitoring anything that looks suspicious. Maybe you need some more advice, have a look on The Eve Appeal website, which covers all gynae cancers. You don't say what sort of cancer your Mum had, but if it was Ovarian, your GP may give you a CA125 blood test, which may rule out a problem. My sister had cells that were showing some abnormalities in her smear test a few years ago and she is monitored regularly and has had laser treatment a couple of times, but it's not linked to OC. The point is, whatever it is, it's been caught early on and will be treatable if there is a problem. I trust you'll be fine

All the best,

Wendy xx

[RuthPOvacome]

Hi I am one of the support line nurses at Ovacome and I am so sorry to hear about the problems you are experiencing, especially in view of what happened with your mother. As other have said above, there is no known link between cell changes in the cervix and ovarian cancer. Cervical cell changes do not necessarily mean cancer - the idea behind cervical screening is to pick up minor cell changes which can be treated, which if left might become the beginning of cancer at a later date. The best place for you to get information about this is to go to the website of Jostrust.org.uk. They are a charity that deals with all issues surrounding cervical screening, cell changes etc.

I hope that things can be sorted out quickly. Let us know if we can help further

Best Wishes

Ruth