Hi Laura. 

I keep seeing replies from you on many posts. It's very reassuring.

I am 26, I have two children 9 and 5. My periods have always been weird due to being on the implant. But I think in December it lasted a few days longer than normal. Fast forward to this month, I had my period as normal. It lasted around 10 days which is normal, then 4 days later I started bleeding again and bled for a week. Classed as spotting as it was never enough to wear a pad or anything. I phone my GP, explained everything and she didn't seem too worried. She booked me in for my first smear (haven't had one due to Covid) and also said she'd take some swabs 'to be on the safe side' (don't know what they're for?) 

Since speaking to her I've noticed I have lower back pain in a morning which eases off throughout the day. I have groin pain pretty much constantly, it's just a dull ache and I also noticed I had stomach cramps the day after having sex. Te cramps were pretty painful. They eased off in the evening. 

I don't have any smelly discharge, no bleeding during or after sex, no bloating, I'm not off my food and I don't think I've noticed any changes in bowel movement either.. 

Just looking for some reassurance really. My smear is booked for 10th March but I'm ringing to ask if they can bring it forward. I'm due on on the 10th march and all this worry is really affecting me. 

Hi, sorry I didn't see your post until now! I hope you are doing well and you've found out what is going on. At your young age I wouldn't think your issues would be cancer related but it is always good to follow up and keep tabs on things.  Please message me if you need to. 

Laura xx

I get my scan the 28th Oct then results the week after which I think is the 6th.  Nerves are shattered I thought I would have been calmer once I knew things were moving but it's all became very real.  Have they gave you a treatment plan yet? Xx

Not yet I'm waiting to see the oncologist but they said it's goi g to be intense chemo first to get rid of the spread, I don't know how often or how long I will have to wait, then there's the scans in betweee treatment to see if it's working which is going to start the worry process over again xx

It's never ending.  I'm trying to get in the mindset that this is just my new normal for a while and have been taking rescue remedy.  Not sure if it works or if it's in my head but I feel a bit better.  Hopefully u get more news soon, I'm always better when I know what's happening. Xx

Dawnann,

You are strong, you can do this. One day, one appointment, one treatment at a time. Keep your notebook close, write down who you meet and what you are feeling. Make sure to talk to the other people that may be there receiving chemo while you are. I met the best people that were very helpful and inspiring. Make sure to rest and hydrate and eat the best you can. And keep posting here with how you are doing. 

Laura xx

It’s really tough news to take, Dawn and it will take a bit of time to process it. But you’ll find the strength to cope and do this, and we’ll all be here to support you. Laura’s advice is the best piece of advice you could have-just take everything a day at a time, one little step at a time. Don’t look too far ahead, just concentrate on getting through each day as it comes. xx

 Hello ladies, hope you are all aswell as can be expected. lm in need of some advice please

Im 39 years old and l've always had regular periods, usually a 28day cycle give or take a day or 2. In August l missed a period, very unusual for me and has never happened  before. As we are trying for a baby we got our hopes up, all pregnancy tests were negative though. We booked in for a private scan, a transvaginal ultrasound and l was told my endometrial lining was very thick at 20mm (either as result of a late period or pregnancy), l was told it wasn't a cause for concern as it was an echogenic thickened endometrium with no internal vascularity seen also no cysts, fibroids etc were seen. I waited again for a week and still no positive pregnancy test. I started bleeding on my period due date the month after, so l missed a complete cycle and had a period 2 months apart. The period was 4 days of spotting followed by 10days of a medium type bleed and then 3 weeks of a very heavy  blood clot bleed. So in total l bled for around 5weeks. I have spoken to my GP and they have said it is most likely because l have missed a cycle so my uterine lining is very thick and now is all shedding. They wanted me to wait and see and for it to stop naturally. My bloods have all come back as normal and l am not perimenopausal. My period did stop but 4 days later has now restarted with spotting, sometimes a heavy bleed but mostly spotting.

My question is please can someone advise please as l am really worried now

1) if there was any cancer present for example even cervical cancer would this have been detected in the transvaginal ultrasound?

2) can  a missed period cause such a long and heavy blood clot period?

3) do you think l have cervical cancer? I am upto date with my smears, am due one around Oct next year.

4) I had the covid vaccine in July, so can this be as a result of the vaccine?

Please respond with any information and thank you

Hi sorry I can't answer any of your questions but just wanted to say I am suffering with similar symptoms. Bleeding bright red for almost four weeks. Pelvic back and leg pain. Doctor just prescribed mefenamic over the phone and said too call back if still bleeding in a week ! 
I'm also getting concerned about cervical cancer and also the lack of interest from my doctor !

Hi Star1

I’m sorry you are having all these issues are so worried. All of us in this thread are familiar with cervical. cancer but I’m not sure anyone can really answer your questions are we are not medical professionals.

What I can say is that an ultrasound scan would not be used in diagnosing cervical cancer...it doesn’t tend to pick it up. Blood tests are not used to test for cervical cancer either. 

Smear tests are not infallible and may miss cervical cancer, although I am not suggesting that this has happened in your case. 

The covid vaccine has been known  to cause issues with menstrual cycles, and I do know people who have experienced these type of issues and the doctor has ruled it to be because of the vaccine. 

What you have told us in my opinion doesn’t sound like cervical cancer, but as I say we are not medics here. x

Hi, thank you for your reply. I'm sorry to hear you are suffering this too. Has it ever happened to you before or is it the first time? It's my first time and it's not doing my nerves any good

Thank-you for your reply. I hope you are well. Do you think l should go to the GP and ask for another smear test? lm 2 years in from my previous one and next one is due Oct 2022?

2 years ago l was referred under the 2 week rule for possible ovarian cancer. It turned out to be 2 very large endometriomas (chocolate cysts) on my ovaries. The MRI showed this but due to the size of them etc l still needed them removing so l had laproscopic surgery to remove them. The surgery happened in August 2020. As weird as it sounds l wasn't scared throughout the process but l am really petrified atm. I keep thinking when l had my operation surely the surgeon could have seen anything untoward as the surgeon was an oncology gynaecologist. 

I'm sorry to bother you with all this. I've got my little girl to think about and my mind is all over the place.

Thank-you for your reply. I hope you are well. Do you think l should go to the GP and ask for another smear test? lm 2 years in from my previous one and next one is due Oct 2022?

2 years ago l was referred under the 2 week rule for possible ovarian cancer. It turned out to be 2 very large endometriomas (chocolate cysts) on my ovaries. The MRI showed this but due to the size of them etc l still needed them removing so l had laproscopic surgery to remove them. The surgery happened in August 2020. As weird as it sounds l wasn't scared throughout the process but l am really petrified atm. I keep thinking when l had my operation surely the surgeon could have seen anything untoward as the surgeon was an oncology gynaecologist. 

I'm sorry to bother you with all this. I've got my little girl to think about and my mind is all over the place.

Hi again Star

I would say no, you don’t need to ask for another smear test. Under the cervical screening programme these tests are not done unless they are due, and are to check for abnormal cells-you will not get one now as it is not due yet. However, I do think you should go to the go to discuss your symptoms and see if he/she thinks you should be referred to a gynaecologist for any further tests.  Your issues sound much more womb or ovary related rather than cervix related. I understand how worrying it can be when you have symptoms of something strange and no answers, so the best thing to do would be to make an appointment with your gp. x

Thank you for your reply. I will speak to mu GP this week  Hopefully everything will be ok.

Take care and thank you x

I hope you can get an appointment soon and be reassured that there is nothing serious going on. x

Hi sorry to jump on this thread but I'm a little concerned and this seems to be a very reassuring and caring bunch on ladies.

I'm 23 and got 2 kiddies ones 2½ years old and ones nearly 6 months. My mum had cervical cancer and had a hysterectomy but think they left the ovaries.

I've had 3 occasions since December 2017 where I've had to take tranexamic acid to stop heavy bleeding which is very unusual for me.

After having my 1st boy I was on the mini pill and I had random bleeding sometimes spotting sometimes heavy bleeding. I was only off the pill for 2 months before we conceived our 2nd so I had 2 periods which we're longer than normal and had spotting in-between but put that down to just coming off the pill.

After having our 2nd in June I had the normal postpartum bleeding then went onto the same pill I had before but I bled heavier than normal for 9 weeks. I stopped the pill but the bleeding started again after a few days of stopping. In the end I had to take tranexamic acid and I finally stopped bleeding then went on to have a normal ish period and had the implant in. A month into the implant I had 2 weeks of spotting and then bled for the whole of November so went back the the sexual health clinic who have made me an appointment for the 17th to see a doctor because I was having a lot of fleshy bits within my bleeding which I could see on the pad and tissue. The nurse told me to call them back if I had any bleeding after sex which I did on Saturday. It stopped by Sunday morning but i had awful period pains so was expecting to start bleeding again but never did, still getting the pains on and off. I've always got watery discharge since coming off the pill to conceive our 2nd but never thought anything of it, there's no smell but I have to wear a panty liner every day and night otherwise I'd be changing my pants several times a day.

When I called them they made me the next appointment which is Thursday so I'm not sure what's going to happen at the appointment. When I saw the nurse she did some swabs (I had to do them to myself) to check for sti/stds.

Obviously as soon as I googled bleeding after sex it pointed start to cervical cancer which I know is rare in my age but it does happen and I think with my mum having it as well makes me worry. I try not to think about it too much and just wait and see what the doctors say but it's hard when these worrying thoughts pop up. 

Just looking for some reassurance really, when I googled cervical cancer at 23 there were quite a few news stories of women around my age (before they can have smears) who had it.

Hi Sillygoose

I’m sorry to see how worried you are, but it would be difficult for anyone other than a doctor to reassure you by an examination and assessing your symptoms. 

To my knowledge there is no genetic link in having cervical cancer, although I believe that there is research showing there may be a genetic link in a person’s ability to clear the HPV virus, which is responsible for the vast majority of cervical cancers. 

I would recommend that you stop googling as this won’t provide the information you need to diagnose you and may give you information which isn’t relevant. There are other reasons which could be causing the bleeding which are not nearly as serious as cancer, although, yes, it is a possibility in your 20s. A possibility, but by no means a certainty. 

A smear is not a or a diagnostic test for cervical cancer-it’s a screening for abnormal cells-so it’s good you are seeing a doctor to investigate further. Any unexplained bleeding should have an explanation and I hope the doctor will be able to reassure you that it is nothing as serious as cancer. Good luck with your appointmen5 and let us know how you get on. xx

Thank you so much for getting back to me, I've got my two boys to keep me busy and off Google. I'll let you know what happens on Thursday, on the 17th I believe the dr is doing an examination so will see what they say.

It’s good you will be examined by the doctor. And good you can keep busy and off google-it’s honestly the way of madness when you don’t actually know what’s wrong and it always gives worst case scenario for everything! Fingers crossed you will get a simple explanation for your issues. xx

Hi Everyone,

Hope you are all well.

I have read all 25 pages of this chat and it's so lovely to see everyone supporting each other

I have a colposcopy booked on Thursday morning and hoping for a good result. My symptoms were bleeding after sex on a few occasions and bloody tinged discharge often.

I had 2 GP's take a look and both said they can see something on my cervix but it doesn't look nasty, it looks like a ectropion and superficial? Not sure what that meant but referred me anyway.

My last smear was last summer which came back clear.

I am worried but am hoping for the best as that's all I can do at this moment. Xx

Hi Holly

It’s good that you are getting properly checked out with the colposcopy but an ectropion isn’t serious, and isn’t cancer. It just means that cells from the inside of the cervix are growing on the outside, and this can cause bleeding sometimes.

The doctors are just being thorough in their tests, so try not to be too concerned at this point and I hope that your appointment goes well and you can be reassured. xx

Hi Holly,

I'm glad you found this thread and hope it will provide you with some peace of mind. There are so many other issues we can have that aren't cancer and it is good that you are getting yourself checked out. That is the most important thing, I think, taking charge of your health and following up. Keep us posted on how you are doing.

Laura xx