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22, inflamed cervix, 2week referral to gynecologist, scared

rmw1211
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Hello, I had a pelvic exam with my GP the other day and afterwards she told me that I have an inflamed cervix. She did not mention the word "cancer" at all but she said that because of my age (22) she cannot do a smear and that she is making an urgent referral to be seen by a gynecologist. I looked in patient access later that day to see a document titled "Fast track referral for suspected gynaecological cancer" and my heart sunk... She did not say anything about cancer.. and upon reading the document I saw that she checked "yes" for "I have explained to the patient that they may have cancer and I am referring them on the 2 week wait suspected cancer pathway" which is not true, she did not explain that to me at all. She also checked "yes" for "lesion consistent with cancer". She did not say anything about any lesions. I am absolutely horrified. My gynecology appointment is in 2 days but I have not been able to eat or sleep and I've been having panic attacks ever since reading those things. I dont understand, is this normal procedure? I just want to know if anyone has been through someting similar or knows something that I dont because none of this is making sense :sad:

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    Hi rmw1211

    I was referred on the 2 week pathway to gynaecology after a gp exam. Cancer was not mentioned at any point. She also didn’t mention any lesions, but I did have one. 

    If anything suspicious is seen by the gp, it’s good to be quickly referred to a specialist but it doesn’t mean at this point that you have cancer. They want to either quickly rule it out, or, if it is, you are seen faster than the norm and any necessary treatment can be planned. Most people will not have cancer, even though they have a 2 week referral. 

    Sounds like your gp is doing the correct thing as she is not the specialist in this area and wants you to be checked thoroughly. A smear test would not have been the right thing to do, even if you were old enough as this is not a diagnostic test for cervical cancer. 

    Only a biopsy of the lesion will be able to confirm if it is cancer, so the only thing you can do is sit tight and wait for your appointment. It might not be cancer, but any suspicion of it does need checking out. I hope it’s something less sinister and easily treated. x

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