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HPV Positive - Cervical Cancer Symptoms?

dw36
Offline

Hi, 

I'm new here and am really worried. I have only ever had 1 sexual partner and I was his first too. Fast forward 20 years and I took a private HPV test in the hope of avoiding a smear at my surgery as in this area, if HPV is negative then the cells aren't examined. Past 2 smears were clear of HPV and I expected this to be the same given my sexual history. So I paid for a private at home test and got the shock of my life when a gynaecologist called to say I have high risk HPV sub type 33!!

Now my mind is all over the place! I've always had spotting before a period but for the past 2 years, I've had a combination of light bleeding and spotting (red and brown) as opposed to spotting dark brown only and it lasts for 6-8 days rather than 4-5 days. I also have a clear/white slimy discharge throughout the month, rather than just during the time I'm ovulating.

Do these sound like symptoms of cervical cancer? I had a smear on Wednesday to put the HPV result into context so now have a two week wait and I'm driving myself insane with worry! I had contact bleeding during the smear which hasn't happened before. 

The front of my thighs have very recently (last 6 weeks) started aching and I've read that could be a symptom. 

  • Online

    Hello dw36 and a warm welcome to our forum, 

    I can imagine it was a real shock to you to get this HPV result when you really didn't expect it. You can read more about HPV on this page which I hope will reassure you. Try not to worry too much about the symptoms you experienced or draw any conclusions. It's important to mention this spotting to your doctor though if you haven't done it already as well as the aches you experience at the front of your thighs.

    You can read more about what the common symptoms of cervical cancer are on this page. But the best thing to do really is to put it all at the back of your mind for now and avoid looking anything up online while you are waiting for the results of your smear to come through. It's great that you had a smear on Wednesday as this will as you said put the HPV result into context so the only thing you can do is wait. And it is by no means the easiest thing to do as many of our forum members will tell you. Try and take one day at a time and to keep distracted and focused on other things. It really isn't easy to do but it will help you feel less anxious. There are some helpful tips here to help you cope while waiting for news.  

    Keeping everything crossed for you for good results! 

    Best wishes, 

    Lucie, Cancer Chat Moderator

     

  • Offline in reply to Moderator Lucie

    My smear test result is in... HPV NEGATIVE!! Clearly one result is wrong, but which one? The private one done through Check4cancer or the NHS one? I wish my cells had been examined, but because the HPV came back as negative, cytology was not performed... I don't know if I can relax or if I need to pursue additional tests in case the first HPV test that came back positive last month was correct and I could therefore have abnormal cells... 

  • Online in reply to dw36

    This is excellent news dw36!

    But I can understand why you feel confused after the private HPV test came back positive. I would perhaps ring your GP and explain that you have had these two diverging results, one having been done privately and that you are not sure what to believe and whether you need a repeat test.  You could show them both letters and explain that this has left you feeling confused and you would like some reassurance.

    Good news though that the NHS one came back HPV negative!

    Lucie

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