Cervical cancer and urethral obstruction.

I have not been diagnosed with cervical cancer but it is suspected and I wanted to know if my problems fit anyone elses experience. 

I have been having a lot of bladder problems alongside pretty brutal periods which are completely random and can stop for months at a time whilst I often have spotting in between cycles. Cervix bleeds and feels bruised with most contact. Alongside this I have had a year of urinary retention which i'm being investigated for. I have the high risk HPV and when having my bladder looked into there was a physical obstruction in the urethra which even a very tiny catheter couldn't pass. I've also been in A&E in complete retention and emptying my bladder is always a drama and leaves me with deep bruised pain after. I feel sick constantly and have a lot of abdominal bloating irrespective of what I eat, to the point where I could easily be 6 months pregnant to anyone seeing it. Could something like cervical cancer explain these symptoms? 

The biggest reasurrance I have is that i'm definitely not losing weight, and I am quite young, mid 20s which doesn't quite fit with the slow growing nature of this. I also may have endometrosis but polycystic overies are ruled out. 

  • Hi KathyJane222,

    Welcome to Cancer Chat. I'm sorry to hear that you've been experiencing these issues. I hope that you have some next steps in place in terms of finding out more, and that it's not too long to wait to get the answers you need.

    My reply here will boost your post so a few more people should see it, and if anyone has similar experience to share then hopefully they'll be along soon. If you feel you'd like to talk things through with one of our nurses, you can reach them on 0808 800 4040 - Monday-Friday, 9-5.

    Wishing you all the best,

    Ben
    Cancer Chat Moderator

  • Hi Kathyjane

    I’m sorry you are going through so many problems at the moment. Cervical cancer can cause the issues you describe relating to your bladder/urethra, but it’s not the only possibility. You say that cervical cancer is suspected-have you had any form of testing/biopsies yet? This would be the only way to get a definitive answer on it. 

  • My last smear showed high risk HPV and because of that and my symptoms of bleeding between periods/ after sex (sorry about the TMI), i'm waiting for a colposcopy. I'm also having a cystoscopy because of the blockage the last nurse found in my urethra when she was doing a urodynamic study. The study couldn't be done because of the blockage. 

  • Nothing is too much info, believe me! High risk HPV alone isn’t necessarily an indication of cervical cancer, so I hope the colposcopy gives you more info that is not as serious as cancer. This must be so difficult to deal with for you,