mild cell changes in cervix after smear test

Hello, Just got my results on my smear test and the nurse says i need to be referred to the hospital for further investigation because i have mild cell changes in my Cervix. Has anyone had this problem?

Yes, I had some 'abnormal' cells on a pap I had a few years back.

I went back for a repeat in 3 months and everything was fine, and has been since.

Mild cellular changes does not necessarily mean cancer or anything malignant, but they like to double check and will sometimes repeat a smear or do a biopsy just to be sure.

It's important to remember that in the majority of cases abnormal Pap smear results do not mean you have cancer. The number of deaths due to cervical cancer decreased dramatically in the last half of the 20th century due to yearly cervical cancer screening. In fact, the Pap smear is the only screening tool for cancer that has caused such a significant decrease in the number of deaths from any type of cancer.

link removed

Just go for the further testing - often it is related to something OTHER than cancer - like leftover cells from period (which is why you should schedule them for mid-cycle), sperm or even just a bacterial infection.

Also, if it is mild, often they can remove them easily and there is no need for further surgery (just more frequent paps for a while).

I had more serious dysplasia when I was in my teens (they did not test for HPV back then, but it may certainly be a cause - I have tested negative for it ever since so there is no way of knowing) and had a few procedures as it was stubborn - cryosurgery, biopsy, two laser surgeries and a LEEP procedure...but after two years of that hassle, I have been healthy ever since.

I wouldnt worry too much until they do the follow up.. Many women have small abnormal cells as RayKay said and once a follow up is done it turns out to be nothing.

I found out I had severe cervical dysplasia when I was pregnant and had to had a few procedures done after my son was born including 2 LEEP cones and now I go back for regular paps every 3 months until Im clear for a year but i've unfortunately had a few cells return after the first year so now i'm starting all over. It's a pain in the neck having to go back every so often but it's better than developing cervical cancer.

But as I said, don't worry too much though it is probably nothing.

yes, this is pretty common... don't panic though because most likely it is a treatable infection of some kind as the others have said.

You probably have HPV. It is very very common in sexually active women. And can cause cervical cancer. I had it. Had surgery and got rid of it.

My sister has had these changes in her cells for years. She had a pretty involved procedure a couple of years ago, and things have been going well for her since then. Just keep doing what they tell you, and things will be fine!

Thank for your advise ladies! Hopefully things will be okay. It is a bit worrying though

Hello, Just got my results on my smear test and the nurse says i need to be referred to the hospital for further investigation because i have mild cell changes in my Cervix. Has anyone had this problem?

No, but I heard that unnatural cells could be cancer...

I'll pray for you...I really hope you'll be OK...I'm really sorry to hear this...

You probably have HPV. It is very very common in sexually active women. And can cause cervical cancer. I had it. Had surgery and got rid of it.

You had HPV...Do you know how you got it?

No, but I heard that unnatural cells could be cancer...

 

I'll pray for you...I really hope you'll be OK...I'm really sorry to hear this...

 

 

Unnatural cells are not presumed to be Cancer, but could lead to cancer or other problems. Just because one has abnormal cells DOES NOT mean they will develop cancer. But it does need to be watched closely.

Unnatural cells are not presumed to be Cancer, but could lead to cancer or other problems. Just because one has abnormal cells DOES NOT mean they will develop cancer. But it does need to be watched closely.

OK...Thanks for sharing that...But, they DO lead to cancer...and that is why she has to go get checked out...)

You had HPV...Do you know how you got it?

I actually know a lot about the HPV due to hours upon hours of research. I found out that women are not carriers for the HPV which means they can not give it to a male through sexual intercourse. But actually only men are carriers and they can actually inherit it from their mother or father. I was flipped out when I found out I had HPV(not the kind that causes warts but the cancerous kind), due to I had only slept with 1 person my whole life. Well come to find out his mother had cervical cancer which we now know can only be caused by having the HPV thereforeee she had HPV, he inherited it from her, and passed it along to me. And a mother cannot pass it to her daughter, only to her son.

Everyone hears HPV and automatically thinks omg gross STD. That is really not the case. 93% of sexually active adults between the ages of 18-26 have some form of HPV, and another 80% of them don't know they have it. Kind of scary. But more often than not your body fights off the abnormal cells that HPV causes before they turn into cancer.

I wish I could give you 'helpful post' replies, because I learned something new here. I did not know that...WOW..Thanks for sharing that...It's amazing how you think you know things, but then you have no idea..hmmm..

thank you girlie...

I wish I could give you 'helpful post' replies, because I learned something new here. I did not know that...WOW..Thanks for sharing that...It's amazing how you think you know things, but then you have no idea..hmmm..

 

thank you girlie...

Oh you are very welcome. I wish this stuff was more widely known that way so many women wouldnt have to go through the painful surgery's and biopsy's that go with this disease.

I don't know if any of you have heard about this shot called Gardisil. It is an amazing thing out now that you get for a period of 9 months, every 3 months, so 3 shots in total. It can actually prevent you from getting the HPV virus thus protecting you against cervical cancer. It has very huge praises and is a great investment. Look into it. I don't believe it is 100% effective but it is still very highly effective.

No, but I heard that unnatural cells could be cancer...

 

I'll pray for you...I really hope you'll be OK...I'm really sorry to hear this...

 

I think it's highly unlikely that they're cancerous or even pre-cancerous and from what I understand about hpv the low risk strains are not the strains that lead to cancer.

Hmm, everything I have read or been told from professionals has said that men contract HPV from genital contact as well, and women are indeed carriers of it which is how so many women get it (as men transmit it from one woman to another).

link removed

Gardasil vaccine is pretty new with little long term research, so be sure to research prior to getting it - and generally if you already are having sex, it is not given to you.

Hmm, everything I have read has said that men contract HPV from genital contact as well, and women are indeed carriers of it which is how so many women get it (as men transmit it from one woman to another).

 

link removed

Same here but that it is very difficult - near impossible - to test a man for HPV.

I dont know, I have had 4 doctors tell me that women are not carriers for the virus. Two of which were doctors at the University of Virginia which is one of the most highly accredited hospitals on the east coast and the other 2 were at Duke in NC which is another highly accredited hospital. I don't believe everything that I read because anyone can be writing it. I do believe the many doctors that I have questions again and again about the issues with HPV.

Well, I would not call the Centre for Disease Control "unknowledgeable" (where my link is from). I am sure they rely on doctors and researchers....

I too am also talking about doctors I talked to in my own experiences.

ANYTHING I have read, or been advised on, has said this is why it is so easily transmitted is because SO many women are carriers (and men are too but cannot be tested).

Women are carriers of it, or else we would not be able to be tested for it as it would not show up.....

I do know however often for some reason women will "lose" the virus after a while and no longer show positive for it, so it may be we are not always LONG TERM carriers...but we are carriers or else it could not be passed either down to their children and so forth.

Well, I would not call the Centre for Disease Control "unknowledgeable" (where my link is from). I am sure they rely on doctors and researchers....

 

I too am also talking about doctors I talked to in my own experiences.

 

ANYTHING I have read, or been advised on, has said this is why it is so easily transmitted is because SO many women are carriers (and men are too but cannot be tested).

 

Women are carriers of it, or else we would not be able to be tested for it as it would not show up.....

 

I do know however often for some reason women will "lose" the virus after a while and no longer show positive for it, so it may be we are not always LONG TERM carriers...but we are carriers or else it could not be passed either down to their children and so forth.

I live in a major city, had a discussion with my doctor about the vaccine and HPV, and she confirmed all that Raykay has said. It is also consistent with all I have read published by the CDC and also on the web sites of major hospitals.

I actually know a lot about the HPV due to hours upon hours of research. I found out that women are not carriers for the HPV which means they can not give it to a male through sexual intercourse. But actually only men are carriers and they can actually inherit it from their mother or father. I was flipped out when I found out I had HPV(not the kind that causes warts but the cancerous kind), due to I had only slept with 1 person my whole life. Well come to find out his mother had cervical cancer which we now know can only be caused by having the HPV thereforeee she had HPV, he inherited it from her, and passed it along to me. And a mother cannot pass it to her daughter, only to her son.

I also am baffled by this information, and dubious. The HPV virus is contracted by contact, just like herpes. Which means that if a man's penis is in contact with a woman's cervix (or anywhere else she has HPV virus), there is a strong likelihood of him contracting it.

Also, "inherited"? To "inherit" a disease means that your parent's' genes carry a code that is passed to you. How can HPV -- a communicable disease -- be passed down through DNA? DNA is the ONLY way you can "inherit" a trait, disease (such as manic depression), etc. This is an infection. Infections affect the DNA of the cells that are infected (which is how the cervical cells are tested and diagnosed with HPV), but the DNA that passes traits down to offspring has nothing to do with infected cells on a woman's cervix.

So I don't get this at all.

You can contract HPV from 1 sexual encounter easily these days. Just because your bf's mom had cervical cancer doesn't mean he "inherited" the virus. If that were the case, your bf could have any cell in his body -- say, a dead cell from his scalp -- DNA tested and it would show some gene affected by HPV. I can't imagine this being possible.

I was flipped out when I found out I had HPV(not the kind that causes warts but the cancerous kind), due to I had only slept with 1 person my whole life. Well come to find out his mother had cervical cancer which we now know can only be caused by having the HPV thereforeee she had HPV, he inherited it from her, and passed it along to me.

 

Is this something he told you?? I am with the others, I have seen 3 different specialists dealing with HPV and have never once heard or read this anywhere. It seems like such a long stretch.

Also, cervical cancer hasn't been proven to ONLY be caused by HPV. Just because she had cervical cancer doesn't mean she had HPV.

As with any STD/STI you only have to fool around with 1 person so its irrelevant that you had only been with 1 person at that point.

I'd really question your sources of information, it just seems so.. out there..

This is the ONLY article I found on the web when searching for possibilities that HPV could be inherited and it isn't saying much for it being inherited as much as its saying it is possible to make one more susceptible.. So I think you may have misunderstood what doctors have told you. Of all the research I have done, this is the first I have ever heard of that.

Inherited Genetic Factors

 

In one analysis, between 15% and 20% of women with cervical cancer had at least one close relative with the disease. Two studies have also reported that in families with cervical cancer there have also been higher rates of other HPV-related and smoking-associated cancers. Inherited factors in such cases most likely cause changes in the immune system that make such people more susceptible to HPV or other viruses.

Yeah -- you can inherit genes that are more likely to predispose you to getting cancer, once exposed. But you cannot get a viral-borne disease without being exposed to it in your environment. This, all the information about genetics that I know.

The equation would be, if your mother smoked, you would end up "inheriting" lung cancer. This isn't the best example, since smoking is not a contagious disease like HPV. But the faulty scientific logic would be the same.