Have You Ever Had a Pap Smear Test That Was Abnormal? HPV or Cervical Cancer

Updated on April 08, 2010
K.P. asks from Crystal Lake, IL
12 answers

My friends daughter who is a teenager had a paps smear done. Well they went back to the dr and the dr now wants to look with a microscope. The dr told the daughter it maybe nothing or 1 of 2 things...either HPV or Cervical Cancer. What is HPV? If this happened to you or your daughter what was the outcome?

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D.V.

answers from Chicago on

This happened to my daughter. I did some research and before I let them do any cutting, I got her on a nutritonal program with "lots" of B vitamins.
3 months later she went back and the Pap was normal. OK, so know which one do you believe? Right? so we did it again 3 months later and it was still normal. ( BTW, I also learned that HPV can be prevented with a strong immune system as well.) Want to know more? let me know.

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D.M.

answers from Detroit on

K.---HPV is a virus, which can, in very FEW cases, lead to cervical cancer. HPV usually resolves on its own, however, your friends daughter wants to be sure she is practicing optimal health to help her body clear the virus.

An optimal diet consists of mostly fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes nuts and seeds. Minimize animal protein, as too much leads to degenerative disease such as cancer, heart disease and type 2 diabetes. She will want to be sure to get plenty of sleep, drink mostly filtered water and exercise.

I am taking a series of wellness classes taught by a Naturopath who has her PhD in Nutrition. I can get you numerous articles on HPV, cervical cancer and how the HPV vaccine is maybe not your best choice. It causes lots of side effects, particularly for a 'potential' disease that usually clears up on its own and only 'treats' 3 of over 100 human papilloma viruses. BTW, another subspecies of HPV causes genital warts, but that one does not cause cancer.

If you want any additional info on HPV, the vaccine or how to achieve optimal health, please feel free to contact me. Good luck, try not to worry too much (I had an abnormal pap once a LONG time ago and never a problem since) and be sure to be proactive in protecting your health.
D.

K.---I forgot to suggest this website which talks about the pros and cons of ALL vaccines, www.nvic.org. I can't stress enough that you and your family should study ALL aspects of HPV before making ANY decisions. MOST cases of early HPV resolve themselves. Just be sure that you are giving the body every chance possible to do that...it is the best way.

1 mom found this helpful

T.F.

answers from Dallas on

I've had an abnormal pap come back and simply be re-tested.

A lot of times labs make errors. So don't get all nervous about it until retesting is done to rule out a lab error.

Mine was just that....lab error

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S.B.

answers from Savannah on

I had an abnormal pap about 10 yrs ago. The doctor told me it could be cervical cancer and I had to come back every 3 months to do a repeat of the pap smear. I also had to do a procedure (I forget what it's called but they pinch off cells and test them). Everything came back normal and I've never had an abnormal pap since.

Pap smears are HIGHLY sensitive. I was told by numerous doctors since that abnormal pap that it can be affected easily if you have the pap smear done too close to your period just ending, if you've had sex within 24 hours, or even stress. So she may just have to go back several times to get re-tested and it may be nothing.

I have about 10 friends/family members who have received an abnormal pap and it's turned out to be nothing at all. But she should still go get it re-checked because it could be something serious. good luck.

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L.B.

answers from Chicago on

I had this happen to me when I found out I was pregnant with my second. In most cases the doctor did not get enough of a sample to complete the tests. Everything was normal and I'm sure this is probably the case for her as well. They told me it's pretty common for that to happen.

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S.P.

answers from Minneapolis on

HPV is Human Papiloma virus - also known as genital warts. Up to 50% of sexually active people have had or currently have HPV, so it's very common. Now, there is a vaccine that girls can get against HPV, so hopefully that number will go down in the U.S.

I have never had a normal pap smear - ever since my first. Every year I have to get additional tests - and it's no big deal. :)

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L.B.

answers from Stationed Overseas on

I've had abnormal paps for years. 99% of the time they treat me for a yeast infection or the like and redo the pap and it comes back within normal ranges.
The pap I had when I first got pregnant came back abnormal. I'm so used to it now I sort of shrugged it off. This time though they didn't treat me for an infection and scheduled an appointment for after the pregnancy. Well I just had that appointment. The doctor did the pap again and did a biopsy. I'm now waiting for the results.
I guess the short answer is paps can come back abnormal due to infections or due to something more serious like HPV or cervical cancer. I wouldn't get too worked up just yet. HPV and yeast infections can be treated. Everything will be fine.
Good luck!

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J.K.

answers from Mansfield on

i have had abnormal paps- HPV human papaloba virus (?spelling) can cause cervical cancer and things like vaginal warts (this is a std so is the daugher sexually active?) and I have had precancerous cells too. I don't think there is a "cure" for HPV although I am negative now so it must go away but the precancerous cells where removed. I am still waiting on my last pap- but the one before that was normal.
This is my experience but your friend should make sure she is with her daughter when she goes back to the doctor so she can fully know and understand what is going on. Because this was caught now (i am sure early) I am sure everything will be fine- no matter what it comes back!
Hope this helps :)

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D.C.

answers from Chicago on

Yes, i had this happen to me twice. Once when I was 18, and the other when I was 23. I had a colposcopy where they look in depth at the cells on the inside and snip a little bit to examine further - procedue is no big deal. I was told I have mild dysplasia which just needed to be monitored 2x a year, and then once a year when the pap comes back fine. I was told I have the HPV virus. In my case this is NOT an STD, but rather a virus that many women carry. Trust me, I made my doctor reassure me many times that this was not an STD, in which I told my husband anyways, and he thinks is no big deal b/c I brought him the brochure from the dr. saying it's not an STD. Turns out a lot of the ladies in my family have it as well. If you have it, you just have it. The only thing is that she just make sure that she gets her yearly female exams. It sounds like she's on the right track and has some good support. Feel free to message me if you have more questions. Again, if it's the HPV that is not an STD, than it really is no big deal if she continues to get her exams when she's supposed to.

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C.C.

answers from Chicago on

I am a cytotechnologist who's job it is to read your pap smears. I highly doubt a teenager has cervical cancer - though I'm sure there are rare cases. What was the pap signed out as? If its HPV or Low Grade Intraepithelial lesion most of these cases regress by themselves so you dont even have to do anything if you dont want to. Was her pap tested for the high risk HPV? If so and it came back positive then the doctor would be alittle bit more aggressive and do a biopsy to make sure there is not a higher grade lesion. Usually the biopsy eliminated the lesion and the girl would just be followed up with pap smears every 6 months until she gets repeated negative. Hope this helps.

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S.X.

answers from Chicago on

hpv is from Warts i believe. it can cause cancer.
if that's the case she can have crio freezing surgery or there's something more modern out there now. its very common. othertimes they just see and wait.

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D.N.

answers from Chicago on

when I was younger I would have abnormal paps and we would redo in 6 months. It would come back fine. Then the next time the same thing. I have found that if I am not very careful of what I eat for a few days before, or if my period ended with in the last week, I could have a slightly irregular result. Paps are more accurate now with the new testing they have developed but still under interpretation so a retest should be done.

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