HPV and cancer

Zane · 06-04-2001, 12:20 AM

Here's my question-any feedback would be much appreciated.
After a abnormal pap/colposcopy/biopsy, I was diagnosed with HPV. (The initial reason for my doctor visit was slight bleeding after intercourse.) The biopsies were all precancerous, and I will have another pap done soon. The question I have is, now that I know I have HPV, am I just waiting for cancer to show up? I mean, is this what the rest of my life will be like? Waiting for the inevitable? Maybe I'm just being fatalistic, but everytime my husband and I make love and there is bleeding afterward, it just sends me into a very sad and scared place. Thanks for listening.

Zane · 06-06-2001, 01:02 AM

MamaBear-
Good luck on your exam friday. Don't worry too much (easier said than done,I know). The exam isn't too bad other than the worrying.

Do be prepared if they take a biopsy. Unless they deaden it, it can be painful.
I, like you, have never had any signs of HPV, (warts etc...) and neither has my husband. It was quite a blow to us both. But being I have a most wonderful husband, we've worked through the fear and pain and now are looking forward. Being you are not sure about your HPV status, check with your doc on friday. He/she can give you their opinion about it.
My initial visit to my doc was because in some magazine I read some article about things to definately go see your doc for. Bleeding after intercourse was on that list, and I fit the bill. I am grateful that I know what I do now, because if I had been in any kind of denial, what would have happened down the road?

So, 3 questions for you-
1-what makes you think that you have HPV? (aside from the bleeding)
2-when you do bleed, is it bright red or dark, almost black/brown?
3-does your bleeding happen at any certain time during your cycle, or is it just whenever it happens to appear?

I wish you luck and I'll be thinking of you.
Let me know how it goes.

Zane

ps- did your doc tell you what to expect during this exam? If not, let me know and I'll fill you in. Nothing I hate more than surprises in the doctors office...