Cervical Cancer Support Group

Welcome to DS, Tracy. I am relatively new here also, but I have found some really supportive people here.
I just recently had a hysterectomy also due to an aggressive strain of HPV. I had it come up a third time, and rather than go through all the usual steps (colposcopy, LEEP, then months of paps) we decided to just take out the uterous/cervex and tubes. I am still in recovery, but was lucky enough to be able to have a vaginal hysterectomy so I am just dealing with the left over pain of the scopes in my stomach that was done before the surgery began.

I had gone through all those steps I mentioned above, and had a really good doctor in the previous state I lived in. So I was able to come to this decision a lot easier than I would have if it had just been sprung on me.
I'm not sure I agree with what your doctor told you about not making it to 40 just because you had pre-cancerous cells though. I had great success for over 5 years with my LEEP. Nothing showed up on any of my paps during that time. However, I am not a doctor and I can only go from my own experiences...so perhaps he saw something that was more concerning than I am aware of..?

Cancer also runs in my family, so I understand your fear. I remember the first time I was called by my doctor I had when my first child was born. All I heard was "Cancer"..totally ignoring the "pre" part. I couldn't remember how to write letters as I was trying to write what he was saying down. My brain just froze up on me. All I could think of was those that we had lost and that I had a brand new baby, wasn't quiet 21 yet, and I didn't want to die.
But, at that time it was just a small area that had changed. Just a simple burning of the cells was done in the office and all was good for years..until my third child came along. That was when we had to get more aggressive and I found out more about what I was dealing with.

I hope you continue to heal well. Definitely do as your doctor has ordered. I know it can be hard. I find myself thinking I can do lots of things as usual and then find that I have over-done it a bit. But it is way better to be taken care of for a few weeks than to cause issues because we thought we were feeling pretty good that day. :)

Welcome to DS! I am this month. one year cancer free. Last year I had a radical hysterectomy ( sp). For me, I had had normal paps forver and then last year on my routine pap it came up cancer. Mine was non HPV related cervical cancer and an aggressive form however, it was caught early and I am very thankful.

I have cancer in my family. I was engaged one month and then a few weeks later diagnosed with cancer. Thankfully my fiance, now husband was right there for me. I feel very fortunate to have had that support. I am sorry that your husband is not very supportive. that is very hard.

Here I have found great support.

I too would say, follow what the doctor says to do. I am a very active person and I was down for over 6 weeks not being able to do anything it seemed for myself. but I am glad I did allow others to help me and I just followed what I was told because I did and am now strong physically again and had no other complications. and that was great. I know the frustration of not being able to lift (even my purse I was not allowed to lift) I had a walker. which was humiliating at first. but 6 weeks is not alot of time compared to the rest of my life in health and strength.

I pray you continue to heal.

I became very depressed after my surgery too and that was hard to deal with but I sought help and talked and just kept talking to people and now one year later, I am celebrating life! in health and happiness.

I got married. and I live one day at a time.

Anyway, I will stop rambling now.

just welcome and know that you are not alone with this. message me anytime. Lately I have not been able to be on the computer alot but I will respond.

many hugs

Hey can someone help me out here I had my hysterectomy about six years ago and two years ago I got a pap and it came back abnormal the doctor told me that I had hpv he told me not to worry about it since I already had my hyserectomy I had another pap last year and it was also abnormal same thing the other day when I went for my pap is that something to worry about?

Hi,
I am 38 and just had a radical hysterectomy on July 2nd. I have had normal paps all my life since the age of 18 and then this year it came back abnormal, then the colposcopy came back cancerous and the LEEP confirmed the cancer once more. So I had the surgery and my CT Scan, x-ray and and biopsy (pathology report) of my lymph nodes after the surgery all came back as negative for cancer. I praise God! I had an abdominal incision and I am under 100 lbs. I have always had very strong abdominal muscles and upper body strength. I was out of the hospital three days later and went back to work after 1 week. I healed extremely well; not even my docs could believe it. I did not wear a binder and tried not to take any medications, ibuprofen at most because I wanted to be able to feel what my body was communicating to me. For me, if I wear a binder, then my body will be dependent and cannot heal (this is my theory of course) and if I take pain meds, then when I do something that I shouldn't do and can't feel the discomfort then my body can't heal as best as it could (again, just my theory). So it is almost two weeks post op and I am back to my regular routine of working, taking care of our three kids and enjoying life. To me the hardest part about the surgery was the gas/bloating and trying not to sneeze or cough (I kept a bottle of water with me at all times). As for my husband he is supportive, we didn't tell the children yet what my diagnosis was because I don't want them to worry but will tell them later because they need to know their health history. From what I have read, if you catch the cancer early, stage 1, you have 95-98% of living beyond 5 years. My doc says that the hysterectomy in situations like mine will normally take care of it and the cancer doesn't come back. My prayers are with you and your family and remember to stay positive. Sometimes I think that cancer is not what causes the problems but that the way one deals with the cancer is what causes problems.

was diagnosed non hpv cervical cancer also had the radical hysterectomy glad I found this site as nobody around me understands anything you go through with this it is the most lonely and misunderstood disease .... I hope that in the future it will be understood more and respected tenfold ... prayers and hugs!!!!