"women" Questions

ORIGINAL: inne

ORIGINAL: loveukaykay
Does this mean a "normal" result is just as imperfect?  I'd hate to think that... kinda scary.

It is imperfect, which is why you should request the specific HPV test.    Plus, it speeds up treatment if it turns out you do have a cancer-causing HPV strain.

 
But...if you only go in once every three years, seems to me that you could miss something in that time-frame and not speed up treatment at all.

ORIGINAL: angeltrudelle

I have also never had a breast exam. ... how important it really is?  I mean, I feel great.

I felt great, too.  Right up until I went in for a yearly pap and mentioned a lump in my breast to my doctor.

It went from exam to mammogram to ultrasound to Needle Core Biopsy to Breast Cancner diagnosis to Lumpectomy (with 6 day hospital stay when my lung collapsed during surgery) to my current chemotherapy treatments.

I am going for my fourth - and last - A/C treatment tomorrow (lost my hair two weeks ago).  Then in two weeks I start 12 weekly treatments of Taxol (one of the lovely side effects is the potential loss of feeling in your hands and feet) and 52 weeks (yes, an YEAR) of Herceptin treatments.  Add in Radiation (daily for 5-6 weeks) and hormone therapy (for 5 years) and you've got my current life.

And then I have to worry about recurrance.

Trust me - get checked out.

And for anyone interested - here's my Breat Cancer blog:

     [linkhttp://laurisbcblog.blogspot.com/]http://laurisbcblog.blogspot.com/[/link]

Lauri, I'm so sorry you're having to go through something like this, but I have to thank you for posting and sharing your blog with us. If this sends just one person who has *been putting it off because they feel OK* to the Dr. for a check up, it's worth it.  I hope everybody on this forum takes the time to read it.

Joyce

ORIGINAL: sharismom

But...if you only go in once every three years, seems to me that you could miss something in that time-frame and not speed up treatment at all.

Although in the US it is customary to do a pap every year, many medical bodies agree with and recommend HPV screening and paps only every 3 years if you've had 3 normal pap smears in consecutive years:

http://www.thedoctorslounge.net/gynecology/articles/infection/pap_hpv/index.htm
http://cancer.about.com/od/thepapsmear/f/whentogetpap.htm

Most other countries keep a pap schedule that follows a 3 year schedule rather than an annual screening.    Since women in the US and Canada are able to get them more often, they can decide on what they feel is right for them and discuss it with their doctor.  

The reason the HPV test in addition to a pap smear speeds up treatment is that there is no human error involved in the way there is in pap smears.   If you have an inconclusive pap smear you would have to wait several months, have another pap smear and only then take further steps.  The test also detects HPV often missed by pap smears and you can begin treatment immediately in these cases.

And some cancers, not sure about cervical, spread VERY fast.  My aunt has been diagnosed with cervical/ovarian (not sure which) cancer since her last exam a year ago.  She has 3 tumors and they are inoperable.  One is on her femoral artery (the main, BIG artery going down into a leg).  So get checked.  I do every year and while I don't go in skipping and yippeeing the whole way, it's not THAT unpleasant.  Just a little weird to have some one poking around down there.

I felt great, too. Right up until I went in for a yearly pap and mentioned a lump in my breast to my doctor.

 
Exactly!!  I know way too many women who are coping with this right now.  Some were diagnosed on a breast exam and others with a mammo, but thankfully, all but one was diagnosed in the early stages. 
 
Lauri - your blog is inspiring and I admire you for taking the time to put your thoughts down and share them so that others can see your journey.  Thank you and I hope your continuing treatment goes smoothly.  The friend of mine who had the Taxol treatments this spring has lost feeling in her fingertips and feet, but she was told it would likely return but may take up to a year.  She's doing great though and has also shown me that you can maintain a great sense of humor and attitude through even the toughest of times.