Micheline

When my doctor asked me if I would consent to an HPV test as part of my routine annual exam, I thought, “sure, why not, I have nothing to worry about. I’ve been with my husband for 11 years and never had any signs or symptoms of any STD.” I assumed the test would come back normal. My doctor explained that he was doing a lot reading on the correlation between HPV and cervical cancer and believed the Pap test alone was no longer enough to detect cancer. Thank Goodness I listened to him.

Two weeks later my results came back and oddly enough my Pap test was normal but I was HPV positive. I was totally devastated. I thought, how did I end up with HPV? At first I was ashamed and scared. I thought, “How could I have contracted this horrible disease?” My doctor helped ease my anxiety. He reassured me that at least 85% of woman contract HPV at some time in their life but many times it goes undetected. He told me that it was nothing to be ashamed of, HPV is not a “dirty” STD. It is as common as a cold. Given my history of normal Pap tests, he felt that it was nothing to be alarmed about.

I just thank God my doctor decided to monitor me closely and asked me return for a follow-up visit in six months. At that time, he repeated the Pap test and this time the results showed abnormal cells. Once again, I was worried! I had my first ever abnormal Pap Smear and was HPV positive.

My doctor immediately scheduled me for a colposcopy in his office, and oddly enough, as he took a close-up look at my cervix he said mine was ”one of the healthiest cervixes he’d ever seen.” He was convinced there was a mix-up at the lab with my Pap test. The colposcopy didn’t indicate any abnormalities on my cervix. Just to be certain there wasn’t anything he was missing, he decided to do an endocervical curettage, which to our dismay returned with abnormalities.

My doctor and I were both surprised -- after all, how could I have a history of normal pap smears and now have two abnormal tests, a positive HPV test, and what appears to be such a healthy-looking cervix? This was my first confirmed clue that something was going wrong inside my body. Puzzled, my doctor next scheduled me for a more invasive second procedure, a deep biopsy of my cervix (also known as a LEEP cone biopsy). This is when we finally found out what was really going on - I had adnocarcinoma cervical cancer.

Both my doctor and I were shocked at the diagnosis. I was even more so when I found out that the cancer was so invasive that I needed a hysterectomy and my chance of having any additional children would end. The cancer was beyond the margins of the biopsy and possibly beyond the cervix. I went to 3 different oncologists for follow-up opinions and the one consistency was that we caught this cancer early enough that I didn’t need any further treatments like chemo or radiation therapy. Everyone agreed that surgery alone would be the cure.

It may seem odd but I thank God every day that I tested positive for HPV. I know that because of the positive HPV test my doctor was so persistent and able to catch my cancer before it spread further. I definitely feel very fortunate. While some women might be a little embarrassed talking about the fact that they have HPV, my experience has taught me that this is something women should be talking about more openly! If I hadn’t had the HPV test and tested positive for the virus, I know things would have turned out differently. The cancer would have likely had a chance to persist longer unchecked, and I might not have been cured so easily. I may not have been able to call myself a cervical cancer survivor today! Every woman should ask their doctor for the HPV test as part of their routine annual exam. It saved my life and it could save yours!!