Tuesday
Jan222013
Get Swabbed for Cervical Health Awareness Month
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
This week, I want you to think about your cervix. If you don't have one of your own to think about, I want you to think about the cervix of someone close to you. Why? Because January is Cervical Health Awareness Month! It's the most common cancer found in women under 35 (in the UK), and an ounce of cervical cancer prevention is worth a pound of cure. I know, because I had a hysterectomy in 2007 to cure my cervical cancer.
Cervical Health Awareness Month has put me right back in 2007, the year I found out that I had cervical cancer. In 2007, I hadn't had a Pap smear, let alone a physical, since the Palinode and I were married in 2001, and, truth be told, I avoided them. Due to various personal issues, which I'm not going to get into here, the whole stirrups-and-speculum thing with a doctor all up in my business was triggering for me, and I preferred to skip the whole affair rather than go through stirrups/swab/cry-in-the-bathroom-on-my-way-out routine.
Let me tell you, though, if you wait long enough, relatively minor and easy-to-cure conditions can end up turning into cervical cancer, and that once yearly swab can turn into impressive numbers of medical professionals being all up in your business. Hell, I spent a couple of afternoons with my cervix being broadcast on a big screen TV in a surgical theatre to an audience of several people. "This must be what shooting porn gets to be like after a while," I thought, "only without all the fun parts."
Compared to that, the Pap smear is NOTHING. It's well worth the minor amount of fuss to find pre-cancerous conditions with relatively minor treatments, because leaving it go too long can have you end up on the wrong end of the cancer spectrum, which is why I'm now out both a cervix and one uterus due to cervical cancer.
Oh, and lest you think that there's a bright side to hysterectomies, like not getting your period anymore, let me enlighten you. You know how people who have a body part amputated sometimes experience Phantom Limb Syndrome? Well, my uterus is my phantom limb. I still get menstrual cramps about every other month from a uterus that doesn't even exist anymore, which is, yes, the stupidest thing any of us have ever heard. Also, it's a bit of a kick to the psyche.
So, I want everyone and the people they love who are in the possession of a cervix to hop up into their doctor's stirrups and get that thing swabbed on the regular, because one of the best and proven steps that someone can take to prevent a cancer is to have a Pap test. I had no symptoms of cervical cancer prior to diagnosis, so it's worth the appointment, even if you feel healthy. Some doctors suggest doing it every year, and some every few years depending on your age and medical history, but I say why not make it an annual party, like a birthday present to yourself to ensure you keep having more birthdays?
• Pap test fact sheet, WomensHealth.gov
• Keeping Your Cervix Healthy, Canadian Women's Health Network
• Cervical Cancer, Mayo Clinic
• HPV and Cancer, a National Cancer Institute Factsheet
So, make an appointment and go get swabbed! It saved my life, and it could save yours. You're worth it.
Cervical Health Awareness Month has put me right back in 2007, the year I found out that I had cervical cancer. In 2007, I hadn't had a Pap smear, let alone a physical, since the Palinode and I were married in 2001, and, truth be told, I avoided them. Due to various personal issues, which I'm not going to get into here, the whole stirrups-and-speculum thing with a doctor all up in my business was triggering for me, and I preferred to skip the whole affair rather than go through stirrups/swab/cry-in-the-bathroom-on-my-way-out routine.
Let me tell you, though, if you wait long enough, relatively minor and easy-to-cure conditions can end up turning into cervical cancer, and that once yearly swab can turn into impressive numbers of medical professionals being all up in your business. Hell, I spent a couple of afternoons with my cervix being broadcast on a big screen TV in a surgical theatre to an audience of several people. "This must be what shooting porn gets to be like after a while," I thought, "only without all the fun parts."
Compared to that, the Pap smear is NOTHING. It's well worth the minor amount of fuss to find pre-cancerous conditions with relatively minor treatments, because leaving it go too long can have you end up on the wrong end of the cancer spectrum, which is why I'm now out both a cervix and one uterus due to cervical cancer.
Oh, and lest you think that there's a bright side to hysterectomies, like not getting your period anymore, let me enlighten you. You know how people who have a body part amputated sometimes experience Phantom Limb Syndrome? Well, my uterus is my phantom limb. I still get menstrual cramps about every other month from a uterus that doesn't even exist anymore, which is, yes, the stupidest thing any of us have ever heard. Also, it's a bit of a kick to the psyche.
So, I want everyone and the people they love who are in the possession of a cervix to hop up into their doctor's stirrups and get that thing swabbed on the regular, because one of the best and proven steps that someone can take to prevent a cancer is to have a Pap test. I had no symptoms of cervical cancer prior to diagnosis, so it's worth the appointment, even if you feel healthy. Some doctors suggest doing it every year, and some every few years depending on your age and medical history, but I say why not make it an annual party, like a birthday present to yourself to ensure you keep having more birthdays?
Cervical Cancer Information
• Pap test fact sheet, WomensHealth.gov
• Keeping Your Cervix Healthy, Canadian Women's Health Network
• Cervical Cancer, Mayo Clinic
• HPV and Cancer, a National Cancer Institute Factsheet
So, make an appointment and go get swabbed! It saved my life, and it could save yours. You're worth it.
Reader Comments (14)
You are awesome.
Thanks for writing this. I'm going to share it all over the place!
This is a great post. I happened to have a scheduled pap smear two weeks ago, but after reading this I almost feel like going in for another. Almost.
Agreed! Because of a pap smear I found out early about pre-cancerous cells many years ago and was able to have them removed. Pap smears are no fun, but definitely worth it.
Soooooo important. Although I haven't had cancer, I have HPV and routinely have my cervix scraped once a year. It isn't a big deal and means so much to your health.
In 2005 I met a girl in her early 20s who had undergone treatment for cervical cancer. One of the first things she said to me was 'always get your pap smear' and I have been ever since.
I avoided pap smears for so long after a really bad anxiety attack over my YEARS old rape. I avoided ANYTHING in my business for years. When I finally put on my big girl panties (and found a good therapist) I was at the "Gee, this looks odd--let's biopsy!" stage.
It was luckily able to be cut out, but it could have gone in the same direction as yours. I have since volunteered to be any one's hand holder and have found a doctor who I was able to talk to and deal with.
I am sharing this all over.
In January 2009 I had a portion of my cervix removed due to pre-cancerous cell growth. I was very lucky that the cells were benign, but spent the past 3 years getting pap smears every 3 months. I am finally cleared to go back to a normal routine, but will always be considered high risk for cervical cancer. As miserable as they, pap smears are necessary and saved my life once.
Thank you for sharing! I hope more women get checked.
i'm with you...i too avoided getting a PAP (out of shear laziness)...and like you what could have been avoided ended up with cancer of the uterus...and i had a complete hysterectomy also.
GET YOUR PAP!
I had no idea that January was so darn special. I have been through the scare and was ordered to come in every 6 months for PAPs, but I skipped my last one due to moving 1,000 miles away and "adjusting" to my new life. I've just found a doctor who can see me at the end of this month.
Thank you for being so honest about your cancer. I read your story when my tests finally turned out negative and my mother's turned out positive (two days later). Ain't that a kick in the teeth? Er...cervix? Mom's recovered now.
Saved my life too! I had my cervix frozen at 25 to get rid of bad cells and have been lucky to never have any come back!
Amazing timing: I read this an hour after getting my annual cervix inspection. I view it like getting my car's oil changed: no fun, but necessary for continuing health.
Last year's Pap wound up with me getting an endometrial biopsy. Fortunately, the biopsy came back clear. I feel I got lucky. My grandma died from metastasized cervical cancer.
New PAP recommendations just came out and the recommendations have changed quite a bit. We don't need them as often (every three years) as they use to suggest or as young (starting at age 25).
I've had a colposcopy. It sucked.
I just wanted to say a huge thank you for this post! Despite being told repeatedly by a handful of different doctors that a pap smear was not necessary (I'm 27 and have been sexually active for 9 years...) your post finally pushed me to go and get one done. After having a breast cancer scare a few months ago, I feel like you can't ever be too careful regarding your health. I feel much more at ease even just having been in to have it done, here's hoping for normal results back :)