I'm going to get cervical cancer

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I'm in a panic here. I've just read on the internet that taking the contraceptive pill for more than 5 years can increase the risk of cervical cancer, and I've been on the pill for over 10 years. I went on the pill because my periods were too painful, so the doctor recommended it. I don't want to come off the pill, as I know that as soon as I come off it the periods will become painful again. It happened to my mum when she had to come off the pill because she reached age 50, she was happy on it for a long time then as soon as she came off it her heavy periods came back, even worse.

I'm having major trouble having a smear test. I want one, but I've tried 3 or 4 times and each time was SO painful that they couldn't get it in. I'm trying to make another appointment with the doctor to see if I can be referred to hospital so that I can have a smear test under sedation, but I just cannot get an appointment because they are full for the next month and they don't book appointments over a month in advance. I know I will have to keep trying, but it's ridiculous. I can't afford to go private.

About sedation, I am worrying about that too. What if it still hurts? I know someone who went for a colonoscopy under sedation, and they said it still hurt. The pain I get with smear tests is undescribable, and it's no good just telling me to relax. I have a very low pain tolerance, and also anxiety. Even writing about it now makes me squirm and cross my legs. It's become a problem.
Also, when under sedation, does it mean you can lose control of bodily functions like urinating, pooping and gas? I do not want that to happen, as I have severe social anxiety (although smear tests don't embarrass me for some reason).

Yes, I can't even have sexual intercourse with my boyfriend. We've tried sacks of times, and I just cannot bear anything going up there. Luckily my boyfriend understands and has a low sex drive anyway, and there are plenty of other ways to have sex anyway, so it's all good.

But this is frightening me. Does anybody know any reassuring information about this? Am I at more risk of cervical cancer on the pill if I have an STD (which I haven't got), or over 50 (I'm only 28)? Please help me.

Just make sure you get check-ups often.

https://www.webmd.com/sex/birth-control ... cer-risk#1

So, the raise is from 0.38% to 0.45%.
Cervical cancer is curable if detected early, so yes, don't give up getting tested.
Have you ever seen any doc about your vaginal pains? It's not usual, you obviously have some condition. Typical vagina is quite flexible, for me, the smearing test isn't painful at all, just a little scratchy. What did the doc who tried to do the test say?

Listen to Magz.

Nope, it is pure agony for me, I'm telling you. It literally feels like my vagina and bladder are being split apart by a sharp knife. The pain is unbearable. It almost makes me vomit. I'd rather have a tooth out at the dentist. Yes I have been to talk to the doctor about it several times, they just say it's OK if I don't feel ready and can come back to try again. I've asked to be referred to hospital but they haven't done it. The health care in the UK is terrible if you're under the NHS. You find yourself just going round in circles and not getting anywhere.

I bet I will get cervical cancer.

Yes, I heard from Poles living in UK that health care is worse there than here.
Did you tell them that you never feel ready and that your vagina is always like that?
It looks like some indepentent condition requiring treatment.

Magz is right.

Perhaps you should look into this. I'm sorry this is happening to you upon examinations.

The best way to prevent a bad cervical cancer is to catch it really early. And they almost always catch it through examinations.

Just a thought:have you heard of vaginismus? This can make trying to insert anything into your vagina painful and likely impossible. I think I most likely have it and I wouldn't even consider having a smear test.

There are ways to reduce it but it takes time - there's loads of info online.

I think I may have this. I heard that STDs can higher the risk of cervical cancer, and I don't have STDs. So I'm hoping my chances aren't as high as I fear they might be. The doctors have never been concerned about me both being on the pill and having trouble with smear tests, so surely if my chances were that high they would consider taking me off the pill until I can get a smear test done? They're more concerned about the breast cancer risks, but I'm not so afraid of that, because you can keep an eye on your breasts a bit more yourself.

It looks like you might be able to do it yourself at home soon.At home testing

It sounds like you could have endometriosis. Painful, heavy periods and painful sex are a few of the main symptoms. Tons of women with endometriosis experience pain with pelvic exams. Doctors are notorious for ignoring these symptoms and it often takes close to 10 years to get diagnosed. They have just come out with a blood test in the UK to test for it, otherwise it requires surgery to diagnose it. It is good to get diagnosed as early as possible as it affects your fertility the longer the disease progresses. Many doctors will put just women on birth control and it can control the pain for some but it just masks the symptoms.

Gut issues can also cause pain with insertion. I had gut dysbiosis (SIBO) a few years ago and it made sex and pelvic exams very painful. Now that it’s treated I have no more issues with painful sex.

It's very frightening though, when you hear everywhere that young women have missed their smear tests and then ended up diagnosed with stage 4 cervical cancer and cannot be saved.

The agonising pain seems to be more in the bladder than anywhere else during a smear test.

Look into pelvic floor rehabilitation. It's a form of physiotherapy that can treat vaginismus.

Let me address an information gap on this topic. The primary cause of cervical cancer is human papilloma virus (HPV), a sexually transmitted virus that is very common in the general population. Not every form of HPV is equally aggressive or even likely to cause cancer; the strain that is present can be analyzed to see if it's one of the "bad" forms.

Likely, most of the increased risk with the Pill is due to more sexual partners, or only one sexual partner who himself has had a lot of sexual partners. That's because it's this germ, that you only get from other people, that causes most cases of cervical cancer. If two people are completely faithful and have never in the past had other partners, the risk is quite low. Also, nuns who are lifelong celibates very rarely get cervical cancer.

I am not saying that hormones, such as the Pill, never cause cervical cancer; certainly estrogens can cause breast, uterine, and ovarian cancer or at least increase the chances of it, and probably also cervical. But it helps a lot to understand the facts about cervical cancer.

There is a vaccination you can get in 3 doses that almost guarantees you will never get HPV. It's worth asking about, if you worry about HPV, even if you are in a committed relationship. After all, your boyfriend had other partner(s) before you, so he could be harboring the virus. (As could you, having caught it from him.)

The difficulty with vaginal intercourse or having a speculum inserted is a different thing entirely. It might be more common in people with high anxiety - I'm speculating, I don't know that for a fact.

You asked about loss of bodily functions under anesthesia. That does not appear to be a common phenomenon. If anything, your smooth muscle (such as gut) will be slowed down by the anesthesia. For procedures involving anesthesia, you may be asked to fast for quite a few hours so you will have very little stomach contents; that's so you don't vomit and aspirate into your lungs which is a very serious complication. But fasting also means you are less likely to lose anything from your bladder. You can ask a doctor or nurse if you're still worried.

I'm no good at fasting as it makes me feel sick and shaky, but I suppose a few hours won't hurt. Sometimes I can get gas though when hungry, and constipation or diarrhea when nervous.

Bea made a very good point about the HPV shot.

I would recommend getting the shots and also going to Pelvic Physio. That way you'll be able to tolerate a pap and you won't need anaesthesia or fasting at all.

Researchers at the University of Edinburgh concluded a nationwide HPV school vaccination program offered to young girls led to a “dramatic reduction” in the risk of developing cervical cancer later in life.

The U.K.'s National Health Service (NHS) launched a program in 2009 that offers 12- and 13-year-old girls the vaccine against the human papillomavirus (HPV), a group of sexually transmitted viruses that could lead to cervical cancer.

Scientists from Strathclyde, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Glasgow Caledonian universities teamed up to analyze the cervical cancer screenings and vaccination records for 138,692 women who received their first screen for cervical cancer at the age of 20 between 2008 and 2016.

“Routine vaccination of girls aged 12-13 years with the bivalent HPV vaccine in Scotland has led to a dramatic reduction in pre-invasive cervical disease,” the study published in the British Medical Journal said. “The bivalent vaccine is confirmed as being highly effective vaccine and should greatly reduce the incidence of cervical cancer.”

Cervical cancer is the second most common type of cancer for women under the age of 35 in the U.K., the NHS reported. While there are over 100 kinds of HPV, some strains of the virus are considered high risk because of their link to cervical cancer.

Researchers evaluated the level of abnormal cells, called cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), found in each woman’s first screening. The NHS categorizes CIN in three levels with CIN 1 cells having the lowest risk of becoming cancerous, CIN 2 have a moderate risk and CIN 3 cells having the highest risk.

The study revealed that vaccinated women born in 1995 and 1996 experienced an 89 percent reduction in CIN 3 cells compared to women born in 1988 who never were administered the vaccine. The researchers also found an 88 percent reduction in CIN 2 cells and a 79 percent reduction in CIN 1 cells, The Independent reported.

Public Health Minister Joe FitzPatrick told BBC News that the outcome of this study represents "the significant and continued benefits of our vaccination program," and that the NHS will offer the vaccine to school age boys beginning next year.

When the NHS first launched the vaccination program, scientists originally believed the vaccine would protect against only two strains of HPV, the ones responsible for 80 percent of precancerous conditions, reported BBC News.

Research now suggests the HPV vaccination protects against three additional strains of the virus, eliminating 90 percent of pre-invasive cervical disease in Scotland.

Source: UK's HPV vaccination program ‘dramatically’ reduces risk of cervical cancer, study shows