MIDDLE-AGED WOMEN 40-60ish
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I think the abnormal PAP means that you have cells that COULD turn cancerous if not treated. It is not a cause for alarm in the early stages but if neglected could later be cancerous. Hope this helps! Every time I go to my OBGYN she has some kind of torture in store for me, Like ripping samples out of me to make sure it is not cancer. I try to take tylenol before I go to help with the cramping. I am sure it just needs a follow up! Don't worry about that one. Hugs to ya!
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Oh Elimar..... so sorry you've joined our waiting-thru-the-weekend crew. I hope that you are able to get to the bottom of this newest chapter, and quick.
I'd suggest you watch football all day tomorrow to keep your mind completely empty. LOL.
Hubby just called and he made it to our house in FL, safe & sound. He assures me that it's all there waiting peacefully for my eventual arrival. Makes me smile just thinking of it.
Everyone sleep well.
I think tomorrow we should concentrate on the build-a-man project and relegate all of this cancer nonsense to the back room.
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I am calmer now, having done some superficial Google browsing. I still have to ask exactly WHAT showed up under the microscope, and Google that specifically; but for now, I have found out that there is a "grading" for the level of cell abnormality. Since my letter said "slight" abnormality, I hope that means I am in the low grade. The good news about low grade is that it often resolves all by itself.
Seyla888, I am going to ask whether a second test might be in order to confirm the first one, but what I have read about this afternoon kind of indicates that my body might need time to replace the abnormal cells with normal ones, and the standard practice seems to be the six month wait-and-see interval.
Getting the news in a letter does stink. Getting it on the weekend stinks even more because, of course, anyone is going to have a few questions right off the bat when they get that kind of letter.
p.s. Faith, I'll watch "football" if it's the Euro round-ball kind. I'm more World Cup than Rose Bowl (but I do usually watch Super Bowl for the ads and half-time.)
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Elimar - a few comments -
First, your first follow-up mammogram will probably be a little less fun than a normal mammogram because you had surgery within the last year and also radiation. There are debates about whether it's even worth it to do a mammogram within 12 months of radiation. I had one about three and a half months after finishing radiation, and another six months later, before reading that I might not have needed one just yet.
Second, because of the radiation, and your "history of breast cancer," they'll be insanely thorough and you'll feel like they might want to hang you from gravity boots to get new, improved angles. You might wait a looooooooong time in a freaky little cape in a waiting room, because there are changes from the recent radiation that will take longer for the radiologist to evaluate. You might even get an ominous letter mandated by the state that sounds bad but just means "radiation changed your breast tissue." So be prepared and you won't freak out.
Bummer about your cervix, Elimar, but you're right: "slightly" abnormal cells are often eradicated by the body, and you can't check it too frequently because the cells on the transformation zone need to heal and re-grow between PAP's. The cells in this area take a loooooong time to become dangerous, so they can be supervised with some degree of safety. My cervix was trying to kill me (slowly) for years before it decided to become normal. Just after I graduated to yearly PAP's again, I found out I had breast cancer...
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Elimar...Thank You for reminding me. Ihave to make an appointment with GYN .
I took month of December off from the Doctors. Now I have at least 4 scheduled ones.
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Elimar, After chemos and rads, I went to my gyno for my annual, which I had skipped for several annuals. My pap came back abnormal. I had to endure a biopsy which I have had a few times before. It came back non-cancerous, but I had to go in for a pap every three months until I got two normal paps in a row. I had just got the okay to stretch it to every six months when my Gyno (58 yrs old) passed away. My new gyno is unconcerned and into the PS side of things (botox and vaginal rejuvenation) so I have returned to my GP for my annual. This guy even advertises that he will do breast augmentation with implants, in his office, and you can walk out within an hour! I will go back to gyno when I get ready to schedule my surgery.
When I was 22 I got a call from my gyno's office stating that my pap came back class IV and I should return to their office for a follow-up. It happened to be after a traumatic incident in my life and I decided this would be a good time to change gynos, to just have a little follow-up. When I told my new gyno why I had come, he flipped. I had no idea what pap classes were, no internet back then, so I wouldn't have made it up. The follow up came back okay. But it goes to show you that you can get some bad info from office staff. You know my old gyno's office never called to find out why I had not folowed up for my "Cancer in Situ" results.
My GP tld me that if I did not hear back from her office within 10 days, do not assume the rresults were normal, call her office. That means I wait until the 7th. After having the history I have, I don't ake anything for granted.
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My Onc told me to wait 6 months after chemo to have my routine Pap. Says that chemo can give false positives. Let us know what the gyno said after you talk to him tomorrow. I agree that sending you the letter instead of calling was pretty lame. Good Luck.
Navy
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Hi all,
Faith, just caught up with the thread=thinking good thoughts for you..... odds are in your favor...
Sleep--- I am not sure how I sleep-- I still get up twice a night to go to the bathroom.... I do wake up in all sorts of stiffness b/c of femara but once I get up and get going I am ok-- actually shoveled snow this morning. I try to combat that with lots of exercise--- and so far after 7 months, it works. Hopefully this will be the worst of the se's-- I do find that I go to bed earlier still like I did during radiation--love to hope into bed by 9.... up by 5...
best to all--happy new year--faith, you are in my thoughts. Please keep us posted.
Carole
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Navy, I did not have to do chemo so not a factor for me. In my reading, I saw that good old AGING is a factor in abnormal cells being present in some cases. Chalk up one more thing we can enjoy about middle-age! I will share the info I get tomorrow with you.
The best thing I am reading is that it takes YEARS for anything abnormal to develope into actual cervical cancer, and there are treatments to make it go away before it does.
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Lookie, lookie, Eph3_12 got some hair now! Eph, you are a cute little Q-tip!0
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Good morning, middies.
We've awakened to a whole new batch of snow. This one will have to dig out from. Hopefully they can keep ahead of the roads staying cleared.
Can't believe it's a 'school day' tomorrow.
Staying in my calm-zone over here with the grand-peeps.
Slept pretty well on my bunkbed surrounded by the men of my dreams:
Tickle-me-Elmo, Teddy Ruxpin, Thomas-the-Train and a whole host of others.
It seriously made me giggle to clear a spot for me to lay down.
That's a good way to go to sleep.
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Sending out extra calm & acceptance to any & all on the waiting merry-go-round.
Sending out strength & courage to any in the midst of treatment.
Sending out laughter & joy to any suffering from cabin fever & gray skies.
Sending out hugs to the whole middie multitude.
That could be abbreviated: MM
Edited for M&Ms..... we'll see how long this picture holds:
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I forgot to ask...did anyone make a New Year's resolution? Besides not to get any more B/C, I mean?0
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Not a resolution, just a decision out loud. I would like to lose 20 lbs.
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Good morning all! Blessed Sunday to all the MM's--or should we call ourselves M&Ms? Middle-aged and multitudinous? Sorry--I'll go get my second cup of coffee and wake up some more before posting again. . . .
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(You already know I have a naughty side.)
Avert your eyes now, if you're easily offended and seeking a G rated thread.
***Warning*****
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LOL!
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Yes........ back to my good habits that were cast aside for the Holiday season!!!!!!!!! Enough!
Happy New Year everyone............
Pat
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Faith, what was your other pic? I did not make it onto the post. (The one above your naughty candies.)0
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I looked right after it was posted and nothing was there.
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on my screen both pics are still showing, even now.
my first post of the day has everyday M&Ms in colorful parade.
the second post has the naughty S&Ms. silliness.
can you see either? neither?
silly technology.
LOL
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The regular M&Ms on parade is showing the "account inactive" message on my screen.
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Inactive on my screen also! Elimar, et.al. went to church today "topless". Everyone loves my hair! I am OK with it except, right in the middle, on the top, there's hair but it's transparent, so from a distance it appears I'm bald on top!
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It seems to me that more-and-more-and-more the photobucket collection photos slip to 'inactive' with greater & greater regularity.
I have no explanation, but it's a pesky mosquito that bothers me.
In the grand scheme of things, I'll just learn to be frustrated, I suppose. LOL
Just picture mundane cartoon M&Ms in color.
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That thing with the cartoon is so odd - I can see it just fine.
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desdemona222b, well that is odd. BTW, how is your big rabbit friend HARVEY doing?0
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OK. The first pic went to inactive on my screen, too. So I replaced it.
We'll see if the cartoon holds it's spot -- don't know that there would be an appropo substitution
LOL
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I also get the problem "bandwidth exceeded" and lose pics that way. Not sure why that happens. If we went back a month or two looking for pics we put on here, I bet a good number of them would be disappeared by now. Bummer. Some of the posts might not even make sense without them.
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Elimar-on my 'puter your welcome speech is without picture; says photobucket expired or something like that.
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I got the S&Ms and laughed myself silly but nothing on Elimar's. My rabbit can see all of it tho. Too funny. I love this thread- the graphics make it POP!
Love to all- Valerie
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Well, that is odd, because I do see my own graphic at top. (Today it's another snowman.) I have been changing them out every few days, so, if this is just some weird intermittant problem (with Photobucket, cause I am using that just like Faith) then don't worry, hopefully you will be able to see the next one when I change it again. During the holidays, I had about 1/4 that would display for a while, then get replaced with some kind of error box message. Pffffft!
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