TMI Gyno Question inside

So, Im catching up on my magazine reading and flipping through and old Jane (March) and see this frightening article about a 28 year old girl that died of cervical cancer in a matter of months from finding out. Turns out she had HPV which led to it. The scary thing is that less than one yr before she had had a normal pap smear at her yearly gyno visit.

Now lately Ive been hearing about HPV all over the place - on commercials, magazines etc. I go to my gyno every year and have never had any problems but I never even heard of this until recently and never thought to be tested for it.

How many of you have been tested? Did you have it? Would you know you had it if you had not specifically asked to be tested for it?

I'm calling my gyno monday

Re: TMI Gyno Question inside

HPV is very common but very treatable if detected early. I did have HPV and it caused my cervical cancer, but keep in mind I had 4 bad paps before my dr decided to test me further .

The reason you hear so much about it, is there was a Federal grant approved for research and awareness of HPV and so a LOT of money was put into educating people about it.

Also a vaccine for HPV has been established and is in the late stages of FDA approval and should be available to the public in late 2007, early 2008.

I wouldnt worry yourself too much. It sounds like you stay on top of your health....dont let these things take control of your life. Just be aware and you will likely be fine!

Re: TMI Gyno Question inside

would you mind explaining HPV a little further. My cousin had an abnormal pap test, they biopsied(spelling) it, and it came back okay. Is this something she should look into? Thanks!

Re: TMI Gyno Question inside

found this for you////


Human Papillomavirus, or HPV for short, is the virus that causes warts. And by this, I mean any kind of wart - the wart you have on your elbow, the plantar's wart on the bottom of your foot, the skin tags that are on your neck. There are more than 70 different kinds of HPV - and 30-some of these cause genital HPV.


Genital HPV is not necessarily "genital warts." There are more than 30 strains that infect the genital area, and they are divided into 2 subcategories: Low-risk and high-risk HPV.


Low-risk HPV is called low-risk because it does not lead to cancer. In fact, these types of HPV have only very rarely been found in cancer. Instead, low-risk HPV tends to cause genital warts. It is also possible for a pap smear to be abnormal due to low-risk HPV. However, these abnormalities will not lead to malignancy. Additionally it is important to note that if a pap smear is abnormal due to low-risk HPV, then any HPV DNA test performed on it will come up negative. This is because currently, HPV DNA tests only detect high-risk HPV.

High-risk HPV, so named because it can lead to cancer if untreated, only rarely produces warts. Instead, it produces abnormal, or pre-cancerous, cells. These cells are commonly found on the cervix, by means of an abnormal pap smear. A pap smear that is abnormal due to high-risk HPV would also test positive on an HPV DNA test. However, it is possible to get abnormal cells due to high-risk HPV in other places, such as the vagina, vulva, anus, and rarely on the penis (here is the complete list). High-risk HPV can come in different severities, for example: a woman might have an abnormal pap smear with low, mid, or high-grade high-risk HPV.

For a complete list of symptoms genital HPV can cause, please visit the American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology at http://cme.asccp.org/faq/histHPV.cfm. It explains low and high-risk HPV. Another good source of information about this is the American Social Health Association’s page on HPV Myths and Misconceptions, found here. Read the question entitled, “Myth: Genital warts lead to cervical cancer.”



The only reason that a doctor will give you a pap smear every year is to see whether or not you have a high-risk HPV strain in your body. If you get regular paps, you won't be significantly at risk for cancer, because the doctor will treat any abnormal cells before they can progress.



Having genital warts does automatically mean you have HPV; however, having an abnormal pap smear does not. Warts are caused by a strain of HPV 100% of the time. Sometimes, however, a pap smear may, in some cases, be abnormal due to something other than HPV.

Having genital warts does not mean you will get cervical dysplasia, as having cervical dysplasia does not mean you will get genital warts. If you have a low-risk strain of HPV, it will not mutate into a high-risk strain, and vice versa. However, it is possible to have more than one strain, so many people do get both cervical dysplasia and warts. It is also possible for a pap smear to be abnormal due to low-risk HPV, so a person might have both warts and an abnormal pap, and still have just one kind of HPV. Conversely, it is possible for genital warts to contain high-risk HPV, though this is certainly NOT the norm and does NOT happen in the vast majority of cases. For example, HPV type 16, one of the most aggressive high-risk HPV types, can cause “condyloma planum”, or flat warts; however, these do not look like the raised genital warts caused by low-risk HPV strains. (Please see the explanation on http://cme.asccp.org/faq/histHPV.cfm.)


You get HPV from having sex with an infected partner. Some people use condoms and still get the virus, so condoms are not entirely reliable when it comes to HPV. HPV is really, really common - because most people never show symptoms, no one knows they have it. According to the American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology, at any given time only about 1-2% of the population has genital warts, and 3-5% of women have pap smears with cell changes due to HPV, while the risk of being infected with HPV over one’s lifetime seems to be between 75 and 90%.

Re: TMI Gyno Question inside

I was a late bloomer when I had my first visit to the gyno (31 ) I have a diblitating fear of doctors. In any event, my pap came back abnormal and the dr. explained it was HPV, I had to have a biopsy which she didn't like the results of and I had to then have a colpsocopy. Since then all my pap's have been normal.

My sister is a doctor, so of course after speaking to my gyno I called my sister and she assured me that it's a common occurance and really nothing to be too worried about as long as you take care of it.

Re: TMI Gyno Question inside

I too have HPV... I have known about if for a few years now. I was very scared at first, but now I go to the DR every 6 months and try to keep track of everything... When I first had my abnormal pap, I was also told it was HPV... after having many colposkopys sp? I had to have the Leep surgery where they remove parts that had the abnormal cells. I agree with the above posters, if you take care of yourself, you will be ok. Feel free to FM if you have any questions!

Re: TMI Gyno Question inside

I asked my doctor about the test a few years ago (I had read an article about it) and he said that they usually don't test for it unless you have abnormal Pap(s). I guess I could ask what he thinks about it now that its all over the place (and I'm using a different doctor)