I had all the Gardasil vaccinations when I was in my early 20’s and with my second partner (now ex-partner).
My first abnormal Pap result came after I had given birth to my second baby in 2008, this cleared away on its own.
In May 2016, at the age of 28, I went for my routine 2 yearly Pap test. The results came back with low-grade abnormalities. I waited until April 2017 and had a re-test. In May it came back high-grade lesions. I was referred to a specialist team about 45 minutes away. At the specialist, I was told laser would be the treatment option until they performed a colposcopy and 3 biopsy pieces were taken from my cervix. A vinegar test was done and photos were taken. I could see from the screen it wasn’t looking good.
Weeks went by and I was told that I had Cin3 (caused by the HPV virus). It had spread pretty much to the area around my cervix and formed new growths. In August I had a large scope excision (LLETZ) performed, it took two passes and a few blood pressure issues in recovery, but they got me back to normal and off I went. I’m awaiting my follow up colposcopy in December 2017. I have been told so far they got it all, so I was given clear margins.
Since then I encourage all women and young ladies to be screened regularly and if you have symptoms to see a doctor. I’m lucky it was caught early, it may have been a tad aggressive but we got it all so far. Some are not as lucky and we think and pray for those women who have a long journey to fight this demon.
Thank you for reading my story.
2020 update:
Olivia has had regular cervical screening since having LEETZ in 2017, thankfully, all tests to this date are clear from both HPV and abnormal cells.