I am 43 and took the HPV test along with my annual Pap last year for the first time. To my surprise, as many others have said, I was positive for HPV despite being in a monogomous relationship for about 20 years. Even though my pap was normal, I was so upset that I insisted on getting a colposcopy as soon as possible. Luckily everything was fine even though my doctor did take a few biospies of suspicious spots. A close friend of mine (my age) had passed away from cervical cancer a few years ago, so I was well aware of her heroic battle and all she and her family endured. My questions are - should I repeat the HPV test and colposcopy if the HPV test is positive every year/or more often? I just had my annual appointment and my doctor thought the test would just show positive for HPV again and that the annual Pap was sufficient to show if there were any concerns that need follow-up. I have read that others with positive HPV get more frequent Paps. Should I be getting more frequent paps? Should colposcopies be a routine procedure for HPV positive women over a certain age? My doctor's position is that is would take years for anything cancerous to develop and that as long as I was having an annual Pap, problems would be detected before cancer developed. Am I worrying for nothing?
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I am 43 and took the HPV test along with my annual Pap last year for the first time. To my surprise, as many others have said, I was positive for HPV despite being in a monogomous relationship for about 20 years. Even though my pap was normal, I was so upset that I insisted on getting a colposcopy as soon as possible. Luckily everything was fine even though my doctor did take a few biospies of suspicious spots. A close friend of mine (my age) had passed away from cervical cancer a few years ago, so I was well aware of her heroic battle and all she and her family endured. My questions are - should I repeat the HPV test and colposcopy if the HPV test is positive every year/or more often? I just had my annual appointment and my doctor thought the test would just show positive for HPV again and that the annual Pap was sufficient to show if there were any concerns that need follow-up. I have read that others with positive HPV get more frequent Paps. Should I be getting more frequent paps? Should colposcopies be a routine procedure for HPV positive women over a certain age? My doctor's position is that is would take years for anything cancerous to develop and that as long as I was having an annual Pap, problems would be detected before cancer developed. Am I worrying for nothing?
July 24, 2010 - 9:35amThis Comment
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