WORRIED!

My wife was recently experiencing some very sharp pains in the ab. area. So of course she went in. After being examined she was told she had a cyst, more then likely, and results on her papsmear would be back shortly. It's abnormal, I'm stuck a thousand miles away and know absolutely nothing about any of this. She sounds worried and I don't even know what kind of biopsy is needed for this. She's 24 a smoker works and studies 13 hrs. a day 6 days a week. The pain, she tells me, has faded. She got off The Pill and about a 2 months later this all happend. I know her cycle is very hard on her, harder without the pill. I guess I just need to understand what she is facing at her appointment next week and what the biopsy procedure for something like this is? Low risk factor or not, RISK IS RISK and I'm sorry but I'm NOT ok and I need to understand I think that would help me be there for her even though I'm here. She DOESN"T worry ever about anything.

[ccctalks]

Your wife shouldn't be having a biopsy of ANYthing with just one abnormal pap test, especially at age 24.  Normal procedure for this is to retest her with another pap test at the doctor's discretion, usually in 2-3 months.  If your wife's doctor is using the new procedure using a wet slide, alot more pap tests come back abnormal than they did with the old test because it picks up alot more, which does nothing but cause unnecessary worry for the patient.  My daugher is 28 and she had her first 'abnormal' pap test last year.  First thing the doctor wanted to do was a biopsy.  My daughter was not about to let her do something like that based on one abnormal test, especially at her age where the chances of something being wrong was almost zero.  So she found herself another doctor who did another pap test on her the following month - it was fine.  Next one was abnormal.  One after that was fine.  This doctor uses the newer procedure so her tests are coming back abnormal more often than they did before but there's nothing wrong with her.  I want to point out also, that my daughter's two best friends also had their pap tests come back abnormal last year.  It's not uncommon as alot of things can give an abnormal reading, from an infection to her period.  You and your wife are worrying for nothing, and shame on the doctor for scaring her like that instead of just retesting her in a couple of months.  A biopsy is not a fun thing to have done, and why this doctor would even  suggest it after only ONE test, to me, is inexcuseable.  You retest.  Period.  And go from there.
As far as the cyst goes, I'm going to assume the doctor meant a cyst on her ovary, and I'm going to question why there wasn't more concern for that and an ultrasound done.  A cyst can burst if it doesn't go away by itself, and this doctor should be following up on that instead of doing biopsies on things that don't need it.  And this cyst has absolutely nothing to do with her pap test, two completely different areas.
You might want to tell your wife about my daughter and her friends so she realizes that this is a very common thing, especially with younger girls, and 99.9% of the time it's nothing to worry about.  You might want to suggest to her to tell this doctor she does not want a biopsy as it isn't necessary or warranted at this time, and to request a retest in 2 or 3 months.  Tell her also if the doctor thinks he feels a cyst on her ovary, he should be doing an ultrasound to determine if indeed there is one there and to keep an eye on it.  Then next month she should go back in for another ultrasound to see if it's gotten any bigger.  I myself had a cyst several years ago and when I went back in for a second ultrasound, it was gone.  And yes, I had some pain from it but it went away and I was fine. And your wife will be fine too.  It's her body and she has the right to tell any doctor she sees what she does and doesn't want done, and don't let some doctor talk her into it or intimidate her just because she's young.  There are way too many doctors out there who are 'test-happy' when it's not warranted.  And in your wife's case, it's not warranted.  No biopsy.  A pap retest in 2 months.  An ultrasound now on the cyst.  And tell her to stop worrying......please let us know what happens.  You both take care.

[spicer]

I cannot believe your wife's doctor wants to do a biopsy based on ONE abnormal pap test.  Unbelievable.  There are so many things that can cause an abnormal reading, and most of them, if not all, are nothing to worry about.  Your wife is very young, and the chances of her having anything seriously wrong are next to zero.  She's too young for anything that's probably going through her head right now, and a biopsy is usually meant to check for cervical cancer, which at age 24 is not something she has to worry about.  That doctor should be putting your wife's mind at ease right now and simply suggest a retesting in a few months.  If a second one comes back abnormal, than yes, you check a little further.  But right now, a biopsy is just not justified at this time.

Tell your wife if her doctor is anything but agreeable and understanding about her wishes at this time, she should find herself another doctor who is.  A good doctor won't push a patient into something she doesn't want or thinks is necessary, so if this is how she is treated simply because of her age, she should find someone else.  There's too many doctors out there to stay with one you no longer feel comfortable with.

Good luck.......and tell her to please not worry, she is fine.

[concerned husband]

Thank you so much for the support and response. I'm going to call her tonight when she is done with class and discuss what you've all shared with me. Again, thank you all very much.

[STAR765]

HI I AM VERY WORRIED ABOUT MY 22 YEAR OLD DAUGTHER SHE IS A MOTHER OF 2 HER SMALLEST CHILD IS 5 MONTHS OLD AND RIGHT BEFORE SHE FOUND OUT SHE WAS PREGRANT SHE HAD A PAP TEST AND IT CAME BACK ABNORMAL SHE HAD A ENDOCERVICAL BRUSH DONE IT READ ATYPICAL SQUAMOUS CELLS OF UNDETERMINED SIGNIFICANCE, FAVOR DYSPLASIA SQUAMOUS METAPLASIA WITH ATYPIA CANNOT RULE OUT HIGH GRADE LESION ICD-9-795.0 RECOMMEND COLPOSCOPIC DIRECTED BIOPSIES
THE THIN PREP PROCESSOR THAT WAS IN 2/02 SHE HAS HAD ANOTHER SINCE I BELIEVE IT WAS NOV IT CAME BACK ALSO HIGH GRADE LESION SHE HAD ANOTHER THIS FEB 2003 WE ARE WAITING FOR THE RESULTS THE DOCTOR STILL DID NOT DO A COLPOSCOPIC ARE A BIOPSIE PLEASE TELL ME MORE ABOUT HER RESULTS AND WHAT A HIGH GRADE LESION MEANS THANK YOU