HPV???? Concerns

[Brendricky]

When i was 26 i had a hysterectomy.  Just my uterus and cervix were removed.  I was never told if i had HPV, but then again back then it was not talked about. I was only told for a long time before having the hysterectomy i needed to ahve a pap smear every 3 months.  I was constantly having bad paps come back.  I had to have cryo surgery done twice and after not having a pap in 8 months i went to see the health dept for a pap, i was worried because i ahd not gone in so long a time. they said it would take 6 weeks to get the results i could not wait that long i said and i went to my old GYN the next week and had one done.  He suggested we go ahead and just finally remove it now, insurance would pay now most likely for it since then i had 3 kids. Lat time they refused because i was 20 and only had 2 children.  I agreed and the surgery was done a week later. When i got home from the hospital i found a letter from the health department. I had a class 2 pap and needed to see a dr.  I called my dr and asked (just curious) what did my pap come back as, they told me they didnt see any reason to tell me when it came in because i was having the hysterectomy but it came back as a class 3.  I then went in for a 2 week checkup and i was told by my dr the pathology on my uterus and cervix were class 4 pre-cancerous lesions. It was growing very rapidly.

My questions are this.  how can I find out if i have HPV? I have my ovaries but i have problems with recurring cysts on them, some have been seen on sonogram as large as an orange. I was put on lupron for 6 months and that did not help. I was told to have my ovaries removed.  I was told by a friend that she found out some gay men have been reported as having penile cancer and anal cancer and cancer of the mouth due to HPV, since males are the carriers of the virus.  Do i need to be checked out in other areas as well?  I was only told i had the precancerous lesions because i started having sex at to young of an age (10). I have given oral sex since before that age, and having anal sex since i was 14. I am a bit worried.  Do you think after all these years my old GYN would have results still of old pap smears and could tell me if it was HPV that i have? I am now 35, have not seen him since i was 26, and started seeing him when i was 21.

Thanks in advance,
Bren

[Brendricky]

Thank you for your response. As far as the class 2 3 and 4 i will try to explain it as best i can. Class 1 is negative for anything, Class 2 is Dysplasia, Class 3 is Abnormal Cells, Class 4 is Precancerous and Class 5 is Cancer.

I had gone to my regular doctor because of a vaginal discharge I was concerned about it did not itch but it was there.  They kept testing me over and over for a yeast infectin but i did not have one.  They did not know what it was, and never did find out. I have since moved out of state and am back in the state i was in with the doctor who did my hysterectomy. I think i will be getting back in touch with him.

Thank You,
Bren

[simplynat]

HPV is the causitive factor 99.8% of all cervical cancers and dysplasias. It is extremely common. There is conflicting research as to whether a person can actually clear the active HPV infection and rid themselves of it forever or whether HPV can alternately go from dormant to active, etc. I personally, strongly believe that it is the latter from personal experience and knowing women who have suddenly began testing positive for HPV after having LEEPS, cone biopsies, etc without having any new exposure. HPV can cause oral cancers, anal cancers as well as vaginal and vulvar. They aren't considered to be common but they aren't rare either. Which is why women who have had to have a hysterectomy due to cervical cancer need to keep up with regular paps because there is a possibility of HPV causing vaginal/vulva dysplasia or cancer.
I don't know what you results mean from your previous paps (the class 2, 3 and 4) I know cervical dysplasia is usually graded in CIN categories; CIN1 (mild), CIN2 (moderate) CIN3 (severe) or CIS which carcinoma in situ but not true cancer since it is not invasive. (sometimes CIN3 and CIS are considered to be the same) Pregnancy tends to create an environment for HPV and dysplasia to thrive because the immune system is down and can not fight off HPV as well. I would bet that it is very likely you have HPV (80% of the population will have an active infection by the time they are 50, just most will never know) I don't know if you currently have an active infection or not but I you must have had an active high risk HPV infection in the past due to the abnormal paps and needing a hysterectomy. They can test for the virus through your pap test, however the digiene test can only detect whether or not there is an active HPV infection (it cannot detect the virus if it is dormant) and if there is an active infection whether the strain is of high risk category or low risk category. I would highly recommend you go and have a follow up pap, it is very important you stay on top of smears even after having a hysterectomy. As for oral cancers caused by HPV, they do happen but it is rare. A dentist should be looking for lesions whenever you are in for a check up.