Just when I thought this summer couldn't be any more of an emotional roller coaster, I got a call from my doctor. I missed the call last night and got short, and incredibly vague, message, "I need to speak with you about your test, please call me back."
My mind immediately went to worst case scenario mode and I had a hard time sleeping last night because of being stressed out.
This morning, I called the doctor's office. After a little bit of phone tag, I finally spoke with her around noon.
"Your pap smear showed abnormal results, so we're going to do a colposcopy." She explained what that was, and told me her nurse would give me a call to schedule the procedure. It was a pretty short conversation, but left me shaken up. The first thing I thought of was the history of cancer in my family. My dad's dad died from colon cancer. My mom's mom died from breast cancer. Neither was cervical cancer, but...
Now I'm waiting for the nurse to call so I can wait for the procedure then wait for the results after that. This sucks.
Mr. Curls was quick to say, "They're just checking. It doesn't automatically mean something's wrong. Until they say otherwise, don't worry." I really appreciate his support, because this is freaking me out. The worst part, as always, is the waiting.
2 comments:
My unsolicited two cents: Just breathe. Let yourself feel the stress and then try to let it go. It's easy enough to get caught up in the "What ifs?" or worst case scenarios, but why give your emotional energy to an unknown variable?
I've had two colposcopies over the years, and I needed a LEEP after one of them. Six of my good friends have also had colposcopies over the years. It's the normal protocol after an abnormal pap, but statistically, it's very rarely cervical cancer. (I feel thankful that things can be caught in the pre-cancerous stage. Other older generations did not have that option, as your family unfortunately knows far too well.)
Talk 3-4 advil an hour before the colposcopy and plan not to go to work afterward. It won't last long, but it's not a comfortable procedure either.
You have some good stuff on the horizon with your new job. Don't let this take away your joy!
Email me if you need to. We may be virtual friends, but a friend is still a friend! xoxo
Thanks for the suggestions. After I did a little online research to look up what else can cause an abnormal pap, I'm more optimistic and less worried. Like Mr. Curls said, until they know there's a problem, we don't KNOW there's a problem.
I'll make sure to take some advil and schedule the afternoon off.
Thanks again for the kind words. I appreciate it.
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