Cervical Cancer

[bethlogan]

I was just informed that I have cervical dysplasia I was told the ONLY way to get it is from either me or my husband having sex with another partner, even if it was 20 years ago. However, my husband and I are high school sweethearts, we've known each other forever, and have a strong, trusting relationship. We were virgins when we got married. My doctor tells me there is no other way to get this, however when I search the web I find different info like "Eighty to ninety percent of women with cervical dysplasia have an HPV infection. Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a group of more than 80 different viral strains. About one-third are sexually transmitted" Does that mean that 10% of cervical dysplasia are NOT caused by HPV... and even if I do have HPV (which we don't know because they did not test for, they just assumed) is there another way to get it that is not sexually transmitted? All the info I find says so many different things. Please help me understand if there are other ways to get this virus, or cervical dysplasia. Thank You.

[CLinFL]

I don't know how old you are but if it's not from HPV....which can take years and years to show.... did your mom happen to take DES when she was pregnant with you? I've read about DES causing dysplasia. BUT I also wonder if sexual transmission is the only way to get HPV. I honestly think there are other methods of transmission.

[bethlogan]

I am in my mid 30's. I don't know what my mom took, I know she smoked and drank, and was never physically fit, it's possible she took lots of stuff. I read online that "Cervical dysplasia can be present without HPV and may be caused by other infections, by folic acid deficiency and by depressed immune function. Some nutritional deficiencies cause cervical dysplasia. " But I've only found that on one site, and my DR says the only way to get is via HPV... but I also found online several stories of women who have been diagnosed with Cervical dysplasia, yet their HPV test showed up negative, I'm still awaiting my results on that. The first pap they didn't bother testing for HPV, they just assumed, so I had it redone to be sent away to test for HPV. Assuming it comes back HPV, I'm still curious is there are non intercourse ways to transmit. My husband and first girlfriend had oral sex, but again my DR says no, that wouldn't transmit it. I would love the opinion of another professional, or something who's heard a similar story, or gone through themselves.

[mandag83]

I have a very similar situation, I've been diagnosed with abnormal cells as well, had a colposcopy and biopsy, and am going in next week for further tests. I'm 23, and my fiancee and I have been together since we were 16, no other relationships before then for either of us. There is pretty much NO WAY either of us have contracted HPV from sexual intercourse, and neither of us has any evidence of infection. I've been having symptoms since I was 12, started menstruating at age 9. My mom was never on fertility drugs (i.e.,DES), but she did have early uterine cancer, and had a full hysterectomy at age 30. I've been told by my doctor that in some cases dysplasia can be totally unrelated to HPV, and can be genetic. Since my mom had early cancer, it is likely that I may develop it. I wouldn't worry too much about people telling you it is exclusively from HPV, since there are so many other factors that are involved. Make sure you have a doctor that you are comfortable with, and ask as many questions as you can come up with. Be proactive, make sure you get in to the doctor every 6 months (at least that's what my doctor told me to do), and demand information. I had the luck of having a doctor at a university research hospital who thought it was really interesting to have someone my age with these symptoms (the more interested your doctor is in you, the better).

[mandag83]

"I've been having symptoms since I was 12,"
Sorry, I wasn't clear here, symptoms of dysplasia, not HPV.

[bethlogan]

Thanks for the info. I went to the doctor yesterday for my colposcopy and biopsy, I loved the doctor, he was very kind and put my mind at ease about getting this from sex. I did test possitive to HPV, so we know I have it, the high risk type. He did say there hasn't been enough research on how it's contracted. He did point out that ANY contact between two people and that region of the body can transmit HPV, so intercourse is not required. It's reported that condoms don't even protect fully agains HPV, so there is proof that intercourse isn't necessarily the only cause. My husband and his first girlfriend 16 years ago fooled around with "heavy petting" but didn't actually have sex, so this he said was surely how it was contracted, and that it's very common to lie dormant for years or even decades. He also believes that it would be possible to spread if someone touched their genitalia, didn't wash hands, shook your hand, then you touched your genitalia without washing... he thinks it's a pretty easy spread virus, much like a cold. Another patient he told me about was a 90 year old woman, who had always had a yearly normal pap. When she was 60 her lifetime husband died, she never had another sexual relationship, 30 years past, and at 90 she was diagnosed with cervical dysplasia and tested positive for HPV... proof it can lie dormant, or perhaps be picked up another way. He stressed that it should NEVER be suggested that it means a partner has been unfaithful, there just isn't the research to support that, or disproove it at the same time. He said it's more important to stay healthy, and stress free, suggesting that stress weakens the immune system and may be why the dysplacia decided to show up now.

[bethlogan]

To clarify, my midwife who delivered by my kids does my yearly pap, and alerted me to the original problem, and said that it couldn't be passed via oral sex. She referred me to a Gyno who I then talked to and he disagreed, he say any touching of that region can transmit HPV.