pap smear

[johnny]

Wife went for pap smear 3 weeks ago and the doctors office called on a Friday night at 6pm to say they want her to come in to talk about the results. This has us both freaked out.
She is 33 and has had a yearly pap smear for the last 15 years, never any problem. This year is the first time with a new doctor and all of a sudden there is a problem. Seems suspicious, I think doctors are more intersted in making money then caring for their patients and we were not impressed that the office would call on a Friday night just before close and ruin our weekend. Do doctors not realise people stress about these things?
I did some research online about pap smears and was suprised by my findings. Many people find these yearly exams to be unnecessarry, something like to save one life you have to do 10,000 pap smears for 35 years. Just wondering if the amount of money that goes into these exams and the stress that they involve for the women make them worthwhile.
How many women out there have been called in by their doctor to talk about abnormal pap smear results and have it turn out to be nothing?

 

[Scarey]

Notwithstanding the health risk(I do hope she's okay).Significant ownage.

 

[johnny]

What does that mean?

 

[SillyGirl]

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/detection/Pap-test

 

[basketcase]

Hopefully it is nothing. Too often doctors have their secretaries make these calls for non-urgent matters - it could be something that the doctor just wants to keep an eye on.

I had a similar experience a couple years ago where the doctor told me they'd only call for something urgent then called about something already in the doctors files and already being monitored. I was freaking out because I had to wait an hour or two until that secretary came back from lunch. I feel bad for the stress that an entire weekend would bring and I hope it's not serious.

 

[johnny]

So i have read that 75-90% of sexually active people have HPV, so does that mean most women get this type of phone call at some point in their life?
Also if she has had regular tests for 15 years and no problems and has only had sex with me then why is it only being discovered now? Does HPV take years and years to show up?
My conspiracy theory was that she had 15 years of no problems with one doctor and the first year with a new doctor there is a problem.
Thank you for your response

 

[james t kirk]

The fact that she has had no problems for 15 years is irrelevent.

Now there is a problem. Is this not how it usually goes. Last year - I was fine, this year I am not fine.

Anyway, odds are there is something out of the oridinary. Many women have "out of the ordinary" pap results. It could just be some unusual spotting, or cells, or whatever. But the fact of the matter is that you need to follow up. BTW, most doctors are busy enough, they don't need to generate revenue. Besides, the test kit goes to a lab and the lab generates the report. The good doctor just did the test.

 

[johnny]

BTW, anyone know how much the HPV vaccine for young women costs?

It is estimated that Gardasil will cost between $300-$500 for each woman.

G

 

[Aardvark154]

The mechanics check the aircraft you are supposed to fly on for the past 30 flights but this time find a problem, should they just ignore it because the other 30 preflights showed no problems?

Why bother to check the aircraft at all after all crashes aren't that frequent and most of the time they don't find any problems.

Don't go into a panic, but show some concern for your wife!

 

[massman]

Dont listen to what the "hypotheses " of what this call means. She should gomtalk to the doc, and not worry about it till she does that.

As for the rest, doctors have a lot of waaaaaaay better ways of making money than inducing panic and hysteria amongst their female patients and their hubbies. In fact this is a definite money loser. An anxious patient will take more time on the phone (which pays little to nothing) and slows down the flow of the office visits (costing real money).


As for the "cruel timing of this call" ever think that the doc is busy seeing patients the other times, and that maybe at 6pm on a friday there is a very good likelihood that the person might be at home to personally take the call?!? No MD who values his licence will leave a confidential result on a voicemail. They have no idea who may hear it. Imagine a mrs x picking up the messages "hello mr x, just calling to let you know the gonorrhea test is positive, and btw so is your girlfriends pregnancy test!!"

 

[Aardvark154]

Almost 99% unlikely that HPV infection went undetected for 15 years of PAP smears.

I've mentioned this before. Years later, I still have a fair amount of resentment towards the medical staff of my ex-wife's OBGYN physician.

They told her a foreign born woman with English as a second language all about how the most common cause of an abnormal pre-cancerous PAP smear was HPV and how it probably came from a sexual partner, but they never bothered to ask how long we had been married (or sexually intimate), it takes a while from infection to abnormalities showing up on a PAP smear.

Of course all she heard was "I gave it to her." Another nail in the coffin. :frown:

So when you think the news is bad. . . . .

 

[fuji]

Don't freak out. These tests are designed to find PRE-malignant cancers. Something found early is generally easy to treat.

Best thing in life would be to live to 100 without ever having any health problem, but 2nd best is definitely to live to 100 due to timely medical intervention.

Just keep a cool head and go see your doctor. Sometimes things can get pretty scary but still turn out OK, don't forget that. My wife's doctor found a lump, biopsied it, told her it was "probably" cancer, and sent her to a surgeon. The surgeon made a small incision, cut the lump out, and then a week later said "Hey I sent the material we removed to the lab, and they just called, they said it wasn't cancer after all. False alarm." At that point she's believed she had cancer for about three months, and had been through surgery. Turns out she didn't ever have anything...

But we are not sorry that we went through the process, it could have saved her life!

 

[Brill]

WTF!
She had the test done 3 weeks ago and you haven't told us the results yet??
Are you trying to ruin our Tuesday night with this suspense???

 

[johnny]

thank you all for the replies.
I am concerned for my wifes health thats why i am in panic mode. If i didnt care then i wouldnt be worried.
I was more trying to find information to put her at ease. She is very upset by it, as much as i try to assure her it may be nothing and not to worry until you go talk to the doctor, nothing helps. Then if it is HPV, of course it will be all my fault. Not fun. Sometimes it helps to rant.

 

[johnny]

No i am not but I all of a sudden have a craving for watermelon after reading your post.

WTF!
She had the test done 3 weeks ago and you haven't told us the results yet??
Are you trying to ruin our Tuesday night with this suspense???