Do What You Gotta Do

So ~ this is a topic that you never hear anybody talk about and if you are a dude reading this or anybody for that matter that doesn't like to hear about women's health issues....you may want to abort. But, I decided to talk about it because it might help somebody.

Well, about a month ago, I went for my annual checkup with my gynecologist. Then, one day after that, my doctor called. Well....I can tell you that nobody's doctor calls just to shoot the breeze and tell you everything is fine and that you have the loveliest cervix he's ever seen. Just doesn't happen. Anyhoo....Dude calls and says that my Pap Smear came back looking a little rough (at least that's what I heard.) So, I went in for him to do the next test, which is called Colposcopy but my word for it was OUCH! Now, I had this same thing happen in 2011. The Pap Smear came back questionable so I had this same test done and they biopsied one little area, and everything was fine. Returned to life as normal. Well, here it is 2013 and same result. HOWEVER, this time the biopsy showed abnormal cells.

Well ~ I did the appropriate amount of freaking out and gave the Dr. the Third Degree. He said it was just categorized as a 1 and that the procedure he suggested was just preventative. No cancer, but left untreated it could turn into that. My Doctor said that in his 25 years of practicing that he had never treated a woman for cervical cancer. He said that women that usually have it are ones that don't go for their annual checkups or haven't been in over 5 years. So, here is where I preach it. GO GET YOUR DANG SELVES CHECKED.

So ~ the recommended procedure that I had done this morning is called Cryotherapy, which is basically freezing of the cervix. They freeze for 3 minutes, then you rest for 5 minutes, then freeze for another 3 minutes. And, just in case you were wondering, when I saw the tool after the first three minutes ~ it was covered in ice looking like a giant icicle!! Insert the best jokes you can at this point!!But, all in all, the procedure took less than 15 minutes. I am a huge baby, so I asked my Doctor to tell me stories during each of the 3 minute periods. You're thinking .... did she really do that? Oh yes I did. And, he is great and told me about the JMU game he is going to tomorrow and then he told me about his trip to Yellowstone. And, he told both stories in such detail that I could picture being there. Now, is that a great Doctor or what? He is also the same Doctor that delivered Jacob and told me to scream if I wanted to, so I did and he laughed because the nurses were like "Why did you tell her to do that??" His personality so matches mine.

Anyway ~ the point of this whole story is this....Was the procedure painful? Yes. I had mild stomach cramps and I had really bad back pain that felt just like back labor. Extremely uncomfortable. But, if a 15 minute procedure can potentially save your life one day ~ Suck it up, Buttercup and Just Do It!

Hope this helps somebody else.