How HPV Can Play Out Over Your Lifetime

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So, then what?

If you’re like many women, you may spend the next couple of weeks as a ball of nerves, waiting for your results. Meditate daily. Talk to other women who have been through this. Be gentle with yourself, and manage the stress. The waiting might be the worst part. When you get your results, a few things might occur. Your doctor might say they didn’t find anything, and you can go on about your life. Perhaps they’ll have you come in for your next pap smear sooner. They may say that one of three possible precancerous stages were identified. These will be called CINs and they are precancerous lesions affecting the cells of your cervix. There is CIN1, which is considered mild, and CIN2 and CIN3, which are considered moderate to severe. It is important to know that cervical cancer typically takes many, many years to develop, and death by it is extremely uncommon. It is one of the most preventable cancers, so if you are found to have CIN2 or CIN3 lesions, do not panic. You caught this early.