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I am 27 years old, and I have been diagnosed with severe dysplasia. I had been told before, during and after my pregnancy that there were a few abnormal cells on my cervix but nothing for me to be worried about. I then went two years without having a PAP smear (not having a doctor, and having a small child can keep your mind off of these things). I am going in tomorrow to have the cells lasered off, and I am terrified. They did the biopsy and told me that there would be no pain involved! Boy were they ever wrong!!! I hurt like crazy for the rest of the day. My husband seems to be entertaining the idea that I've cheated on him (which I have NOT) because this was caused by this HPV. I'm worried, embarrassed, and unsure as to the future possibility of having another child. I've read some of the other comments on here, about hysterectomies, and I know my mother had to have one, albeit for different reasons, but still. Wish me luck, and for Pete's sake, get your PAP smears done, on schedule!!!! Save yourself some of the emotional upheaval that some of us have had to go through.

I am a 50-year-old female. I contracted a mild-to-moderate case of cervical dysplasia when I was 23 years old. I had laser surgery. I got married and had three children. When I turned 36, it came back severe with CIN2. I had a LEEP procedure. When I turned 43, I developed severe bleeding and was diagnosed with HPV with the deadliest cancer-causing strain. A uterine ablation was performed but ultimately failed. My gynecologist prescribed additional testing and found tumors and fibroids. My radical hysterectomy came at the age of 46. I strongly recommend being an advocate for your health and wellness. I lost a friend at the age of 31 to cervical cancer because she could not find a doctor that would take a radical move to cure her. After, she passed, her oncologist also died. Seek treatment and second opinions; it just might save your life. I know first-hand, and I am grateful that I did. I am doing quite well.

I am 48 years old and I was diagnosed with moderate cervical dysplasia. I had the leep procedure done and had some bleeding. Then after work one morning I started to bleed heavier and passed two quarter size clots. I went to the E.R and they stopped the bleeding. They let me go home and said to take it easy for a few days and if I started to bleed more than spotting to see my doctor. This has been a scary thing to experience. I had always had normal pap tests.

After having an abnormal pap smear last year, I began to wonder if HPV was a possible cause because one of my close friends had experienced the same abnormal pap and was then diagnosed with HPV. My follow up 6 month pap came back normal. Now this year's annual pap came back abnormal as well, but this time I am under the care of a new OBGYN due to the passing of my other. My new OBGYN tested my abnormal pap for HPV and found it to be positive. WHY was that not done last year, especially when the severity of the abnormality was the same?! Last week I underwent a colposcopy which returned results with a high grade dysplasia of the cervix. I have been crying all day since I have gotten the results. When I was younger I received all of the Gardasil shots but somehow have still contracted a harmful strain of HPV. Next week I will be having a laser ablation procedure and am SCARED to death. I really hope that my life is not going to be forever affected. My main point: understand WHY your doctor does what he does (or doesn't do in my case) and don't rely on shots or any other preventative method against HPV.

I am 26 years old. I was diagnosed with dysplasia or atypical squamous cells (ASC-H)5 years ago in 2006 and had to have a colposcopy done to remove the bad cells that year. Then just recently, December 2011, I had to have another colposcopy done because once again my PAP smear came out abnormal. I am praying that I don't have to go through the pain of having a biopsy done again just to keep from developing severe dysplasia or cervical cancer. After having it done once, I was hoping it had gone away and I would not have to go back again for the procedure but after 5 years it happened once again...Now I am worried it will progress and I have to keep getting tested regularly.

I was recently told that I have more abnormal cell growth around the area of my vaginal opening that I had laser ablation on a year and a half ago. My cervix is normal and I have clean paps but I experience a lot of pain and tearing during sex where these abnormal cells are growing. I went through physical therapy after my surgery to break down the scar tissue that developed from biopsies and the ablation. (Yes, there is such a thing. I was skeptical in the beginning but it was amazing how it helped the pain.) Pelvic Floor Rehabilitation is what saved me from a life of painful sex. It's not 100% pain free but it is leaps and bounds from where I started. This disease has taken a lot from me. Money, time off of work, the ability to be intimate with the man I love, and ultimately my marriage. I just paid off my last medical bill from the surgery that took place a year and a half ago last month thinking that the experience was behind me only to go in for a checkup and be referred to another oncologist for the same thing. I am worried that my current boyfriend won't stick around while I go through this painful, expensive and disheartening experience all over again. I'm not scared of cancer, surgery, pain, or embarrassment, just that I will once again lose someone I love because of this awful disease.