Information Pack for Women with a Learning Disability What is Colposcopy? Information Pack for Women with a Learning Disability Version 3 – Sept 2013

What is Colposcopy and Why do I Need to Go to Hospital? Section 1 What is Colposcopy and Why do I Need to Go to Hospital?

Why do I need to go to the hospital? You had your smear test done to check the health of your cervix (neck of your womb) The result of your smear test shows that you need to have another test to look at your cervix more closely You have to go to hospital for the test

Why do I need to go to the hospital? Your smear test result may have shown some abnormal cells They are at risk of becoming cancer in the future Cancer is a very serious illness

Why do I need to go to hospital? You will need to go to the hospital to have your cervix looked at more closely The department you will go to in the hospital is called the Colposcopy clinic

When will I go to the hospital? You will be sent a letter telling you the date and time of your appointment If you cannot go for that appointment you can ring the hospital and change it for another time or day It is very important that you go for the test

Who can come with me? You can take a friend, relative, nurse or support worker with you

What is Colposcopy A colposcopy is an examination by a Doctor or Nurse They look at your cervix more closely to check if the cells are healthy or not

How will the Doctor look at my cervix? The Doctor or Nurse use an instrument called a colposcope It looks like a pair of binoculars on a stand It looks up your vagina to your cervix It does not go inside your vagina

I Feel Nervous! You may feel nervous about going to the hospital Talk to people you trust Visit the colposcopy department before the day of your appointment You can meet the doctors and nurses Take someone with you

Going to the Colposcopy Clinic at the Hospital Section 2 Going to the Colposcopy Clinic at the Hospital

Going to the Colposcopy Clinic Remember you can take someone with you!

What happens at the clinic? You will meet the receptionist and give her your appointment letter She will ask your name, address and date of birth (birthday)

What happens at the clinic? You will be asked to sit and wait in the waiting room

What happens at the clinic? The Nurse will call your name and take you in to see the Doctor

What happens at the clinic? The Doctor or Nurse will sit and talk to you They will ask you some questions They will ask you when your last period was

What happens at the clinic? The Nurse will ask you to take off your trousers or skirt and knickers

What happens at the clinic? She will ask you to sit on a special chair or bed She will put a sheet over you

What happens at the clinic ? There will be a lot of equipment in the clinic room, don’t worry The Doctor needs this to do your test

What happens at the clinic? The Nurse will stay with you while the doctor examines you The Doctor will put a speculum inside your vagina This is the same as when you had your smear test done

What happens at the clinic? The Doctor will dab some liquids on your cervix This will show any abnormal cells on your cervix The Doctor will look at the cells using the colposcope

What happens at the clinic? Sometimes the Doctor takes a sample of the cells from your cervix This is called a biopsy A biopsy can sting a little bit sometimes

What happens at the clinic? The Doctor sends the biopsy to the laboratory in a special pot The results of the biopsy will let the Doctor know if you need any treatment

What does treatment mean? Treatment means removing the abnormal cells on your cervix There are different types of treatment The Doctor will decide which is best for you

When will I have the treatment? Sometimes the treatment can be done straight away Sometimes the Doctor has to wait for results from the biopsy before deciding if you need treatment

Will I bleed after the colposcopy? Yes you might bleed a little bit for a few days after Wear a sanitary towel

Can I have sex after the colposcopy? If you had a biopsy taken you should NOT have sex for about 7 days

Can I go home after the colposcopy? Yes you should feel well enough to go home straight away

When will I get my results? The Doctor will write to let you know if you need to go back to the clinic for treatment

Section 3 Why do I need treatment ?

Why do I need treatment? The results from your colposcopy show that you have abnormal cells on your cervix

Why do I need treatment? Sometimes these abnormal cells can develop into cancer Having treatment will help stop them developing into cancer

Who decides which treatment is best for me? The Doctor in the clinic will decide which is the best treatment for you to remove the abnormal cells

Where will I have my treatment? You will have your treatment done in the Colposcopy clinic The treatment only takes about 15 to 20 minutes

Who will be with me? The Nurse will stay with you while you have your treatment If you have taken someone with you they can stay with you as well

What happens at the clinic? The Doctor will put a speculum inside your vagina The Doctor will look at your cervix using the colposcope

Does the treatment hurt? Sometimes the Doctor will give you an injection to numb your cervix to stop it hurting The injection might sting for a few seconds

Treatment The Doctor will remove the abnormal cells on your cervix They will be sent to the laboratory in a special pot

What happens after the treatment? You should feel well enough to go home You may need to take things easy for the rest of the day

What happens after the treatment? You should only use sanitary towels and not tampons for 1 month after treatment

What happens after the treatment? You should not have sex for 1 month after the treatment

Will I notice any side effects? You might see some blood in your knickers. This is ok, use a sanitary towel If you see lots of blood tell your GP or the colposcopy clinic

What happens after the treatment? You might get a pain in your tummy a bit like a period pain. This is OK If the pain is very bad tell your GP or the colposcopy clinic

Will I need to come back to the hospital? The Doctor in the hospital will write to you and let you know the results of your treatment and when you need to come back to the hospital

After your treatment After your treatment you will need to have smear tests more often You will receive letters telling you when to attend It is very important you go for your smear tests This is to make sure your treatment has worked