I’m conflicted on if the self swab would benefit me
Hi guys I have a question. I’m approaching 25 and I’ve never had a pap or any pelvic exam and I never will, so I guess my next option is a self swab. But then they recommend you go in for a follow up pap if it’s positive which defeats the purpose for me.
I became sexually active at 15, and I’ve had about 15 partners total in my lifetime, I was a bit promiscuous (2 were r*pes, I’m only including them to calculate risk). I smoke vape. But I’ve had the HPV vaccines as a kid/teen and I’ve been celibate for 2 years now and plan to stay that way. I’m overall pretty healthy.
That’s why I’m kinda worried but if it’s positive I wouldn’t do a follow up, I’d just have to live with the anxiety of a positive test which makes me think I’d be better off not swabbing at all. I know a positive doesn’t mean it’s cancer, I know most HPV infections clear on their own with time. I have bad health anxiety. I’ve never been good at making decisions so this is why I need some help and clarity. I know the risks of not screening at all and I’ve accepted that whatever happens to me happens, it’s on me and nobody else. I’d be fine with not screening. But then again knowing my status might help me relax some. Then I started thinking that maybe I could wait a few more years to self swab to give my body time to clear an infection if I had one, and staying celibate means no new potential exposure.
I know this is kind of asking for medical advice so if that isn’t allowed here I’ll take it down. But I appreciate this sub, to me it feels like a safe space to ask since I’m conflicted. Thank you