CIN3 / Carcinoma in situ advice and experiences needed please.

[Bubblebell1]

will try and give you a brief outline..

had first abnormal smear in 2008 had a colposcopy a few weeks later and was told i had CIN1 changes to my cervical cells... they said i didnt need treatment as usually the cells return to normal within a year... fast forward to now and i had another colposcopy/biopsy which shows CIN3/Carcinoma in situ and have been refered for a loop diathermy next week.

i havnt had chance to speak to the dr or have anyone explain the procedure or what it involves and i have been letting myself get carried away with the whole jade goody experience.

i have 2 small children and am petrified that im not going to see them grow up.. i wondered if anyone had any experiences with CIN3 or the loop diathermy and would love to be told that im worrying unnecessarily.

TIA

xxx

Hang in there, bumping for you.

And not personally, but I had a friend back in the late 80s (I'm antique) who had exactly that in the early 80s. She's fine now, never had any further procedures, just lots of check ups.

HTH till someone more knowledgeable comes along...xxx

Bumping this for you Bubble - MN gets busier in the evenings and hopefully reassurance will be along soon xx

Also no personal experience, but have a friend who had CIN3, same treatment (loop diathermy), yearly smears for a while but no other treatment required. That was about 12 years ago and all well.

Hi,

I had CIN 3 a few years ago. Needed local excision and then a smear 6 months later. This one was borderline but I didn't need any treatment and had a repeat smear 6 months later, which was normal.
I went on to have yearly smears for the next 5 years which were all ok.
Now I'm back on regular screening.
It was worrying at the time, but the point of the screening is that they catch things early before the chance of cancer.
This site had some useful info

www.cancerhelp.org.uk/type/cervical-cancer/about/cervical-cancer-screening

Carcinoma in situ
(CIS)
CIN 3 is sometimes called 'carcinoma in situ'. This sounds like cancer, but it isn't. It means that some of the cells look cancerous. But they are all contained within the skin covering the cervix. It will not be a true cancer until the cells break through the top layer of skin covering the cervix and spread into the tissue underneath. If this happens, the cells can spread and then they will become a true cancer. You must have treatment as soon as possible if you have carcinoma in situ. As long as the affected area is removed, cancer can be prevented.

I am sure all will be well

My sister was CIN III just over 12 months ago, she had a loop done and then regular smears which have all been clear.

They are now happy for her to return to annual smears.

As Dropper says, CIN III / Carcinoma in Situ doesn't actually mean cancer, although it does sound that way. With appropriate treatement, for women under the age of 50, four out of every five cases are cured.

I completely understand you must be very scared, but I'm sure it will all be ok.

Link to a good page for information on Loop Diathermy

I've had CIN3 and loop diathermy twice. It (the treatment) really isn't that bad - you'll feel shaky afterwards and need a lot of love and care but please don't panic. My two episodes were pre-children and I'm on yearly smears for what will probably be the rest of my life (way over-cautious PCT but hey I'd rather be smeared than ill) but I've had 5 years of clear smears and really don't worry about it any more.

The actual procedure, when I had it, was under general anaesthetic as day surgery but that may have changed. As I said, you'll feel wobbly and weird afterwards - partly the anaesthetic, the rest feels like a really bad period. You go back after a few months for a biopsy (like a smear but with a pinch of tissue taken) where they check they've got everything, then back for a colposcopy or smear a few months later. You'll then be on a yearly smear cycle for a while.

You are almost certainly worrying unnecessarily. It's serious, you need to get the treatment, but I know lots of women who have and we're all still here and fine.

I had VIN3 and CIN3 in 2002 and had a loop exision of the cervix and an excision of the vulva and reconstruction and have had no further probs.It was scary at the time so I understand how you can run away with yorself but you have to stay positive and go with the doctors and the loop is v succesful.Thinking of you x

I had CIN3 10years ago and had the same treatment as you will have.
I had yearly smears for 3 years all was clear and now I'm back to 3 yearly smears.

This is exactly the reason for smaears. so we can get the treatment so we don't develop cancer, so be glad it's been identified and confident that the treatment is effective and all will be well.

I had the same in 2004. Had LLETZ treatment in 2004 and again in 2005 to take out a large chunk of my cervix. Following annual colposcopies were all fine, had 2 dc's by cs due to damaged cervix but otherwise no problems. At the start of this year I had another abnormal smear but as my cervix was so scarred and twisted from previous treatment I was happy to have a hysterectomy and the biopsy on my removed cervix was fine . More drastic than most but I wasn't planning on anymore dc's so it's nice to not have to worry anymore.

I had GA for the LLETZ treatment, but they only knocked me out for 30 mins and I was right as rain within a couple of hours.

I know it's bloody terrifying going through it, but you are in the system now and they won't muck about and you will be ok .

Hi

Carcinoma in-situ is a term that's not really used anymore, CIN3/CINIII is what's used instead - because it's a much better description of the problem with the cervical cells. It's not cancer - it's pre-cancerous changes. As the others have said it's highly treatable.
Sometimes the colposcopists like to take a small piece of tissue before deciding to go ahead and treat using the LLETZ or Loop so that's not unusual.

Useful links:

BSCCP - colposcopists' association

Jo's trust and their forum. It's a place where women who have abnormal results can chat and get advice, not just for women who have been diagnosed with cancer.

HTH

I had CIN3 20 years ago. Had a cone biopsy and all was well thereafter .

I've had 3 children, currently pregnant with 4th...

Just wanted to add another positive story.
Good luck to you.

I had LLETZ in 2002, it was fine. Terrifying to think about but absolutely fine. No problems since (touch woood, have my annual smear thursday!) The important thing to focus on is they have caught it, and caught it in time. Please focus on that. Good luck x

Thank you all so much for your reassurance. got a week til the procedure and i dont feel half as stressed out about it after reading your stories.

xxx