Cin 3 Again!!!

[hamisheena]

Hi, looking for some advice.

I had an abnormal smear (cin 2) lletz therapy, then 6 months later another abnormal smear (cin 2/3) so more lletz therapy. Now have another abnormal smear (cin 3). They were pushing the hysterectomy option when I had my hospital appointment but I wasn't keen so they will be doing a cone biopsy under GA.

Anyone got any experience of this? I don't want to take risks with my health but i really don't want a hysterectomy if I can avoid it.

Thanks

Bumping for you. Hoping someone in the know comes along with some answers soon.

Have all these abnormalities been over a short space of time? If yes, it does seem as though you have a very stubborn infection and your own immune system is just not dealing with it. Perhaps see what the cone biopsy results tell you and then go from there. I'd probably want a hysterectomy, to be honest, but I am a natural born worrier. If there was a gap of several years between the first two abnormal smears and the current one, then maybe slightly less cause for panic! You might get another few clear years before you have to make the final decision...

Hopefully, someone who has actually experienced this many abnormal smears will tell you what they did (I've had two lletz treatments, one for CIN3 and the other one, which took a great big chunk out of my cervical canal following another abnormal smear 6 months later, that turned out to be an area of metaplasia, not neoplasia... still a bit peed off about that, as I'm now worried that if I ever get another genuine abnormality, they'll tell me I've already had tonnes of cervix removed and they recommend more radical treatment...).

Yes it has been a short time gap. More abnormalities every 6 months even after treatment. I'm worried about all the chunks out of my cervix too, not sure if that has any implications or not?

I don't want to take any risks with my health but I don't want a major op that will impact on a lot of other areas of health and lifestyle either?

Really don't know what to do for the best.

What's the difference between meta and neo plasia Rabbit?

Metaplasia is an area of cells that don't look the same as the others, but are totally benign and not really caused by anything in particular, just part of the body's normal functioning - ie won't develop into cancer. Neoplasia is the typical abnormality seen in high-risk HPV infection - ie abnormal cell changes that could well develop into cancer at some stage if not dealt with.

I was told that the majority of women (who need treating at all) only ever need one treatment. For each subsequent treatment required, the chances of the abnormalities returning yet again increase quite a bit - ie if you've had 3 abnormalities in a short space of time, you are likely to keep coming up against this problem and it is much less likely that it will go away. However, as you say, having a hysterectomy is not a decision to be taken lightly, so I would listen carefully to what your consultant says to you and, hopefully, you will get to talk to someone on here or elsewhere who has been through an experience similar to yours, before you make up your mind. If you don't have cancer, after all, you don't have to rush headlong into a decision.

As for implications for your cervix, I think several treatments do increase the risk of premature birth, as the cervix eventually becomes weakened. The cervix can also become damaged enough to cause problems with periods (eg not letting the blood out, although I think you'd be unlucky for this to happen), or to cause problems with getting accurate smears in the future. That's my understanding, anyway, which is that of a layperson, not a medical professional.