Hi. Been reading this site for the past few days and it's really helped. I'm hoping to get some advice even if it's to be told I'm jumping the gun!
I got my smear results on 22nd December and I'm driving myself insane! Showed HPV Positive and high grade (moderate) dyskariosis. I was 18 months late getting tested. I'm 40 and my last smear was around May 2010 whilst undergoing IVF to conceive my son.
My colposcopy is booked for Friday 2nd January which I fully expect will show at least CIN2 changes. I'm sort of hoping that as I had so many internal scans for my Ivf treatment that were all ok even if I have got cancer it shouldn't be too advanced?
Here's where I really need some advice. I've had abnormal smears with cells that could become pre cancerous in my twenties. No treatment needed but yearly smears for around 6 years. Clear smears in my thirties and now this. I won't lie, I'm terrified. I've a three year old little boy who needs his mum fit and healthy. My bits and pieces don't work anyway, hence ivf so I wondered would the drs be receptive if I requested a hysterectomy rather than.them cut away at the cells? Also what happens with the hpv? Does lletz give the virus nice new cells to reinfect? Does a hysterectomy mean the virus can affect you still? My mind is working overtime. Any advice would be gratefully received.
Hi there im so sorry you are going through this but definitely the place to get some amazing advice. I will try to answer your questions as best I can, I dont have much experience with HPV as I was negative. However the HPV will not be removed by having the llets it will just remove the cell changes that have occured due to the HPV infection, you can get infection multiple times and there are all different strains which in most cases our immune systems fight off. HPV 16 and 18 are the ones related to CC. So yes after the lletz you can have persistent HPV whivh doesnt seem to resolve itself or be reinfected.
Im sure its possible to have an elective hysterectomy, im not sure which type they would do as a radical hysterectomy is really only used to treat cancer and I have no experience of the others. Im sure given your history it is just abnormal cells at the moment and has not developed into CC, its a slow growing cancer so it takes a long time to develop.
Hoping someone will be able to answer your questions on HPV a bit more accurately and hope all goes well for you :)
I'm sorry you're going through this, I can understand how worrying it all must be, and that you have lots of questions.
Charlene has already made some good comments. I can add what I've learned from my experience but I'm no doctor. LLETZ is effective in around 95% of women. Although it only removes the cells, the procedure in most cases will encourage the immune system to then tackle the HPV. There is still a lot that isn't known about HPV, but sometimes it can lie dormant, sometimes the body can't clear the virus, and sometimes ladies may be infected with another type (ie from a new partner). But as I say, statistically most women are successfully treated with LLETZ, so probably best to try this before thinking of a hysterectomy. I doubt they would do something like that for a first treatment, unless there was a clinical need of course, and even then a very tough thing to go through.
As an aside, I've asked about hysterectomy and was told it's not a cure as the cells in the vagina can still be affected, and that it can be hard to take a take a smear from the vaginal vault after this. So probably best to talk all your options through with the doctor.
I dont know if this is any help, but wish you all the best for your colposcopy x
How did it go yesterday? I got the LLETZ and not feeling too bad for it considering they took quite a chunk. I hope that they were able to answer your questions and that you feel more reassured.
