I posted before here as I have severe cells and I need a lletz.
However, I don't think I am understanding the conflicting information I have received (not from you guys but from the clinic).
The clinic are pushing pushing pushing for me to have the Lletz aS soon as possible. However as I'm in my mid 40s we are trying for a baby everyone is saying do the lletz, do it now. Yet Information I have seen on the Internet and in the literature the clinic gave me is saying that this is NOT cancer and it's only a risk of developing cancer a number of years down the line. So why the big hurry .... If it is only a risk factor for something that may not happen why is there not time to have a baby first then do the treatment? Why do I have to wait and waste months of my time I have left before I hit menopause if it's only a risk factor? What would happen if I went ahead and tried for a baby before the 6 months is up, got pregnant and had to wait 9 months to get a repeat smear test instead of 6. The more I read about people saying of don't worry it's nothing, the more I wonder if I should just not do this lletz thing till I get my baby As sounds to me the lletz is not nice and can weaken the cervix for a while and puts potential baby at risk As well as the obvious delay to conception.
Please can someone explain to me what these tests really mean? Why the big hurry if it's only a future risk? Or is it possible that I do indeed have cancer or would it have shown up by now and everyone is worrying over nothing. Surely cancer would have shown up in my biopsies.
and the no1 question .... If this is caused by the HPV virus why are they not testing for it and offering me a treatment, surely that's the best way is to treat the virus that is giving me this so called risk factor for cancer Because if it turns out I don't have cancer then why not treat the virus rather than leaving the virus in me and calling me back in 6 months to go through this same thing again.
Im sorry for the ramble but I'm so confused over something that everyone is saying "don't worry" about.
hiya, don't apologise for ranting its perfectly acceptable. Firstly the lletz procedure is a way of kick starting your body to remove the hpv from what iv been informed so that's why its important to have it done. Also only you can decide if having the procedure now and waiting a short time to conceive or not have it done and take that risk. They recommend having it done for a reason! X
also cc doesn't allways show up in biopsys as its only the areas they take the biopsy from that they get results from hence having a lletz ro remove all the nasties!! X
I don't want to alarm you or panic, but my cancer wasn't diagnosed until after I had the LLETZ treatment. I have been advised to still wait untill my next smear until I try (if I want) for another,despite having already hathe all clear for treatment and a normal smear since too. its ccompletely your decision and only you know what os right for you at the moment. xx
Ultimately any treatment decision is of course yours. I don't know what you've been reading online, but with severe cells they are very unlikely to return to normal which is why they recommed LLETZ/treatment to remove the cells.
Unfortunately there is no treatment for the HPV virus at this moment in time, although in most case LLETZ kicks starts the body's immune system into fighting the virus. Your GP surgery can advise you about whether HPV testing has started in your area, although to be honest with severe cells it's likely there has been HPV infection and important to remove the cells.
It's possible to stitch the cervix after LLETZ so having it doesn't mean pregnancy isn't going to be possible after the treatment.
No one is going to be able to tell you what might happen if you decide not the have treatment now. Severe cells are not going to get better by themselves, which is why treatment is recommended while the cells are still at the pre-cancerous stage. A biopsy is only a small sample, as Floppypoppy said the tissue removed during LLETZ is also tested.
Not an easy decision, only you can decide if you want to risk delaying the treatment. Perhaps have a chat with your GP or someone at the clinic, so that at least they can give all the facts and you can make an informed choice. Better to talk to real-life health professionals rather than just relying on the internet when it comes to such an important decision.
this is not just a risk factor for possibly developing cancer or maybe not. If you found out you had high risk HPV, that would be considered a risk factor. However you have already progressed to severe pre-cancerous abnormalities, and the time for treatment is now, or you are very likely to develop cancer. I'm so sorry to be so blunt, but I just want to cut through your confusion. The medical professionals have your best interests at heart, as do we. If you have a lletz now, you will be fully recovered by spring and able to carry on TTC happy in the knowledge that you no longer have that threat hanging over you. How awful would it be to have a newborn and be diagnosed with cancer?
Within 6 weeks of my lletz I felt completely back to normal. However, I had progressed further than you and have had to have a radical hysterectomy, which has been hard for all my family. I only wish I had caught my abnormalities while they were still pre cancerous.
Best wishes, please do talk to additional professionals about this.
i can only speak from my experience but I got invited for a colposcopy and received the same leaflets, I was invited back for LLETZ under GA as large area of my cervix was covered with abnormal cells but in the mean time they took 4 biospsys, the day I got my pre op letter for LLETZ I got my results of the biopsy and in big capital letters it said no cancer was found to which I breathed a sigh of relief. Unfortunately following my LLETZ they discovered I did in fact have cc, only a small area so i suppose it was pot luck they would of got it on the biopsy.
i just wanted to share this really to give you another view on it, I kept telling myself it wouldn't be cancer and what I was being told seemed to reassure me of that but ultimatly until the cells are removed and checked there are no guarantees
I hope everything goes well whatever you decide, Sarah xxx
Thankyou. I know I have to do the lletz it's just so hard right now. I am just so tired of always being told its okay and it's not. Nobody has sat down and explained anything to me.. I've had two colpos and biopsies this past month, you just turn up undress then put your legs up then have people invading your personal space for your own good. piece of meat in a packing factory - next please.
I didn't get a referral to my local hospital either, I've been sent to another area. It's a three hour round trip before you even count waiting time, treatment and trying to find a parking space which takes 30 minutes as you have to queue ... Everything about this has been difficult, nothing easy, nobody has time to sit down and care.
Thing that makes me feel so guilty as there are so many women who are worse off than me, I know a few of you have been through extensive surely and here I am whinging about this.
Don't worry about having a moan, we've all done it! It definitely adds to the stress having to go elsewhere; the hospital I had my RH in was a good hour and a half away which put a lot of pressure on my husband. But I know I got more specialist care there, so worth it really. I think different hospitals specialise in different things.
It does feel horrible and invasive. I think that's one of the reasons i was glad I'd had a GA, so at least I hadn't witnessed it all!
Molly, it's on the 22nd which I guess is perfect time to rest up over Christmas I guess. I wasn't given an option of having a gA, they just called me on the phone and said we've booked you in and it's a local. Of course that will give me something to read up on too as when I go to the dentist they can't give me adrenalin in their LA, the have to give me different injections As I get tachycardia. I wonder if they have adrenalin in the LLETZ injections. So many questions.
Thanis for your support, and I see you have been through a lot too. How are you feeling now that it's all over?
Yes they do have adrenalin in the LLETZ injections, as they tell you this is what makes your legs quiver. I can understand your frustration with everything, but getting your health right down below should be the priority before you put a baby in there smack bang in the middle of it.
