I've had 4 smear tests this year at the colposcopy department (and previous to that I was having annual smears because of HPV) and each time, my cells have been unsatisfactory. My case was discussed at an MDT meeting after the smear results in April and they advised a repeat smear in July, which I've just had the results of. At my July appointment, my consultant said it was a complete mystery as to why my cells were repeatedly unsatisfactory and he effectively said to me "we can't tell you this isn't cancer" because there aren't any cells to actually check. But there were some positives; I didn't have the right strain of HPV that turns into sinister pathology, and any growth would have been visible on my smears. My latest results (from that repeat smear in July) have now come back as high-risk HPV and cells still unsatisfactory, which has really worried me because it seems to have changed to high risk very quickly, and the cells have still not been able to be checked. Now my case goes back to the next MDT meeting, I have spoken to my consultant's secretary and his likely recommendation is going to be LLETZ or loop treatment but I'm extremely worried that something is being missed because they can't check my cells. Has anyone ever had this before with the cells?
Hi Kim A and welcome to our group.
Thats a lot of testing you’ve had to go through without getting any answers, so that must be difficult to deal with. I haven’t got the same experience to share as I went straight to a cancer diagnosis, but perhaps I might be able to help with some general information.
You mentioned the “right strain of hpv” in terms of anything potentially turning sinister, and it’s true that certain strains of hpv are more likely to do this. However there are something like 200 strains of hpv, and it’s possible to have more than one at a time. There is also a difference between low risk and high risk hpv.
When we have cervical screening, the test is looking for high risk hpv, and if this is identified, then the cells will be further tested for any abnormality. Clearly there’s been an issue in getting enough cells from your particular tests.
However, you can also carry low risk stains of hpv at the same time as one or more of the high risk strains-the strains are different but they don’t change from low to high risk. Low risk strains would be responsible for things like warts.
If the mdt suggests a LLETZ treatment, this will remove cells which will then be sent to a pathology lab to be analysed, so this should give you an answer. Having high risk hpv doesn’t mean you will have any abnormal cells, but when the cells are analysed it should be possible to tell what level of abnormality is present-these are graded on a level of 1,2 or 3 depending how abnormal the cells look. These are still not cancer. I do appreciate however, that without an analysis of the cells the doctor cannot say what the results what might be and whether there is a possibility of cancerous cells.
So, if a LLETZ is done, you should have some answers soon afterwards, which will hopefully reassure you. It may be that other ladies in the group have experienced something similar and may come along to share their experience of something similar happening.
Sarah xx
Hope this has helped a little for you. I’m doing ok thank you-my original diagnosis was way back in 2018, so there’s been a lot of water under the bridge since then!
Sarah xx
