Help please i am confused.

Hi Daisymae 

I'm sorry you find yourself here looking for answers. I don't have a lot of Info for you as Ive never heard of most of these terminologies. But then again i had to ask my consultant what "name" my cancer had and what size it was! I had squamous cell carcinoma! Shocked! But she'd no idea of size! But you will find a lot of support from the ladies on here. They're fantastic so hopefully somebody gets back to you with some knowledge. 

Best wishes..

Angela xx

Thank you, me too something is wrong here and i have been told i will need treatment but the Dr has not explained what it is or what i will need to have done. 

xx

Hi Daisymae.

I know and completely understand how hard it is when you know in your gut that something isn't right! I personally thought I'd get a hysterectomy and get on with my life but it wasn't to be..I'm 2b cervical cancer and although the treatment is very doable there's no point worrying(I know it's tough) until you know the stage/grade IF you have cancer. You can have abnormal cells and NOT have cancer so honestly the best advice is try not to worry yourself sick until you know the outcome. Keep busy and do whatever makes you happy for now and please come back on and talk to this group. This is a very safe place to release all your fears and worries so say what's on your mind and you'll feel so supported here.

Sending good vibes.

Angela xx

Thank you. xx

I have been fine up until this letter arrived, i have not worried about any of it.

Hi Daisymae and welcome to the group

It still amazes and annoys me that consultants send letters with medical terminology and no explanation. They should realise that we as patients don’t have the expertise to interpret them and it just ramps up the anxiety.

HPV causes abnormal cell changes, and low grade dyskariosis is a mild form of change to your cells, and not cancer. However, it is possible for the colposcopy result to differ from the smear, and the only way to get a definitive answer is to have biopsies taken. Sometimes the level of CIN (dyskariosis) may differ once the biopsies come back-the smear is just a sweep of your cervix but the colposcopy is a more detailed examination and the biopsies are taken to confirm the level of abnormality. CIN has 3 levels-from low to moderate to severe, but it is important to keep in mind that none of these is cancer. Often in younger women there will be a watch and wait approach to low levels of abnormality as the body can clear this and the cells can regress back to normal. 

Given your age, it can be harder to clear the hpv virus, so it may be that you will receive some treatment regardless of the CIN level to remove the abnormal cells. 

It’s not really appropriate for us in the group to try to interpret the results as we’re not medical professionals, and wouldn’t want to give incorrect advice to you, but I just wanted to try to reassure you that having abnormal cells does not mean cancer, and it doesn’t mean that they would ever progress to cancer. The whole point of the screening programming is to pick up changes early and sort them out.

I know it’s pointless telling you not to worry, but try not to spend too much time worrying until you have the biopsy results back. Abnormal cells can be easily treated in a simple procedure and hopefully that would be the end of it for you. If cancer had been found, you would have had a face to face discussion to discuss the next steps, not a letter.

I’m sure things will be much easier than you may think! Let us know how you get on.

Sarah xx

Thank you,

I hope you are right x

I googled and it said white areas are a sign of a higher CIN.

Hower, i just found the Dr's secretary number on the letter and will call them now.

Xxxx

Any areas of abnormality should show up white after the liquid is applied, so it wouldn’t necessarily mean a higher level of CIN but it is possible. I cant say I would recommend dr Google for advice-not something I did personally for fear of my anxiety being made even worse by horror stories which aren’t necessarily going to apply!

Hopefully you can get to speak to the doctor or get a call back, as the secretary isn’t qualified to discuss the results with patients. If they explained things properly in letters people wouldn’t need to phone up and ask questions, so it’s really frustrating that they don’t explain things in simple terms that patients can understand.

Sarah xx

I know and i wish i hadn't.

My sister died of bladder cancer aged 46 a couple of years ago and this is why i am now anxious.

I have another 2 weeks for the biopsies to come back, not normally a panicker but i feel something is wrong.

He said i will need treatment twice but didn't elaborate on anything, all he kept saying was have you always attended screenings and my answer was yes i have never missed one.

So confused.

Thank you.

Xx

That is a disgraceful way to treat you.

Xx

I find it a bit strange for him to say you will need treatment twice when the biopsy results are not back? Unless it’s because the area is large maybe? The treatment for abnormal cell removal is called a LLETZ, and involves a loop of electrical wire being used to remove the abnormal cells. Sometimes one treatment isn’t enough as they need to achieve clear margins-ie remove the abnormal cells completely with clear tissue surrounding the area.

Attending every screening isn’t a guarantee that you won’t be diagnosed with abnormal cells-a smear can miss them, depending on where they are. Biopsies come back quickly if cancer is found, but take longer if not in my experience-my results were back in exactly a week because I did have cancer.

Its strange-I didn’t feel I had anything wrong with me other than potentially abnormal cells but I actually had a tumour visible to the naked eye. The mind can play tricks and make you feel there is something very wrong, when in fact it’s not actually cancer and is something that can be easily treated. That’s where Google doesn’t help! 

The best thing to do in my experience while waiting is try to take your mind off things by using relaxation or mindfulness apps on the phone to keep yourself calm. You can’t change whatever the result will be by worrying and it just makes you feel worse overall. 

Sarah xx