Fri 19 Oct 2007
I got this via secure medical-site email today. I believe this would mean it’s the 3rd worst-case-scenario. *cry*:
Received:
10/19/07 9:26 AM
Hi, I have the results of your cervical biopsies. Remember we did this to check to see why your pap smear was abnormal.
We found what we expected, PRE cancerous changes, NOT cancer. Remember, this is preventive medicine.
We should treat this (we have plenty of time) to prevent cervical cancer developing in the future.
The treatment I recommend for you is a LEEP procedure.
To schedule an appointment for yourself I would like you to call our pap smear coordinating nurse, [KB] at [#].
Here is some information on LEEP.
Dr [K]
What is a LEEP procedure?
It stands for Loop Electrical Excision Procedure. An electric ‘knife’ (loop) is passed through the cervix to remove a scoop of the cervix (as an ice cream scoop removes a scoop from the carton). The area that likely contains the abnormal cells is removed and examined microscopically for:
1- to ensure the changes are just pre cancerous and not cancer
2- to ensure that all the diseased areas are removed (we have to make a guess as to how deep to go – we can’t see it)
I do a LEEP with an anesthetic, just like the dentist uses so the LEEP doesn’t hurt. There are rare risks of bleeding and even rarer risks of infection.
After a LEEP there can be no sex or any vaginal insertion for 4 weeks – we need to allow healing.
What are the risks of a LEEP procedure?
1- Excessive bleeding – very rare. I need to know if you have a bleeding disorder (hemophilia)
2- Infection – Very rare
3- What about pregnancy after a LEEP? The majority of women who have had a LEEP have no complications with future pregnancy. However there is a small increased chance of a premature birth after a LEEP. There seems to be this same increased chance no matter what type of treatment is used for dysplasia.
What are the risks of doing nothing?
The pre cancerous changes could worsen over time and eventually turn into cancer.
Don’t let it burst your bubble… this was just somethin gyou read, not what is going on with you. When do you get your results??
I got the results 30 minutes ago. You just read it.
like the doc said, it’s preventive medicine. 🙂 easily treatable because you caught it early enough. people used to die from this! but you definitely won’t due to today’s medicine! i’m sure it’s just scary to hear those words – “precancer” but you caught it early and you’ll be fine. i’m sure Mr. W will take really really good care of you after the procedure.
90% of the cryos that we did showed “pre” cancerous…. they didn’t have cancer, but the cells showed they COULD possibly SOMEday turn into cancer…
it’s more preventative than anything….
do the leep or whatever they recommend… our doctors either did LEEP or cryosurgery…. both were ok for treatment
you’ll be fine 🙂
I meant, 90% of the colpos…..
MS – I’m less wiggy about “pre-cancer” than I am about “scoop.” Ewwww! Mr. W took me out to lunch today, with my gym trainee. I feel better now.
Jordan – I know, but the procedure sounds so creepy. I’ll definitely be sure not to tell my mom about this. I responded to my doctor’s email by asking whether this means my body’s not fighting off the stuff on its own, and what his recommendations are re time frame on scheduling the LEEP procedure. He wrote back within a couple of hours:
We grade dysplasia (pre cancer changes) as “mild, moderate or severe”. All three are treatable. Although any grade can resolve on it’s own, the more advanced the grade the lesser the chance of spontenous regression. Your’s was graded as “moderate”. In my experience it is very rare for this to resolve on its’ own.
Time frame – within the next 6 months is fine with me! This is a VERY SLOW changing process.
Once you are treated you don’t have to change anything with your fiance. Yes, probably after a succesful treatment your immune system kicks in.
Dr [K]
i’d time it (of course) around a time when not having sex for a month fits into your schedule … 😉 did you ask him about cryo?
so is mr. w going on vacation anytime soon?
I know, I should send Mr. W somewhere on vacay for a month.
Should I request cryo? Is it better?
I had a cone biopsy–another alternative wording. You will be just fine. I asked my dr after this last scope/biopsy if it DID show pre-cancerous cells if I’d have to have ANOTHER LEEP and he said NO he would not do another one. It’s not good to keep shaving off the cervix. One shave was enough for me. I can email you more about mine (2 years ago in July) if you want. I was put to sleep, procedure lasted 45 min, woke up, slept the entire rest of the day. Recovery was a breeze. Other than the sore throat from the anesthesia. No sex for a month sucks too.
I emailed my doc asking whether LEEP is the same as a cone biopsy, but he didn’t respond to that question. And it sounds like by his description that I’m not going to be put to sleep, it’s just gonna be a local. I’m scared!
they usually do give you a generalized anesthesia for cone biopsy because they are literally slicing out a cone-sized portion of your cervix (hopefully getting the entire abnormal area) and sending it off to the lab for further eval… same thing with LEEP except with LEEP.. you don’t need anesthesia (general) and they’re sort of “electrocuting” that portion of the cervix, so you might actually smell something burning.. with this procedure, they also take a portion of the cervix and send it off to the lab. Cryotherapy is another treatment, but I think it’s more for mild to moderate dysplasia and lower cervical areas. It really depends on your doctor, the method he’s most comfortable with and where he thinks the abnormal cells are located on the cervix. All three are treatments for dysplasia. You may want to call him and simply ask him why he chose LEEP (some doctors obviously have a preference on treatment no matter what grade of dysplasia). Cryotherapy of course “freezes” the cervix with liquid nitrogen… like -50 degrees.
That’s great. Either they slice me raw, or they cook me, or they freeze me.
It sounds like LEEP is the procedure my overactive imagination is most comfortable with; I’d think the heat cauterizes all the vessels so I don’t bleed too much, and only the area that needs to be removed is affected. Cryo sounds like it’d freeze a lot more of me than I’d want, and would they be able to thaw the removed portion well enough to examine it at a lab afterwards? Cone sounds like it goes deeper and removes more stuff. *shudder*
Sorry…I didn’t realize LEEP & cone were so different. Thanks Jordan for clearing that up. My dr didn’t give me any options the first time around. When I went a few weeks ago he said he would freeze my cervix next time..no more cone’s.
Hey Cindy,
The good news is that you caught it early and this is all preventive. Sounds scary, but it looks like you will be just fine! Hope the op goes well!
I’m a dork, I read it as if you had read this on a website and this was the conversation they person had, not that you had them with your doc. Oops, sorry! Egg on my face!