the HPV again? I’m unclear on exactly what happens? I know the cone doesnt remove the hpv, just the bad cells, but can you get another cone biopsy? what if you get the dysplasia again
Information about HPV symptoms, detection and prevention
Information about HPV symptoms, detection and prevention
the HPV again? I’m unclear on exactly what happens? I know the cone doesnt remove the hpv, just the bad cells, but can you get another cone biopsy? what if you get the dysplasia again
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
They can come back, but mostly they do not!!!! Occasionally they will return once, then you have a second cone biopsy, and that’s it. How many cone biopsies you can have depends a lot on your cervix and how much tissue was removed. (I find it disturbing that gynos rarely discuss with their patients how conservative or agressive they want to be. It should be YOUR choice, not the doctors!) However, it is RARE for this to be a continuing problem. It is extremely rare for more than 2 cone biopsies to be needed.
If you are one of those few unlucky women with continual problems, you get to have a hysterectomy. And then you may still have problems because HPV can start attacking your vagina. I’m not saying this to scare you because it’s rare, but I feel like it’s a dirty little secret of gynecology. They don’t like to give you the full rundown of bad possibilities. I guarantee you that if it was MEN having pieces of their reproductive systems removed because of HPV, all us women would be getting tested for it. But since it’s us women, men can go around in happy HPV ignorance because there is no avaible test for them.
Back to the good news: did you know that most women test HPV negative after surgery? There is this theory going around that the surgery causes injury to your cervix, which causes an immune response and helps to fight off the HPV. You should get tested for HPV to see if it’s still around.
As for infection with a new HPV strain, have you received or thought about Gardasil?
Lastly, you should know that an HPV cure is is the works right now!! It boosts you immune system to specifically target HPV. I hear they are having success! Hopefully it will be availble to all of us soon!
Good luck.
I have known of a couple of gals to have two cold knife cones…I am not sure how many a woman could have. The biopsy is reviewed so it would depend on how much of an area the cone removed. Many times this procedure will remove the abnormal or diseased cervical cells.
The cervix can regenerate after a cone but it is not the same size before. Are the cervical cell changes squamous cells or glandular cell changes (Tall cells, called glandular cells (or columnar cells) toward the top of the endocervical canal (above the cervix). They make mucus, which helps guard the entrance to the uterus).
If the virus is to persist and progress then at some point your doctor would recommend a hysterectomy.
After this procedure do the little life style changes that could help your body fight the virus…a healthy diet…at least 5 servings of fruits and veggies a day, get good sleep…cells heal in stage four sleep and sleep helps to reduce stress…limit alcohol, limit salts and read meats…exercise and use condoms…condoms can help the virus regress…and condoms can give your cervix more time to heal…adding a multivitamin couldn’t hurt.
Understanding cervical cell changes:http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/under…
Cold knife cone biopsy
A cold knife cone biopsy is a procedure to get a sample of abnormal tissue from the cervix for further examination.
How the Test is Performed
This is a surgical procedure. It is done in the hospital while you are either sedated through an IV or general anesthesia. The purpose of this procedure is to diagnose and treat precancerous changes in the cervix.
A small cone-shaped sample of tissue is removed from the cervix and examined under a microscope for any signs of cancer. This biopsy may also be the treatment if the doctor removes all of the diseased tissue.
How to Prepare for the Test
As with any procedure that is done under anesthesia, you will probably need to fast for 6 – 8 hours. You must sign an informed consent form. The procedure is done on the same day (outpatient) and a hospital stay is usually not needed.
How the Test Will Feel
After the procedure, you may have some cramping or discomfort for a week or so. For about 4 – 6 weeks avoid:
• Douching
• Sexual intercourse
• Using tampons
For 2 – 3 weeks after the procedure, you may have discharge that is:
• Bloody
• Heavy
• Yellow-colored
Why the Test is Performed
This test is only done if the health care provider knows or suspects that you have abnormal cells in the cervix.
It may be done if a biopsy of the cervix shows that you may have precancerous cells in the area or cervical cancer. A cold knife biopsy may also be done if a cervical biopsy cannot find the cause of an abnormal Pap smear.
Normal Results
There are no precancerous or cancerous cells in the cervix.
What Abnormal Results Mean
Most often, abnormal results mean that there is an area of precancerous or cancerous cells.
Risks
• Bleeding
• Incompetent cervix (which may lead to premature delivery)
• Infection
• Scarring of the cervix (which may cause painful menstrual periods, make it more difficult for doctors to read an abnormal Pap smear, and make it harder to become pregnant)
Alternative Names
Cone biopsy; Biopsy – cone; Cervical conization
This cycle can continue over and over. That is why you need to be keeping your GYN visits as often as your doctor advises so that they can continue to do necessary procedures and monitor the progress of these bad cells which, if left untreated, can eventually become cancerous. Keep working with your doctor on this.
Continue to get them treated. I have been through this myself and it sucks but it is what needs to be done to treat you.
This is all completely unnecessary in almost all cases – the chance you’ll get cancer is less than 1%. Almost all lesions regress with no treatment.
Never allow a Dr to do anything major until you’ve had a proper diagnosis, a punch biopsy should give you an indication…if there is anything less than CIN 3, don’t permit a cone or LEEP.
Damage to the cervix can cause infertility, miscarriages, problems during pregnancy, pre-term delivery/premature babies and psych issues.
99.35% of women derive no benefit from smears, but depending on your age and how frequently you screen, you have a lifetime risk of somewhere between 30%-95% of being referred with an “abnormal” smear – almost all are false positives. (The 30% is Finland, the 95% the States, Australia is 77% and the UK is 65%)
Only 1% of women would get this cancer with no screening at all and with screening a third will still get cancer. (false negatives)
Screening is unsafe, unreliable and harmful if you’re under 25 and of negligible value 25-30.
If you want to have smears, consider the Finnish program which is the best you’ll do with this unreliable test – remember this cancer is rare, always was, don’t overdo smears – the Finns have the lowest rates of cc in the world and send the fewest women for biopsies (false positives) they offer testing from age 30 and then 5 yearly – most women have 5 to 7 tests in total – the Netherlands have the same program and doctors are happy for women to use self-test kits if they prefer…
The worst programs include women under 30 and screen more often than 5 yearly – the States is the worst for harmful excess and Australia…the latter screens teenagers and 2 yearly while the States have 2 yearly from 21, but most doctors ignore the guidelines and screen yearly from teens.
Anyone interested in the facts – go to Dr Joel Sherman’s medical privacy blog and under women’s privacy issues you’ll find some great references.
Dr Raffle’s research from 2003 (BMJ) is eye-opening, “1000 women need regular smears for 35 years to save ONE woman from cc”.
Protect yourself from harm, make screening an informed decision.
As a low risk woman, the risks exceed the benefits for me, I don’t screen at all.
Also, be careful agreeing to LEEP because the procedure leaves nothing for pathology and you’ll never know whether you actually had a problem or had unnecessary treatment. This procedures conceals over-treatment, and is the main reason many women think they had a cancer “scare” when they had a false positive and unnecessary treatment.
Always get your pathology and get a second opinion if necessary.
Protect your healthy cervix.
With Elizabeth on this one.
If I have another CIN throw its hysterectomy time. Have partial stenosis (suspected retention of periods) and cervix so thin that no more treatment possible.
Overtreated years ago. – done with best intention but outcome not so good.
The amount of over-treatment after false positives is horrifying. I’ll never understand why we do this to healthy women. Any other screening test that produced this amount of over-treatment would never be permitted – a rare cancer and an intrinsically unreliable test is the worst sort of population screening test.
Blogcritics and Unnecessary pap smears has over 2000 posts from women harmed by screening or angry at the misinformation we receive and the total lack of ethics and respect for informed consent. Informed consent is a legal and ethical requirement for all cancer screening, but is denied to women.
Prostate cancer affected 200,000 men in the States last year, cervical cancer around 7000 cases (not deaths) – men get risk information and doctors are reminded to get their informed consent. That’s with a common cancer.
Women are routinely coerced (you need the test before you can have the Pill, HRT or other meds) or bullied into the test with no honest information. In some countries doctors have a conflict of interest because they receive payments from the Govt when they hit a pap smear screening target – these payments are not disclosed to women. This happens in Australia (Financial Incentives Legislation and PIP payments), NZ and the UK – highly unethical.
The Pill has nothing to do with cancer screening, a blood pressure test is all that’s needed for the Pill. This is a try-on, another way of coercing women into testing.
Only one person should make the decision as to whether you screen or not, how often and when you start and finish…YOU!