cervical cancer--???

My daughter is 27 years old. She recently had a Pap Test which came out
horrible (worst possible score). This was a shock as she has yearly Pap
tests and they have always come out just fine.

A follow-up biopsy was better than expected. indicating:

ECC-normal

CERVIX: CIN -1/2

She has been told that this means carcinoma in sito (non-invasive cancer)
but also that this is a pre-cancerous dysplasia situation, which will
definitely turn into cancer if she does nothing.

So, which is it??

Apparently, the next step is a "colonization" or as an alternative a LEEP
procedure (she is leaning towards this - she hopes to have children some day
and while neither surgery makes having a child impossible, the latter
procedure is easier and better and she could have the other procedure if the
LEEP is insufficient).

Needless to say, we are plenty worried about all of this.

Does she have cancer of pre-cancer? Is it merely semantics?

Any advice/suggestions.

Our daughter has lined up appointments for a second and third opinion.



Mel

Tell your daughter to fire her doctor, immediately. If her ECC is normal and the biosy came back with CIN I/II, she does not have carcinoma-in-situ. To frighten your daughter that badly was unconscionable, on her soon-to-be ex-doctor's part, especially since it is making it easy for the doctor to manipulate her into surgery before she has had a chance to educate herself.

I now have issues with that word "precancer." If your daughter's immune system broke down, and due to prolonged exposure to bacteria, she developed an infection on her hand (a.k.a. cellular abnormalities), her doctor would not say she had "pre-gangrene." Now, if she didn't take her health seriously and get a prescription for medication or use alternative medicine to boost her immune system to clear it up, she would be at risk for developing gangrene, which can kill her a lot faster than cancer. But to say she had "pre-gangrene" could cause her to panic into a hasty decision that may not be appropriate for her. My first ex-doctor did that to me, and I am still paying for her poor judgment.

The same holds true with cervical dysplasia. Her body's immune system broke down, and due to prolonged exposure to HPV, your daughter has developed an infection (a.k.a. cellular abnormalities). She does need to take her health seriously, but she needs to do it by educating herself before she decides anything. This will remove the mystery and get her actively involved in what is best for her. It's very empowering! It will also give her the calm to make an informed decision, which is at the crux of it all. More than anything, she can't let her doctor rush her through scare tactics into anything she hasn't researched. 

I'm going to give you some links to help you get started, but before I do, she needs to do the following.

1. Get copies of all of her lab reports. This will show her exactly what she has.

2. Make sure she gets a thorough discussion of what she has, where it's located, how extensive it is, how many cervical quadrants it's in, and to double check to be sure it isn't in the endocervical canal or endocervical glands.

3. Make sure she gets a thorough discussion of the risks and benefits of all her treatment options - cryosurgery, laser, LEEP, and cold knife cone biopsy - before she agrees to anything. If she's concerned about cervical incompetence, see if she qualifies for something less invasive, such as cryosurgery or laser. The ACOG has interesting things about the management of CIN II in young women of childbearing age. Please remember, it is a requirement for your daughter to be educated before she signs any paperwork. A doctor who does not do all of the above should not be trusted. I am speaking from personal experience.

This is a link that will help explain HPV to you. It's a personal favorite of mine because it's so thorough.

http://www.merckmedicus.com/pp/us/hcp/diseasemodules/hpvd/na

Here are some links that explain dysplasia and its traditional surgical options.

Older, but the information is so concise, I like it.

http://www.mjbovo.com/Women/DysplasiaRx.htm

This is one of the few doctors I have come across who believes in educating his patients.

http://www.gynalternatives.com/default.htm

Here are some more.

http://www.imaginis.com/cervical-cancer/treatment.asp

http://adam.about.com/reports/000046_7.htm

http://www.jotrust.co.uk/about_cervical_cancer/cin__pre_canc ://www.jotrust.co.uk/about_cervical_cancer/cin__pre_cancer__treatment.cfm

Here are some links to women who either cleared up abnormalities through alternative medicine or used it in conjunction with traditional treatment.

Tany01's story. Chemiszt24 did the same thing.

http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,25090

The homeopathy thread.

http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,24002

Trehouse's website. (She is a cancer survivor.)

http://motherearthtreasurechest.blogspot.com/search/label/ab

There is also a Yahoo group set up, called cervical_dysplasia. It was created by a woman who used a naturopathic doctor, via Dr. Tori Hudson, to clear up dysplasia, and her website is for women to share information with each other about all treatment options, including news.

In addition, there is medication proving successful in clinical trials. Nventa has HspE7, CNRS has MVA E2, and Roche has the vaccine TG-4001 with therapeutic properties at clearing up HPV-16, which is supposed to be scheduled for release in 2010 or 2011. I will also give the site for checking what is in clinical trials, right now, although she must weigh the risks very, very carefully if she chooses this.

www.clinicaltrials.gov

No matter what you daughter ends up choosing - traditional surgery, alternative medicine, experimental medication in clinical trials, or Plan and Plan B, I can't emphasis enough how much it needs to be an informed decision. I genuinely hope everything turns out well for her.