Hello and thanks for posting

I am sorry to hear you have had to have some treatment for abnormal cells in the cervix and can understand you have some questions.

As I am sure you are aware the screening programme is all about prevention by picking up abnormality at an early stage where they can either be monitored or treated until everything returns to normal.

The sample of cells taken during screening is a quick snap shot of what is going on in the cervix to check for the presence of abnormal cells. At this stage they describe them as mild, moderate or severe depending on the amount of abnormal cells and how different they look compared to normal cervical cells.

Where as during colposcopy the entire cervix is looked at to identify the abnormal areas and biopsies taken to confirm the type and severity of abnormal cells that usually come back as CIN or CGIN that you can read more about here. These abnormal cells often need removing to prevent them turning into cancer and are often treated with LLetz as in your case.

Sometimes the results can change between screening and colposcopy firstly because they are different tests looking at different things but also because changes can happen between appointments. For instance some peoples immune system will start to clear the abnormal cells by itself before colposcopy and other times the cells can worsten. The important thing is understand is colposcopy is the place where the type of abnormality can be confirmed and any treatment necessary given to prevent further changes in the future.

Try not to worry but do call the unit if you want to talk things through with them further. I hope this helps but do get back if you need to.

Best wishes

Naomi