Hi Amy

The HPV causes the CIN (abnormal cells) and you can have areas of different levels of CIN, as you have found with your results letter. Not getting clear margins means they haven’t managed to remove everything, so this is why your results need to be discussed at their multidisciplinary team meeting. 

It is possible to have further treatments, but there is only so much of the cervix which can be removed. You had a lletz and a cone biopsy? The cone biopsy removes more than the lletz, so did you have the cone biopsy on the basis of lletz results? 

Hi, oh I thought cine biopsy was what the did the first time, maybe it was just a different biopsy. Lol sorry I'm bit useless.

So I had the smear, went to coloscopy and had biopsy, that showed CIN3 (the smear said borderline and HPV) they then did the lletz.

The results if lletz said the cIN3 CIN2 and HPV. 

Thanks x

Hi Amy

It sounds like you would have had a punch biopsy which takes a small sample of tissue for analysis. This would then tell you the level of CIN, and because you had CIN3, this needed to be removed, which is done by the lletz procedure. (A cone biopsy is a procedure done under general anaesthetic).

If you have CIN, you have high risk HPV so that’s why HPV is on the results. The tissue removed by the lletz is sent for analysis to make sure everything has been removed, and not having clear margins means it hasn’t been completely removed. 

So they may recommend a further lletz treatment or a cone biopsy next.x

Ah OK thank you. Tbh I want them to just give me a hysterectomy as I can't be doing with the anxiety every time I'm waiting for letters and results

Unfortunately a hysterectomy won’t get rid of the HPV virus, and abnormal cells can still come back on the vaginal cuff where the cervix is removed, or the vulva, so you would still need testing after a hysterectomy. But such major surgery would be considered over treatment for pre cancerous cells when less invasive treatments like the lletz or cone biopsy can treat them. x

How do you get rid of the Hpv? Doesn't all of ur cervix go with a hysterectomy? Sorry I am probably asking really thick questions. 

Thank u for being so kind to try and answer them all 

There is no cure for HPV-once you have it, you’ll always have it, but a strong immune system can keep it dormant and not causing damage. Removal of the cervix doesn’t stop you having HPV, and when the cervix is removed and sewn up (called a vaginal cuff) abnormal cells can occur there. 

I think people assume that a hysterectomy sorts everything out, but since it cannot remove HPV, that’s not the case. If we could all sort everything with a hysterectomy, it would practically wipe out cervical cancer, but sadly not the case. x