Going through CINIII with high risk hpv.

[L1994]

I was diagnosed with ectropion cervix September 2019 from a pelvic examination at 24 years old. Smear shown high risk hpv with severe dyskaryisis. Colposcopy booked for biopsy and results shown CIN3. Had leep procedure in February 2020 to remove abnormal Cells. I have since had bleeding between periods and had my contraceptive implant removed as Dr thought it could be down to hormones as j look like i have healed well from my procedure. Recently in November had my follow up smear and don't quite understand the results. Negative (normal) cytology with high risk hpv and having to go back for colposcopy. I worry the hpv won't go and worry about the cancers it could cause. Anyone else gone through similar?

[Perido]

Easy to say but there isn't much point worrying about things we can't change; hpv is a tricky beast and I don't think anyone really knows why it persists in some women and not others. Things you can do to to support your immune system to deal with the virus includes not smoking and having a generally healthy lifestyle. Another thing to consider is oral contraceptives; I understand that using them for more than 5 years can increase the risk for cervical cancer.

In a way it's ironic that knowing one is positive for hpv causes a lot of anxiety. HPV screening is a great innovative technology; the health service offers to closely monitor hpv positive women which ultimately translates into fewer case of cervical cancer than before, when HPV screening wasn't in place.

I wish HPV screening had been around 10-15 years ago when I mistakenly believed I could safely stop attending for cervical screening. Had I known I was hpv positive I'm pretty sure I would have continued to get checked out. Instead I went the whole of my 50s blissfully ignorant of what was going on in my body. I had a rude awakening age 60y when I developed symptoms and was then diagnosed with a stage 2 cervical cancer.

[L1994 in reply to Perido]

Thank you perido for your reply. Yes it is very good that we have cervical screening now. I am so thankful for it as it helped me catch mine early enough. I do think there's still not enough information about it till this day. God bless you. I have heard that now with screening hpv is not a death sentence it's just awful knowing you have it and wondering what the future holds for you. Whether it will go away or come back. I have heard so many different things about it and other cancers that it can cause. I guess normal cytology found from my follow up smear is a good result and do hope at my next colposcopy they find that to be the case and just to clear of the hpv then