precancerous cells on cervix and in vagina

I am new to this web-site so excuse me if I am long-winded.My docs have been chasing this pre-cancerous cell condition on the cervix and upper posterior wall of the vagina on and off since the late 80's, with activity of continued abnormal paps appearing by and large, non-stop for the last 4 years. I've had countless procedures and am under the care of a top gyn.oncologist who has never found anything to signify cancer having developed, but after my last positive pap smear 6 days ago , I rather blew my top and said basically"get it out!" This all has to do with the HPV virus(human papaloma virus ) that countless thousands of women have. It's a very common std that can result in my situation. (it concerns me extremely how many women are facing and will face this inthe future.
A hysterectomy and a partial vaginectomy are all but certain. ANYONE ELSE WITH THIS GOING ON?
My other nagging concerns are the fact that I will have a"plastics guy" rebuild the upper portion of my vagina so that it can be "normal" again. This sounds fun! They graft skin from another area of the body to rebuild this with! ANYONE OUT THERE DOING THIS ACTIVITY AND IF SO -RESULTS?
Also I am sensing that those of you that are on similar paths have found cancer cells upon surgery. (which I was told is a distant possibility.)
Any thoughts on this situation are welcomed!Thanx! This looks like a great group!-Karen

Hi Karen, wow is there an epedemic out there of this condition. If you click on my name and search all my posts to see my history , you will find out alot about this condition. way too long to tell all in this post. Briefly, I too had abnormal paps on and off for about 6 years and finally got a precancerous reading so had the hyter. kept ovaries. Not all of the cells were removed during the op and 3 mths later had to have laser to treat it. Still didnt remove all cells so had an upper vaginectomy and that is when the cells had progressed to cancer. I have heard about the rebuilding of the vagina, but haven't had it done.

You said it This is a great group. We all know what you are going through, cause most of us have had cancer or precancer of some kind, so come and visit often. Best of luck with everything.

Mine was the cervix..carcinoma in situ. I got it early and didn't have problems with the vagina itself, so I can't relate to that. I can relate to wanting things out of there right away though! There is no sense in fighting this battle forever, when you could have a hyst and more than likely be done with it. I wish you the very best of luck!!
As for the site....it is amazing by how many caring and supportive women that you will meet here!! You can lean on them in tough situations and you can laugh with them during the most happiest times too!! I really think that you will benefit from the site!!
If you have problems making your way around, or getting something to work right, just drop me a line and I will be happy to help...as well as any of the hostesses! We want your time here to be very helpful and comforting!!

Hi, Karen! Welcome!

I've had a long history, too. Cervix has been an issue for several years, vaginal wall involvement was just discovered in January. Had a TAH with a partial posterior wall removal. I guess the area removed was small enough that I didn't need any reconstruction. I have heard of it being done, but I don't know anyone who has had it. I've not had a smear done yet since my surgery, so I don't know what condition the rest of my cells are in. Hopefully, everything will look good and I can just carry on.

I've heard an estimate that 50% of all women carry HPV. There are many different strains, though. Not all of them lead to cancer. Read another statistic that probably 90% of cervical cancer cases are linked to HPV in some manner. Interesting. Alarming, but interesting.

So, did I understand you will be having surgery then? If so, I wish you the very best and hope you have a wonderful outcome. I'll be watching for your posts to see how you are doing.

Karen,
Mine was on the cervix and vulva. I had the cervix removed with my hyst and the spot (about the size of a quarter!) lasered off at the same time. It's funny because when I finally discovered that I had HPV about five years ago I was totally devastated and thought that I was alone. Then I actually break down and tell a friend about it at work and come to find out that FIVE of my friends and my own mother have it too! I'm only seven months post op but the vulvar area is fine...tends to be a bit more tender but other than that looks just like normal skin. I go to the gyn june 1st and am going to push for a smear just for my own piece of mind. I'm with the other sisters...get it removed so that you don't have to worry about it...it's been proven that stress will cause major hpv outbreaks so why stress ourselves out unnessarily? This site has been a total lifesaver for me...I truly think that I would have gone off the deep end after my surgery if not for my sisters here! <hugs>Good luck and keep us posted on your surgery!

Hi Karen, Welcome to the site. I had invasive adenocarcinoma of the cervix and I had an abdominal hysterectomy and internal and external radiation. I did have a plastics doctor involved and he rebuilt my vagina but mine needed to be rebuilt after it totally closed due to the radiationand not due to the CA. Originally they were to take a graft from my inner thigh but they ended up using my endometrium tissue and the results have been great. My vagina is shorter than it used to be but it works just fine. They cut me up and down instead of the lower horizontal cut. They asked me at the last minute if they could cut that way because they felt they would have better access.

I know what you mean about wanted the bad cells out.
Good luck to you and if you have any questions you can feel free get in touch.

Hi!

I've had a chronically inflamed cervix since the birth of my son 21 years ago. No one ever said anything to me about HPV until I asked my doctor in pre op on the way to my second cone in March 01. I read about it on the internet. My doc said I probably have it, but it doesn't do any good to test for it since almost everyone has it.

I had no sign of abnormal cells at my post op appointment last Friday. My doc told me I had a high chance the abnormal cells would return and I will require a hysterectomy. But then... a hyst is no guarantee the cells will not continue to return and invade other tissue. :circle: But he said I had the same chance it would never return.

I am frustrated that HPV has been kept such a secret. I've seen several doctors for cervical problems and not one of them brought it up. I still don't know if I have it and if I do, how long its been there.

Thanks for voicing a concern that is on my mind. I am a strong Christian with a lot of faith, but I have been down since I talked to the doctor last week. I had so much hope my struggle with cervical problems would be over. Maybe it will be.
Linda Enger

Cone biopsy for CIN2 1/00
Cone biopsy for CIN3 3/01
Praying it does not return! Praying for healing or a cure to fight this epidemic :evil: in the prayer requests board.

Jeanine,
Was a bit disconcerted to understand that you had a TAH with the problems you had(cervical and vaginal pre-cancer). to go . Hey, what do I know!?! As my problems are in precisely the same area, am I being naive to assume that this can be done vaginally? Of course I haven't asked my doc , but was just assuming that would be the path. My surgery is up-coming after a LEEP this week.
Regards,
Karen

Hi, Karen!

Just wanted to give you a little more infor. I actually needed the TAH because of scar tissue from previous surgeries (5 sections). He was afraid he'd run into too much trouble (especially with the bladder) if he went in vaginally. So if you haven't had other abdominal surgeries, maybe yours can go vaginally. Don't be distraught. It was hard having 2 incisions but not terrible! And hopefully you'll only need the one. Good luck!