Help with LEEP

I had my pap and it came back as high grade so I had the colpo and that came back high grade and now she wants to do a LEEP. I am not afraid of the pain as I had none with previous procedures but my question is if this is the first step towards warding off cancer would I be better off getting the hyster as a pre-emptive strike?

well, my two cents is that since the leep can be the solution to your problems, you should hope that that is the case. having a hysterectomy is much much more difficult to recover from. the leep is no fun, but nothing compared to the hysterectomy and its recovery. i will hope that the leep resolves your troubles. best wishes.

joanne

I had CIN III w/glandular involvement (I don't really understand that part) back in '01. It took a couple leeps and a cone before getting it all. I was told I needed a hysterectomy, but the doctor let me try the second leep instead. I had to go in every three months the first year and then every six months the second year. All of those paps came back good, so it worked! I'm glad I didn't rush into the hysterectomy, because I had my third child ('05). I'm now wanting a hysterectomy (if my doctor still thinks it's a good idea), but I have no regrets on waiting. Good luck!

ETA: I'm not saying this is right or wrong for you or anyone else, just sharing my experience.

I was in a very similar situation. (CIN3) We did the colp and than tried the LEEP. Unfortunately, in my situation my cells grew and the cancer became worse, so I am no going through with a hysterectomy because of how fast mine has changed. The LEEP really wasn't a big deal for me. It sounded like I was standing underneath an airplane ( the machine is very loud) but other than that, it is not that bad. It's not FUN, but it is manageable. I really hope it works for you. It has worked for A LOT of women, so just because you hear some of say it didn't work for us, doesn't mean it won't work for you. Keep your head up!!!

Thanks for the great advice! At this time I'm actually leaning towards having the hyster. Basically because I am 46, have my family, have a uterus that is prolapsing and a vagina that is sagging. I am well on the way to menopause and not looking forward to that as I know my family history there! If I have the LEEP and then have to do the hyster to me it seems just an extra step. If I have the hysterectomy now it seems like it would take care of a number of other problems as well. And once they have it out they can biopsy it to make sure they got whatever they needed to. We don't have a family history of any of the female cancers other than breast cancer but that may also be due to the fact none of the women on my mom's side had their uterus after age 40!
The LEEP itself doesn't scare me as I have it scheduled for early morning and then go to work afterwards. But if I go forward with the hyster what can I expect?
Katie

I was in the same boat 3 years ago and went for the hyster. I was 46 at the time as well and none of the women in my family held onto to their uterus' past 47 years of age. I have no regrets and for me personally I didn't want to have to hold my breath every 3 months waiting for results. The surgery went well and as I approach my 50th I feel great.