Coping With Cervical Dysplasia

My battle with dysplasia began in my mid-twenties and it’s been a long, long haul. I started out being very naive and didn’t take control of my health until way too late to do much good. After my first abnormal pap smear, my doctor suggested just monitoring the dysplasia to be sure it wasn’t caused by an infection and would go away on it’s own. After a couple years and 1 child, I did undergo laser ablation, which unfortunately didn’t remove all the abnormal cells. Again, I was advised to just monitor it….

After 5 years we were still “monitoring” it (with multiple pap smears, colposcopies, etc.). I finally moved to another state and changed doctors..then things began to happen. Unfortunately for me by that time I had invasive cervical cancer the other physicians missed. I am so thankful my new gynecologist was determined to deal with the dysplasia. The worst of my abnormal cells were not erupting onto the surface of the cervix, but were burrowing into the birth canal and weren’t found without my doctor going a step deeper. That’s when the nightmare of cancer centers, radiation, chemo etc. began. Once you get to that point, none of your options are good. Please, Please, Please…get good care early! Get educated and make sure your doctors are proactive regarding your health. You’re a patient to them, but it’s YOUR LIFE!!