Cancerbackup: Q-418

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Alison

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I have been told I have pre-cancerous changes on my cervix. What are the chances of me developing a cancer if I don't have any treatment? I'd like to try visualisation to make the cells go away.

Current medical opinion is that the great majority of cancers of the cervix develop from pre-cancerous changes in the cells. These pre-cancerous changes are easily detected by the cervical smear test.
 
When pre-cancerous changes are seen under the microscope they can be graded into one of three levels of abnormality: CIN 1, CIN 2 or CIN 3 (the initials CIN stand for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia).
 
The abnormalities in CIN 1 are quite minor and will often disappear with time with no treatment. The risk of a cancerous change is considered to be very small and so for this reason the usual advice will simply be to have the smear repeated in six months. If CIN 1 changes are still present at that time then further treatment may be advised.

CIN2 and CIN 3 show more obvious abnormalities in the cells and doctors believe that most people with these more advanced pre-cancerous changes will go on to develop cervical cancer if they are not treated.

The treatments available for pre-cancerous changes on the cervix are very simple. They can usually be done as an out-patient and involve very little discomfort. They are also very effective.

Unfortunately there is no evidence that visualisation, or other complementary therapies, can get rid of the pre-cancerous cells and the right advice would be for you to go-ahead with conventional treatment to avoid the risk of a cancer developing.


Content last reviewed: 30 May 2006
Page last modified: 12 June 2006

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