Normal ECCs but Abnormal Paps - Cancer: Breast Message Board

ultrajenn1979 · 03-01-2005, 05:21 PM

Last spring I went in and had cryosurgery for CIN I, and had my first follow up pap in August which showed me having CIN I again/still. When I had an ECC a month after that the results came back normal.

Well I went in last week and had a pap & ECC in the same appointment, and the pap came back abnormal again and the ECC came back normal when I got the results today. Is this a normal occurance or should I be worried that there is something wrong that the doctors aren't catching in another area down there?

ElenaK · 03-01-2005, 07:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ultrajenn1979

Last spring I went in and had cryosurgery for CIN I, and had my first follow up pap in August which showed me having CIN I again/still. When I had an ECC a month after that the results came back normal.

Well I went in last week and had a pap & ECC in the same appointment, and the pap came back abnormal again and the ECC came back normal when I got the results today. Is this a normal occurance or should I be worried that there is something wrong that the doctors aren't catching in another area down there?

The normal (negative) ECC is a very good thing: it means that there are no malignant cells in your endocervix. An abnormal Pap probably means that there might be something going on in the ectocervix, i.e. outside the canal. It could be an inflammation or some infection or, possibly, dysplasia. The ECC is a diagnostic procedure: the pathologist does a biopsy on the sample from the endocervical canal. A Pap can only raise red flags. You cannot be sure unless you get a colpo with biopsies, if and as necessary. What did your dr say about the abnormal Pap? (By the way, what degree is the abnormality?)

Hope all turns out well for you!!!

ultrajenn1979 · 03-01-2005, 09:33 PM

They have tried three times now to do a colpo but have not been successful, so they have done the ECCs instead. My uterus and cervex are tilted and they have not been able to actually see it it to do the biopsy itself. I wanted to have them do a LEEP this time, but they would've had to refer me out and I don't have insurance at the moment to cover that.

All my doctor told me is that it's CIN I, and that she has to keep doing the paps & ECC's until both come out negative. When I had the cryo last May, I was told that the CIN was extremely mild, and before that I'd had an atypical pap the year before.

The doc tried to explain away the abnormal pap this time by saying it was a false-positive type of thing, which I don't buy...

Thanks so much for the help, I'm starting to get incredibly sick of these strange results!

lobo1977 · 03-01-2005, 09:55 PM

maybe find a new doctor and get a new persons perspective? or a gyn/onc who may be able to do the colpo?

ultrajenn1979 · 03-02-2005, 02:15 AM

I've thought of that, but without insurance I'm not sure how much that's going to end up costing me if I do it right now. I quit working last June to finish my senior year of college and will be done with it in a few months, so once I find a new job I may be able to. As for this year, I've been living off of student loans...

Mostly though, I've thought of it since every pap but one that I've had at this clinic has been atypical or abnormal. With my former doctor who retired, I never had an atypical or abnormal pap. Not to mention my former doctor sent his cultures to one lab, and my current doctor sends them to a different lab.

However, I don't know if another doc would have any better luck with the colpo, my uterus and cervix are both tilted and so when I'm laying back on the table, they can see the cervix for a moment (immediately after I lay back), but it falls into a position to where they can't see it very quickly. That's why I was pushing for the LEEP, but since I had to be referred out it would most likely not have been affordable to me (I go to a Native American clinic and have a discount there on services since I'm not working, and get free paps & regular check-ups).