Is Carcinoma In Situ Cancer?

I had an abnormal "pap" a few weeks ago. The report said High Grade Intraepithlial leison emcompassing moderate and severe dysplasia. After consulting with my GYN he said it definately was not cancer. I had a colposcopy/biopsy and it confirmed Carcinoma In Situ. I have read several articles and some say it is cancer confined to the cervix and others say it is pre-cancer. My doctor seems evasive when answering questions and acts like this is no big deal. I am confused, worried, depressed and notably horrified. Please give any info regarding this topic

The word carcinoma means the cells are malignant. A prefix attached to the word carcinoma will tell you where the carcinoma is growing and the kinds of cells that are involved. An adenocarcinoma, for example, is a carcinoma made of glandular cells. When you see the word oma by itself, it means "benign." An adenoma refers to a clump of benign glandular cells, a fibroma refers to a clump of benign fibrous cells, and so on.

The words in situ and invasive are used in conjunction with a carcinoma or a sarcoma. In situ means "in one place." A carcinoma in situ is cancer that is confined to a specific area and has not spread. This is good news and means your cancer is not invasive. Invasive carcinoma is cancer that has spread to surrounding tissue, the lymph nodes, or other organs. This is not good news and means your cancer can spread.

I would suggest you seek another ob/gyn and an oncologist jsut to make sure.

I'm not surprised you are confused! Your doctor should be beaten over the head for being so unsympathetic.

In other contexts, the word "carcinoma" DOES mean cancer. But Carcinoma in Situ (CIS) is a special medical term, and it's NOT cancer. However if it is not removed, there is a high risk (more than 50%) that it will turn INTO cancer - maybe not straightway, but eventually. That's why it's sometimes called a "pre-cancer".

Even if it is removed, it can recur so you'll need to have regular checks from now on. But if you do keep getting it removed, there's no reason why it should develop into cancer, so don't panic. Just push your GYN to get it treated stat.

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