Dealing with a "Bad Pap" (Cervical Dysplasia)

As most women know, a Pap test is performed by scraping cells from the surface of the cervix to check for possible cancer. This test is considered very reliable and identifies four stages, ranging from pre-cancer to cancer: 1. Minimal cervical dysplasia (abnormal, pre-cancerous cells) 2. Severe cervical dysplasia 3. Carcinoma in situ (cancer confined to the outermost layer of the cervix) 4. Invasive cancer.

There are a number of things that women can do to not only prevent cervical dysplasia, but also to heal it, during this pre-cancerous stage, without resorting to a surgical procedure.

From a nutritional point of view, a recent study suggested that cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli and cabbage, may help reverse cervical dysplasia, and may thus play an important role in prevention as well. If you can't eat a third of a head of cabbage a day, I suggest supplementing with a broad-based product like Juice Plus, which not only contains indole-3-carbinol (I3C), the active, cancer-fighting ingredient in cruciferous vegetables, but also contains hundreds of other health-promoting phytochemicals. Supplementing with Folic Acid is also important, and I have my patients take 400 mcg twice a day.

In managing cervical dysplasia holistically, I find that it is important to bring a woman's entire system back into balance, i.e., to treat her, not just her dysplasia, and that contributing factors, such as stress and other mental/emotional issues, often need to be recognized and addressed. Thus, treatment often includes herbs, acupuncture, dietary recommendations, homeopathy, and/or holistic counseling, as the individual case dictates. Retesting is an important part of this process, to ensure that normalization of cell tissue has occurred.

If you have a problem with cervical dysplasia or a health condition that is causing you concern and you would like to know whether holistic medicine might be of help, you are welcome to call me at 858/673-1397 for a free phone consultation.


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Rancho Bernardo Sun/ Diamond Gateway Signature
December 1999