Natural Cure for an Abnormal Pap Smear

The patient: Elsie, a married woman in her late 40’s taking good, preventive care of herself.

Why she came to see me: She has been a patient for many years and chose to have my “go to” gynecologist in town perform a routine gynecological exam. The Pap findings were characterized as “ASCUS,” or atypical squamous cells of uncertain significance—mildly abnormal cell changes that may be solely due to inflammation or the very beginning of pre-cancerous changes, or a combination of both. The condition may be treated in a number of ways by conventional physicians and naturopathic physicians, either separately or working in tandem.

How I evaluated her: Elsie and I had a thorough discussion about cellular pathology and the effects of inflammation on cell division—the more prolonged and intense inflammation is, the more frequently cells divide and the more probable the disorganized division that characterizes cancer becomes. After careful consideration of her options offered by both me and the gynecologist, she decided to use natural interventions initially and schedule a follow up exam in three months with the gynecologist to include a specialized direct microscopic evaluation of areas of her cervix in question with a device called a colposcope. If after the colposcopy and a follow up tissue sampling the tissue was still exhibiting the dysregulated changes, ablation or deeper removal of the tissue would probably be advised by the gynecologist.

How we addressed her problem: I provided her with a probiotic powder and specialized vaginal suppositories containing botanical extracts in a cocoa butter base designed to normalize the microbial environment in the area and help shed the disturbed tissue that were underlying the inflammatory changes seen. This treatment would be continued daily for at least one month, discontinued for a month, and reinstituted again for a month, and then followed up with a repeat Pap and considered colposcopy. This therapy has a two-fold benefit of potentially “curing” the tissue by exfoliating the atypical cells, quenching the inflammation and, at the very least, “unmasking” any remaining pre-cancerous changes that may have been lurking under the surface.

The patient’s progress: At the three-month follow-up with the gynecologist, Elsie showed entirely normal tissue both by repeat Pap test and the additional colposcopy. Because of the previous finding and the fact that these problems can reoccur, we agreed that she should have yearly gynecological exams at least for the next few years as a sound precaution.

For more with Andrew Rubman, ND, check out his video series, Nature Doc’s Natural Cures.