Cryotherapy Treatment for Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia: Women's Experiences in Peru

Our objective was to examine cryotherapy experiences among women who received treatment for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia in a cervical cancer prevention project in rural Peru. The sample consisted of all women receiving cryotherapy during a 4-month period (July through October 2001). Structured interviews were conducted to collect information about the adequacy of information provision, women’s satisfaction with cryotherapy, their ability to comply with postcryotherapy recommendations and condom use, their experience with cryotherapy side effects, and their satisfaction with cryotherapy follow-up. Of the 224 women who were interviewed, user satisfaction with cryotherapy treatment was generally good. A few women engaged in sex earlier than 30 days after treatment, primarily due to partner pressure to resume sex and the women’s inability to successfully negotiate abstention from sex. These couples were not always able to use condoms. The percentage of women reporting vaginal discharge was within the range of responses reported in other studies. Cryotherapy appears to be acceptable to women in low-resource settings such as Peru.