a fear I can't shake

speace

Hi Ladies, I have a concern I can't seem to let go of and I'd like your opinions or reassurance. I'm 48 and right before my bc diagnosis on March 25th , I was scheduled to have a partial hysterectomy on the 30th because my periods have been horrendous for years and it had caused me to become anemic. So , ok the hysterectomy gets put on hold to attend to the bc. I'm finding out things about my bc slowly because we are waiting on results of the oncotype test. So here's what I do know, I have stage 1 hormone receptive bc. I have no history in my family and although it hasn't been confirmed to me yet I'm just assuming this was brought on because my body is making way to much estrogen which could be why my periods have been so aweful. I just had my checkup at the gyno in Feb. And even though I've always had fibroids which have checked out ok, and my pap smear came back ok I can't seem to shake the fear I have that I now have cancer running rampant down there also because of the bc. I'm wondering if I should have had t he hysterectomy first and then dealt with the bc. Second. I did mention to my gyno that I was afraid that cancer was roaming free down there but he told me no , that's not the case. I know my mind is going a billion miles an hour now but I'd just like someone's opinion on this fear of mine. Thanks Ladies and sorry this was so long a rant. Oh. Also the lymph nodes were cancer free!

MelissaDallas

I think breast cancer & ovarian cancer, not so much uterine cancer, tend to be in genetic syndromes. Ovarian cancer doesn't have the symptoms you have. Uterine fibroids & dysfunctional bleeding are very very common. I would try very hard not to worry about this because I think there is generally no corelation

speace

Oh thankyou for replying so fast. I'm sitting here crying over this, it's nice to hear a rational opinion. I gotta take a xanax ! 😕

new2bc

Hi speace,

It looks like you are "estrogen dominant". That means the amount of estrogen in your body is way higher that progesterone. I was the same way, having heavy periods and polyps and fibroids. You can ask the doctor to check your estradiol, progesterone, estrone, estroil. In estrogen dominant, the estradiol would be much higher than the rest. As far as the surgery, you need to listen to your doctor and see what order you need to have the surgeries. Are you going to take the ovaries out also? If you are estrogen dominant, ask the ob/gyn if you should take the ovaries out.

speace

Hello newtobc. Thankyou for replying. I did talk to my bc surgeon about the order of eveything. She did say it was more important to have the bc taken care of first. And since I was only gonna have a partial hysterectomy just to stop the periods it would be wiser to put that on hold till the bc is done because now having bc ups the odds of the other cancers forming eventually, ( uterine, ovarian, cervical) so when the time comes I will have a full hysterectomy to be sure I'm in the clear. But the anxiety over all this is making my mind run away its itself.

Trvler

Can you tell us more about your BC diagnosis? Are you going to be requiring chemo?

speace

Hello Trvler, I wish I knew more myself, I am waiting for results of oncotype test. My surgeon said that will determine if I need chemo or not. I believe she's leaning toward not needing chemo since it didn't spread to lymph nodes and she aid she removed all the cancer at the time of lumpectomy.

Jujube2

hi speace,

I had a complete hysterectomy a year after my BC , I had ovarian polyps (benign) but I'm glad to have those parts gone, I understand the scared feelings you are experiencing. I can only say that it is a road where you put one foot in front of the other and you will get through it. My BC was also stage1, 8 mm. Estrogen dominant. My oncatype came back 7 so I avoided chemo. I pray the same for you!!

speace

Hello Jujube, thankyou , that is very encouraging to hear your story!!! Phew! Ok I will take a deep breath ! I'm very glad your doing well !!!!

OH, can I ask you, when you were or are going through your treatments , did the medicine stop your periods?

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Bren-2007

Speace,

I'm sorry to hear about your diagnosis.  You'll find lots of support on the forums.

I had a partial hysterectomy years ago for the same reasons you were going to have yours.  I wish now that at the time I had the surgery, they would've taken my ovaries too.  Years later and just before my cancer diagnosis I had a 9 cm tortion cyst wrapped around my ovaries.  The pain was excruciating by the time the tumor was surgically removed.  And since my cancer was 100% ER positive, it seems I didn't need those ovaries anyway.

Please do your best not to stress too much about the timing of your treatments and the hysterectomy.  I'm sure your doctor will let you know when it's the best time for your surgery.

Xanax doesn't sound like a bad idea.  I was given a prescription for anti-anxiety medication when I was diagnosed.  As the time went by, I found I didn't need them anymore.

I wish you all the best.

Bren

Bren-2007

I also wanted to tell you that I had a small IDC tumor that was removed with generous margins during my lumpectomy.  Chemo was not recommended in my case.

hugs

Bren

speace

Hello Bren-2007. Wow! This is so encouraging I'm so glad I put my fear to this forum instead of keeping it bottled up and just sitting and crying! I look forward to the day when I can give out good advise just as you all have!! Xoxo

Jujube2

I had sporadic periods . I was 49 when my BC was found on mammogram. But, ironically, I had my period the day I went in for the hysterectomy!!!!!!i didn't have any treatments, but was on tamoxifen until I had the hysterectomy, now I'm on exemestane.

speace

Thankyou 😊

Staple

I had fibroids also and had uterine fibroid embolization for them a few years before the breast cancer diagnosis due to nonstop periods. When I was first diagnosed with cancer I cursed myself for not having a hysterectomy because I assumed my body was just cranking out cancer cells. When my BS sent me for a lung xray before surgery I figured I had lung cancer too. At that moment I felt my body betrayed me and I had cancer everywhere and somehow it was all my fault. It took me a while to get through all the emotions of cancer and realize that wasn't the case.. Listen to your doctors and let them set your priorities right now. It is likely just fibroids.

speace

Hello Staple and thankyou! I'm so relieved after hearing your story as well as the others. So relieved to know I'm not the only one. xoxo

FlatyMady

Speace - your situation sounds a lot like mine. I was 49 when I had a partial hysterectomy due to non-stop bleeding from fibroids. Then, 3 years later I was diagnosed with ER/PR positive breast cancer which was probably already there when I had the hysterectomy. I'm like Bren, if I had known I'd be dealing with breast cancer, I wish they would've took my ovaries when I had the hysterectomy. Instead, now I have to wonder should I have that done or not, and if I decide to, that's another surgery that I would have to go through. The time after you know you have breast cancer but are not exactly sure if you'll have chemo or not is a very scary time so take your xanax or whatever you need to calm your nerves during this time. I took Lorazepam during that time for several months until I learned to live with this. I think most people can't deal with this without some kind of help.

Trvler

It sounds like people are making you feel better which is great. I hope you don't have to have chemo. Hang in there. And vent all you need to here. We are here to help you.

speace

Thankyou , Flatymady and trvler. Your advise is very much appreciated! ! It's nice to be able to come on here and vent.

farmerlucy

In case it hasn't been mentioned yet uterine cancer is not that common and I think for the general population the odds are like 1 in a thousand. These odds are hugely different than 1 in 8 for BC. Ovarian cancer is scary stuff but very often linked to the BRCA mutation. I just had an ooph so I could start on aromatase inhibitors and I opted not to remove the Uterus.

AndreaC

Speace - I had similar issues with fibroids, heavy bleeding, and anemia. Because of the anemia I was investigated further and was found to have colon cancer...that was in Nov. of 2013. I saw a gynaecologist around that time and wanted a hysterectomy but she said that was "overkill" and instead she recommended a Merina IUD, which lessens the bleeding as well as prevents pregnancy. It has been working very well. I had the colon cancer surgery and am no longer anemic. Only now I have breast cancer...

I am 3 weeks postop BMX - I had a tumour in each breast. One was ER and PR positive, the other was triple negative. Very unusual. Lymph node involvement on the left side (the positive side). So now I wait for chemo and radiation. Then tamoxifen for five years.

Interestingly, my periods seem to have stopped...but I am 52, after all. They would have stopped with chemo anyway.

Good luck to you! We are all in this together!

Andrea

speace

Hello Andrea, jeez, after what you've been through I can't complain. You are a true warrior!! And an inspiration! Thankyou for your advise. Xo

speace

Thankyou Farmerlucy. All good information to know!! I appreciate your input! Xo

Fe_Princess

Hi speace, I had a hysterectomy (ovaries & uterus only) while waiting for my Sentinel Node/Nipple biopsy. I was scheduled for it before my diagnosis anyway but didn't plan on ovary removal! I am ++- so it made sense to take them. I had it done laparoscopically so the recovery was, for me, only a week 1/2. I had the ovaries taken out because I won't do tamoxifen.

speace

Hello Fe princess, so do mean that because you had your ovaries removed you didn't need to take the tomaxifin ?

Fe_Princess

It's my choice to refuse it. I cannot find any statistics that can prove to me that my life will actually be longer if I take it. The side effects don't seem worth it. I am a staunch believer in naturopathic treatment. I am 51 so I was very close to menopause, so since my cancer was estrogen positive I went ahead with it. I will speak with an oncologist Monday regarding chemo/tomaxifin and whether they think it's even required. It's my personal choice not to take it. Obviously, having one's ovaries removed drastically reduces estrogen production. I am moving out of the country in June so if I do any follow up treatment it will be there. I don't want more drugs in my body and I am very grateful that my pathology allows me to make those decisions. Does this answer your question? if I hadn't removed my ovaries, I would have taken it because my cancer was only produced by hormones.

speace

Thankyou , and yes you answered my questions. I wish you good luck with your health and your new move out of the country. 😆