Other Gyn Cancers

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lynnea
lynnea Member Posts: 226
edited June 2014 in High Risk for Breast Cancer
Other Gyn Cancers
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  • lynnea
    lynnea Member Posts: 226
    edited December 2009

    Hi all- last year I was here for the breast cancer rollarcoaster and after months of testing and waiting I finally had my 6 month followup mammo and nothing new showed up. Last month I went for my annual exam and pap smear and mentioned that I had been spotting. I'm 55 and postmenopausal for 4 years. Now the rollarcoaster ride starts again!! I've arlready had a transvaginal ultra sound and an endometrial biopsy-no results yet. But I'm scheduled for a D&C and hysteroscopy in jan and I'm petrified that I have endometrial cancer. I have many risk factors. Never been pregnant, overweight etc...

    My question is does anyone know of a similar forum for gyn cancers other than breast? I know that in the past I read about people here with breast and uterine cancer-but I can't seem to find any such posts. Any help will be much appreciated..    Thanks Lynne

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  • geebung
    geebung Member Posts: 1,851
    edited December 2009

    Hi lynnea, I had DCIS nearly 3 years ago now. I haven't had a period for 6 months and have also had spotting in the last few months. My doctor referred me to a gyn after I had a transvaginal u/s which showed that I had a thickened endometrium and a possible fibroid or polyp. So I had a D&C & hysteroscopy last Friday. It went very well and I got the results back on Wednesday - it was a benign polyp. I read that only 0.5% of these biopsies turn out to be cancerous. I don't know of a forum for this sort of thing but, chances are, you will have the same result as I did - so, hopely you wont' need one.

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  • kle
    kle Member Posts: 317
    edited December 2009

    Hi, I'm in the same situation as you.  After some irregular periods I had a an endometrial biopsy.  The Dr says does not look like cancer, and I will be having a D&C hysterscopy in Jan.  The GYN says it is chronic inflammation of the uterus.   My question is, are either of you on tamixofen?  My GYN is a cancer specialist, and he says this has nothing to do with the tamoxifen, he sees no thickening of the uterus lining.   I want to blame everything on the tamoxifen, but I may not be able to this time.

    kle  

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  • lynnea
    lynnea Member Posts: 226
    edited December 2009

    Hi geebung and kle-thanks for replying. I'm not on tamoxifen. I do have endomentrial thickening which at first I thought was no big deal. But the more I research it the more concerned I am. Normal is 2 mm and mine is 23 mm. Gyn says thats 10x normal!!  Geebung I'm glad you got good report. Somewhere I read statistics about people who had hyserectomies for hyperplasia and in 42% of those uteri that were removed, they did find endometrial carcinoma. To me that's pretty scary odds. 

    kle good luck with your D&C in jan-I'll keep you in my prayers----Lynne

    PS kle somewhere in my internet search I also came across the info that Tamoxifin may have a protective effect in that it binds to estrogen receptors blocking our natural estrogen, since endometrial cancer is due to too much estrogen or estrogen dominance. I think I also read this in Dr. Lee's book.

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  • motheroffoursons
    motheroffoursons Member Posts: 333
    edited December 2009

    hi Lynnea,

    I had a hysterectomy almost one year ago because of a huge dermoid cyst.  Fortunately and tomy Dr.'s surprise, it was benign.

      I used to go to the following site.

      

    http://www.hystersisters.com/

    They do have stuff for sale so they are a .com, but there is also a discussion board.  You can also find a lot of information in their archives.

    It is not as well organized as this site, but it did help and answer questions.   Especially since I had some trouble with the incision healing properly.

    Best of luck.  If youare having a TAH (total abdominal hysterectomy) take it easy for a few days, and yes, it does get better.

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  • geebung
    geebung Member Posts: 1,851
    edited December 2009

    Hi again Lynnea,

    No, I'm not on Tamoxifen. What exactly is hyperplasia? Does it mean that the cells are dividing faster than they should or is any cyst, fibroid or polyp regarded as hyperplasia?

    Please come back and let us know how you are and I will be thinking of you and praying that you get a benign result.

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  • geebung
    geebung Member Posts: 1,851
    edited December 2009

    kle, hope your results come back benign too. My gyn said that the walls of the uterus rub together and if they are dry, it can cause some blood loss.

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  • kle
    kle Member Posts: 317
    edited December 2009

    Thanks for your info.  Lynnea, we can compare notes after our procedures.  Good results to you!

    kle

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  • leaf
    leaf Member Posts: 8,188
    edited December 2009

    Becauseendometrial proliferative disorders range from simple endometrialhyperplasia without cytologic atypia at one end of a biologiccontinuum to endometrial adenocarcinoma at the other, this classificationis useful in predicting progression of endometrial hyperplasiato carcinoma in a given patient. Less than 2% of the cases ofendometrial hyperplasia without atypia progress to endometrialcarcinoma, whereas approximately 23% of the cases of atypical endometrialhyperplasia progress to carcinoma. The greater the complexityof architecture (complex endometrial hyperplasia), the greaterthe likelihood of cancer development.http://www.ajronline.org/cgi/content/full/179/2/385

    Hyperplasia means more cells than normal growing in a tissue.  I've had 3 endometrial biopsies for polpys-both before and after tamoxifen-and all were benign.

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  • lynnea
    lynnea Member Posts: 226
    edited December 2009

    You ladies are so great!! That's why I love this web site.

    Geebung-hyperplasia is a thickening of the endometrium, it does mean that the cells are growing faster then they should and it is considered a pre-cancerous condition. Most believe it is caused by unopposed estrogen stimulation. After menopause progesterone is almost nil and the body continues to make estrogen, especially if you are overweight, like I am. Estrogen builds up the endometrium, and without progesterone it dosn't shed. Being overweight is proably why I had very few perimenopausal symptoms like hot flashes, etc...I was lucky that way-but maybe not so lucky now.

    Kle-I'll keep you in my prayers and hold your cyber hand!!

    Mothersofoursons-thank you for your support and for the link to hystersisters-I'll definitely check it out.

    Thanks again to all of you-<<<HUGS>>> Lynne

    PS-thanks Leaf for the info, you must have been posting at the same time as me!

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  • Ghanshyam
    Ghanshyam Member Posts: 8
    edited December 2009

    If this is right i am not happy because there are continuously increasing this.

     sitemap 2

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  • lynnea
    lynnea Member Posts: 226
    edited January 2010

    Hi Ladies-

    Motherofoursons-thankyou for the reference to www.hystersisters.com, I've been logged on to there a couple of times and so far it's helpful.

    Kle-how are you doing?  When is your D&C and hysteroscopy? Mine is on the 18th. I'm a little nervous, not so much about the procedure, but what the pathology will report! Keep in touch.

    <<<HUGS>>> Lynne

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  • kle
    kle Member Posts: 317
    edited January 2010

    Hi Lynne,  Oh I'm going to be able to tell you all about it, I'm up this Saturday 1/9.  Had my pre-op so I'm ready to go!  I feel pretty good the Dr said did not see cancer in my biopsy..so I'm not thinking to much about it!  I hope fingers crossed!!!

    kle

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  • lynnea
    lynnea Member Posts: 226
    edited January 2010
    Hi KLE-I'll keep you in my prayers for a good outcome on sat, you've had more than your share of cancer stress, I'm sorry that you even have to go through this diagnostic cr#% at all. It's good news that the biopsy was negative. I got my pap and endo biopsy results yesterday and they were also ok. Let's hope our luck continues, my fingers are also crossed!! (eyes and toes also!!)

    Hang in there and <<HUGS>> Lynne
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  • kle
    kle Member Posts: 317
    edited January 2010

    Hi Lynne. all went well today, I went into surgery 745a and was in recovery before 9a,home by10a.  He just did the D & C, no hysterscopy since I had my period.  Polyps, he found many polyps!  I did not get a chance to talk w/ him yet, but it seems what he first said -inflammation of the uterus is not what he found.  He said the Tamoxifen I'm on can bring on these polyps.  Now for me it makes sense, another side effect of the Tamoxifen.

    Now you are up next, and hope you get some clear explanations of what is going on.  Keep thinking positive!

    Please keep me posted.

    kle    

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  • lynnea
    lynnea Member Posts: 226
    edited January 2010

    Hi KLE -glad the procedure was so quick and "uneventful"-that's definitely not what you want-EVENTS while you are in surgery!! Did you have general anesthesia? I go on wed for my pre-op testing, and I still have a bunch of questions to ask them. I hope your pathology all comes back clean and you get good news at your followup. Thanks for letting me know how it went, I'll definitely keep in touch.  <<<HUGS>>> Lynne

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  • kle
    kle Member Posts: 317
    edited January 2010

    Hi again, that is funny u say about "events while in surgery"!  This weekend my events were before surgery..my ride had an emergency and I had to call in another friend 1030P the night before!  And because my surgery was on Saturday, the pre-op folks gave me wrong directions, and I sat in the empty waiting room of day surgery thinking where is everybody!  40 minutes before my surgery I got to the right spot..nice way to go into surgery!   And yes I had general anesthesia.  I'm not sure he did another biopsy, that is what I have to ask him.

    kle 

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  • bestrong
    bestrong Member Posts: 9
    edited January 2010

    I had endometrial hyperplasia last year.  Simple without atypia.  There is a website called hystersisters that is very good.  Good Luck!

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  • lynnea
    lynnea Member Posts: 226
    edited January 2010

    Hi Bestrong-thanks for the tip. I've been on Hystersisters for about 3 weeks now and it has been very helpful. Tommorrow is my D&C, I'll let you all know how it goes. Lynne

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  • hobie644
    hobie644 Member Posts: 94
    edited January 2010

    I'm postmenopausal (haven't had "that time of the month" in 1 1/2 years)  for the past couple weeks I've had lower pelvic pain and some sharp pain in my right ovary.  This morning I had some brownish discharge...and now I'm even more worried.  I know that I need to get this checked out.  Guess I'll be calling my Gyn. this week.

    Thanks motherofoursons for the "www.hystersisters.com" web site suggestion; I have been trying to find a helpful site with very little luck so far.  ~Carol

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  • lynnea
    lynnea Member Posts: 226
    edited January 2010

    Hi Ladies- well today I had the D&C and it went pretty well. I thought I was having general anesthesia, but after I spoke with the 1st anesthesia dr he said it would be IV sedation and they might have to "tube" me because you are in a slightly head down position and he wasn't sure if that would cause problems breathing, but he would leave the decision up to the dr who would be doing the anesthesia. Well a half hour later, my anesthesiologist came in and suggested spinal anesthesia. I asked him if it was an epidural, but he said no, they call it a short spinal. It's like an epidural but they inject a large dose of lidocaine into the spine and there is no catheter left in place. The anesthesia lasts only aboult an hour. Well that's what I got and it worked great, I didn't feel a thing just some tugging sort of like you'd feel with a C-section. He gave me some IV tranq. but I never really fell asleep. Which was kind of good because I got to watch while she did the hysteroscopy, on the video screen. Gyn found many polyps, she said the lining looked like a shag rug!! Now I'll have to wait for the pathology. I'm trying not to worry, but that is easier said then done!!



    Carol-hi. You do need to get any postmenopausal spotting checked out. I was under the impression that occ spotting was normal, but the gyn said that once you are post menopausal, there shouldn't be any. I just sort of mentioned it in passing at my annual exam, I didn't have any pain, just spotting and she jumped right on it and sent me for the ultrasound. I also have found hystersisters to be very helpful and informative. Let us know how things go for you. Lynne

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  • kle
    kle Member Posts: 317
    edited January 2010

    Hi Lynne,  I see all went well yesterday for you!  Very interesting about the anesthesia you had.  I can't believe you were watching the video screen! Looks like we had the same results polyps!  I'm still waiting to go to my follow up appointment.  Good luck with yours.

    kle

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  • hobie644
    hobie644 Member Posts: 94
    edited January 2010
    Hi Lynnea,  I called my gynecologist yesterday and I'm now scheduled to get an ultrasound this Thursday and I have an apt. to see my Doctor next week to go over the results. Luckily I have a Doctor who's proactive and scheduled me to get the ultrasound first before having me come in to see her.  Guess I'll find out soon if I'm in for another biopsy, only this time in the other female area, haha!  Good luck Lynnea and kle with you biopsy results; I pray it's b9. ~Carol
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  • lynnea
    lynnea Member Posts: 226
    edited January 2010

    Hi KLE and Carol-I got my path report back and it looks like it's just increased endometrium from un-opposed estrogen. No sign of hyperplasia or cancer, thankfully. Polyp that they looked at was benign. I have my followup appt with the gyn on feb 9th so we'll see what she says. Tx is probably progesterone, which I really don't want to take. Imagine PMS all the time!! NOT!!

    I'll let you know what she says.  Lynne

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  • kle
    kle Member Posts: 317
    edited January 2010

    Hi Lynn!  Great news!  I will be interested in what they say to do, so this does not happen again.  I see the Gyn next week,  but I  know my increased estrogen is from the Tamoxifen, so I'm interested in what they are going to say, stay on it or get off it.  I see the oncologist the week after, so I'll have some answers soon from them both.  Very happy with your report!

    kle 

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  • hobie644
    hobie644 Member Posts: 94
    edited January 2010

    Congrats. lynnea,  that's fantastic news!  I just got good news too.  My ultrasound came back normal.  My Doctor thinks the spotting might have been caused by my few remaining folllicles trying to become active again. I just have to keep track of any spotting and call her back if it continues or increases.  I'm am so happy, I don't have to start "the process" all over again with biopsies, surgeries, treatments...etc.,   Carol

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  • lynnea
    lynnea Member Posts: 226
    edited January 2010
    Carol that is definitely good news. Now you can breathe a little easier, you've had too much of this stuff any way. It did sound like maybe you had a wayward ovulation. You are much earlier into menopause then I am. I'm glad your ultrasound showed no abnormalities.

    KLE- I think you are right about the Tamoxifen. I read somewhere in my research that even though it blocks estrogen to binding with breast tissue, it does not have that same effect on endometrium. Un- opposed estrogen can still stimulate the endometrium. Maybe you can still stay on it as long as your uterine biopsies don't show any problems other then proliferation and/or benign polyps. I wouldn't think taking progesterone would be a good thing for you since your breast tumor was PR+.

    Even though they didn't find BC last year, I'm still at high risk, which is another reason I don't want to take any hormones. This is so frustrating-I feel like I'm dammed if I do and dammed if I don't. I'll let you know what she says after the appt on the 9th of feb.

    Thank you both for the dialogue and support and I pray that the future does not hold any more problems for both of you. <<<HUGS>>> Lynne
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  • Beesie
    Beesie Member Posts: 12,240
    edited January 2010

    Bumping in order to get the spam post off the top of the list. 

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  • leaf
    leaf Member Posts: 8,188
    edited February 2010

    It sure can be scary, can't it?  I know when I was diagnosed with LCIS in Jan 2006, I got a new medical diagnosis, or at least a scare, every 3-6 months for the next 3-4 years.

    This is what the NCI says about the incidence of uterine cancers with tamoxifen.

    Endometrial Cancer
    Studies have found the risk of developing endometrial cancer to be about 2 cases per 1,000 women taking tamoxifen each year compared with 1 case per 1,000 women taking placebo (1, 2). Most of the endometrial cancers that have occurred in women taking tamoxifen have been found in the early stages, and treatment has usually been effective. However, for some breast cancer patients who developed endometrial cancer while taking tamoxifen, the disease was life-threatening.

    Uterine Sarcoma
    Studies have found the risk of developing uterine sarcoma to be slightly higher in women taking tamoxifen compared with women taking placebo. However, it was less than 1 case per 1,000 women per year in both groups (1, 2). Research to date indicates that uterine sarcoma is more likely to be diagnosed at later stages than endometrial cancer, and may therefore be harder to control and more
    life-threatening than endometrial cancer.    http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Therapy/tamoxifen

    Best wishes as you go through this process.

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  • TenderIsOurMight
    TenderIsOurMight Member Posts: 4,493
    edited February 2010

    Hope,

    Tamoxifen induced uterine cancer stats: mainly a post menopausal condition increasing with full five years of Tamoxifen use, incidence low. 

    What did your ultrasound show about uterine size if you have fibroids. Fibroids and endometrial lining thickening are not uncommon even without Tamoxifen. 

    Perhaps you might talk with your oncologist about the fatty liver and it's effect on Tamoxifen metabolism? Liver disease can interfere with drug breakdown, and maybe it's indirectly exacerbating your fibroid and endometrial lining problems.

    Tender

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