Awaiting biopsy results

KRae

Hello everyone, hope it is ok for me to post on here. Not diagnosed, but waiting on results of biopsy. Still wrapping my head around it. I'm 46, but already postmenopausal (early). For about 4 years my period was 11 months apart, finally was at 2.5 years so officially considered post menopause.

 

For the last couple months I had a watery discharge, kind of a clear mucous. just before MLK day it had streaks of blood, then that Monday a really heavy bleeding started. I didn't think much at first, but it was still pretty heavy 5 days in, so I called my gyn. Then it stopped, as quick as it started. Still kept my appt last Wednesday. She says it's never normal, but probably hormonal. Just in case she does an ultrasound, says the lining is a little thick. Doing blood work to test hormones but going to do a biopsy now too, "just in case", so I don't have to go back later if the hormones are not the issue. 

 

All happened really fast, none of it was expected at all. She said results should be back in 5 days. Got the blood test in two, normal for post menopause. Most likely not the cause for bleeding. So now I'm getting worried. Trying not to be. But I called today (7days later) to see if results are back. She said no, then she called the lab, the lab said results are still pending. 

 

I guess I just needed to vent a little. Very nervous, no idea how long is normal to get results, or if my symptoms could really signal cancer?

 

Kim

 

 

jan9wils

Hi Kim,

Hi Kim,

Waiting is the hardest! My biopsy results took four days, which was quick, as I had been told they would take a week or so. It is good that your gyn did the biopsy just in case as many women have post menopausal bleeding as the only symptom of uterine cancer. That said, so many times it is NOT cancer. You are in the correct place to post your concern. Please let us know when you get your results as we are all praying for you to be cancer-free.

Jan

ConnieSW

I hope you are ok

But your symptoms are exactly what mine were except I had no heavy bleeding..  It has been my mission for the past 9 years to educate as many women as I can that a watery discharge can be a sign of endometrial cancer. We will wait this out with you. Hopefully you will hear soon.

thatblondegirl

Hoping for the best!

I can echo my friends and welcome you here! The waiting is very hard & we are happy to help you get through it! I was reminded by one of the ladies a while back, when I was upset about waiting, that some wait time is perfectly normal & pathology is not an exact science and can take some time.

Let us know when you hear something.

Prayers & hugs,

Alicia

Forherself

Welcome KRae

You have come to a good place.  You are at a very scary time.  But remember 9 out of 10 biopsies are negative for cancer.  I am impressed that your gynecologist is being so proactive.  Lots of women here were left for quite awhile with post menopausal bleeding before having a biopsy.  It is so hard to wait.  Keep busy.  

Molly110

Mine all happened so fast,

Mine all happened so fast, there wasn't much waiting, so the fact that your results are taking a while doesn't mean that it's more likely that you have cancer. As Forherself says, the great majority of biopsies are negative for cancer. Everyone who reads your post will be in your corner.

Warm best wishes for a happy result,

Molly

Armywife

Hang on, K

Seems like all lab work and biopsies are taking longer during Covid.  I had a simple urine test for a possible UTI last month and didn't get the results for over 3 weeks!  And only after I called twice!  You are in the right place to wait.  Read bios and learn everyone's story so that if you have a diagnosis, you'll have some good ideas on moving forward - and if you don't have cancer, you'll have new friends to cheer on!

MAbound

Trust your gut

Kim, I've been holding back really expecting someone else to say this, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen, so while others are giving you reassurance, I don't think that is what what you actually need. Forgive my bluntness, but trust your worrying gut and push for your gyn to refer you to a gyn oncologist to definitely rule cancer in or out. They have the expertise that a gyn does not have to give you the certainty you need.

Even if the biopsy comes back negative, it is not a difinitive test. It's kind of a blind extraction of a small amount of tissue from inside of the uterus that can easily miss where a lesion actually is and give a negative result. A D & C would be better, but because you are post menopausal having clear blood-tinged mucus discharges (never normal after menopause and a big red flag for uterine cancer), it's time for your gyn to let go for a while and give you a referral to a gyn oncologist.

I've seen this scenario repeatedly on this site where a primary or gyn dithers diagnosising uterine cancer for months or even years (my personal experience), so it sets off alarm bells for me when I see it potentially happening again. A lot of doctors like to "wait-and-see" how things go, but with your symptoms, please push for definitive results ASAP and if your gyn starts talking surgery, please don't let him or her do it. You need a gyn-oncologist's expertise if there is any possibility of cancer because the surgery needs to be performed in a manner that allows for accurate staging, tissue preservation for testing afterwards, and preventing contaminating other tissue with cancer cells. Gyns don't have that expertise.

While you have cause for concern that shouldn't be dismissed, please don't panic at the pace it takes to get the answers you need. Even if it is uterine cancer, it doesn't grow fast, so there is time to get referrals, additional testing, additional opinions, and whatever else needs to occur. Just be sure to be assertive rather than passive about getting the answers you need. You'd think you shouldn't need to because your not a doctor, but unfortunately that's the way health care is these days. Good luck, I'll be crossing my fingers, eyes, and toes for you!

 

 

txtrisha55

Glad you found site. Lots of

Glad you found site. Lots of wonderful ladies with lots of information of what they went through and willing to share it.  I am a 9 1/2 yr survivor of uterine cancer stage 3 carcinoma sarcoma cancer in 2011. 

In March 2011 I started with very heavy bleeding after being post menopausal for several years with no periods. I went to my gyn and she suggested a D&C.  I had to wait 2 weeks for the results all the while still bleeding.  I was 55. I got the call from the Dr on 1 April (fool's day) to tell me that there were cancer cells form the pathology report from the D&C.  That was on a Friday, they set me an appt with a GYN ONC Dr for Monday the 4th of April. Had Surgery 8 April. Started Chemo 6 rounds 6 rounds of chemo started in May last Aug 22, 2011. No radiation was given.

It was a stressful time while I waited for the results of the D&C.  Then the Dr says, you have cancer.  Of course the first thing is to jump on the internet and "Google" it.  DO NOT DO THIS.  If the results come back OK, ask for the D&C as it could clean out what is making you bleed but it could get more of the tissue that might be bad or ask for a CT scan.  Also could ask for a CA-125 blood test that detects Ovarian n cancer but sometimes will detect others in the area.  It would not show up on an xray.  It has to have contrast.  If the dr does not want to spend anymore time on this and tells you your ok.  Get a second opinion especially if you are still bleeding.  Something is going on.  It is not normal for a women that has gone through the change to start having periods again.  Get it cheked out until someone listens to you.  If the results come back that there is cancer, DO NOT PANIC.  It is not a death sentence.  Get a good GYN ONC DR and talk with them.

Above all try not to get even more stressed.  Get the information you need to make a decision, Get a good Dr, come up with a plan, surgery, chemo, radiation, or other treatments.   I truly believe that I had an easy time dealing with MY cancer is because once I found out that I had it, i said let's get it taken care of.  do what I had to do to live.  My Dr said I had the most upbeat attitude that she had ever seen.  I tried to always think positive thoughts, yes bad ones came through, and still do sometimes, but for the most part it is positive.  I think that is why I am still here.  That is my story.  Good Luck with whatever happens but try to have a positive attitude and prayers to you. trish

cmb

D&C/hysteroscopy

I've experienced both good news and bad news about post-menopausal bleeding. The first time was about a year after I believed that I was finally in menopause. My PCP ordered an ultrasound right away and referred me to a gynecologist. The gynecologist tried to perform an endometrial biopsy, but I couldn't tolerate the procedure. So she did a D&C/hysteroscopy, finding and removing a polyp that was later shown to be benign.

Nine years later I had another experience with bleeding. Again, my PCP ordered the ultrasound and had me see a gynecologist. This gynecologist also did a D&C/hysteroscopy because I still couldn't handle the biopsy process. This time she found what the pathology later proved to be cancer and I was immediately referred to a gynecological oncologist.

I'm glad that I had the D&C/hysteroscopy first in both cases so that the bleeding could be resolved in the first case and, in the second instance, there was no question that I would need to see a gynecological oncologist for surgery. There was never a suggestion in either instance that I have a hysterectomy without the D&C/hysteroscopy occurring first.

However, I know from reading posts on this board that some women do not receive action as soon as I did, nor was cancer always confirmed via a D&C/hysteroscopy. Jumping right to a hysterectomy with a regular gynecologist without that definitive confirmation has caused problems for other women here.

Based on my own experiences, I was happy that I had the D&C/hysteroscopies, even after menopause, for vaginal bleeding. Should your biopsy results come back negative, I agree with txtrisha55 to request D&C/hysteroscopy first before any further procedures are taken to resolve the bleeding. You could find that you have a benign polyp as I did, whose removal during the D&C fixes the bleeding problem. And if cancer is found in a location not targeted by the biopsy, you can then see a gynecological oncologist for the actual surgery.

Although I received treatment at a large, teaching hospital, there were a limited number of gynecological oncologists who generally only saw patients after they had been diagnosed with cancer (there's a separate group of medical oncologists who oversee chemo therapy). 

Theskinnyscot

MAbound said:

Trust your gut

Kim, I've been holding back really expecting someone else to say this, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen, so while others are giving you reassurance, I don't think that is what what you actually need. Forgive my bluntness, but trust your worrying gut and push for your gyn to refer you to a gyn oncologist to definitely rule cancer in or out. They have the expertise that a gyn does not have to give you the certainty you need.

Even if the biopsy comes back negative, it is not a difinitive test. It's kind of a blind extraction of a small amount of tissue from inside of the uterus that can easily miss where a lesion actually is and give a negative result. A D & C would be better, but because you are post menopausal having clear blood-tinged mucus discharges (never normal after menopause and a big red flag for uterine cancer), it's time for your gyn to let go for a while and give you a referral to a gyn oncologist.

I've seen this scenario repeatedly on this site where a primary or gyn dithers diagnosising uterine cancer for months or even years (my personal experience), so it sets off alarm bells for me when I see it potentially happening again. A lot of doctors like to "wait-and-see" how things go, but with your symptoms, please push for definitive results ASAP and if your gyn starts talking surgery, please don't let him or her do it. You need a gyn-oncologist's expertise if there is any possibility of cancer because the surgery needs to be performed in a manner that allows for accurate staging, tissue preservation for testing afterwards, and preventing contaminating other tissue with cancer cells. Gyns don't have that expertise.

While you have cause for concern that shouldn't be dismissed, please don't panic at the pace it takes to get the answers you need. Even if it is uterine cancer, it doesn't grow fast, so there is time to get referrals, additional testing, additional opinions, and whatever else needs to occur. Just be sure to be assertive rather than passive about getting the answers you need. You'd think you shouldn't need to because your not a doctor, but unfortunately that's the way health care is these days. Good luck, I'll be crossing my fingers, eyes, and toes for you!

 

 

I agree. In 2017 I had very

I agree. In 2017 I had very light post menopausal spotting and my doc sent me for an ultrasound. Usually he would send me a letter with results of any test regardless of good or bad. Unfortunately he was on vacation when results came in and another provider put results on my chart (which I never used). I only know this as I researched into past providres after my work changed insurance companies and so I had to change doctor. Fast forward to august 2019, I started with some light bleeding and called to make an appointment with my doctor. Even explaining why I wanted to come in, I had to wait almost two weeks for a visit. She performed a pap and biopsy and sent me for an ultrsound. Ten days later I got a call from an unlisted number and it was my doctor, who was on vacation (what are the odds); she wanted to give me the results rather than some stranger at her practice. The ultrasound showed a 2:3cm mass and the biopsy was positive for grade 3 endometrial cancer. Now her office was supposed to be getting me a referral (9th sept.). After about a week I called the office to ask what was going on with the referral and they gave me a number to call. I called and it was a gynecologist offic, I explained my condition and they were somewhat shocked and said they would get back to me within 24hrs. They basically read the riot act at my doctor's offic, telling them I needed to see a gynecological oncologist since they already knew I had cancer. A few days later I got a call from the gyn/onc and they made a consultation appointment for the 19th of Sept. I had a pre-op pet scan on the 20th October and the mass is now 4.5cm. and finally had surgery on 25th. October.

hindsight as they say is 20/20. Had I known I would of not allowed them to procrastinate On everything. I was not in any pain and even though the bleeding did get considerably worse, especially after the biopsy, I did not realize that time was of the essence since the tumor doubled in size by the time they got round to surgery.

p.s. I found a message on my chart from 2017 from the other provider stating that the ultrasound showed a thickeni of the uterine wall and that I should see a gynecologist!, my doctor at the time never mentioned anything. Go figure. 
sorry, long rant but if it makes you feel more justified in taking charge rather than being the "nice lady" like I was then all is good. ?