Has anyone gotten uterine cancer 30 years after hysterectomy

Out Of Order!

Hello, i was just diagnosed with "recurrent" uterine cancer 16 years after my hysterectomy.  When i had my hysterectomy the biopsy showed pre-cancerous cells in the uterus but that and one ovary was removed.  I had regular pap done and all has been well until now.  My GYN did a pap and swab biopsy and i've been diagnosed with recurrent uterine cancer!  My question of course was how can i have uterine cancer without a uterus?  She speculates that some cells were left behind and turned cancerous.  I have an appointment today with surgical oncologist to see what my treatment options are.  This diagnosis came out of nowhere and was the last thing i ever suspected. 
Today they have a "wash" that they can do after a hysterectomy to see if there are any cells left behind.  I would encourage everyonen to ask for this if it's not SOP today, maybe it is.  Also, i would get a second opinion at the time of hysterectomy IF pre-cancerous cells are present to see if any proactive steps should be taken.  It never hurts to get a second opinion.  I only wish i had known this was even possible.  Will update with my doctor's suggested treatment plan after my appointment today and second opinion next week.

Ladies,

The way you can get uterine cancer years after a hysterectomy is if your doctor used a tool called a
morcellator during surgery.

The morcellator is used to grind up the tissue so that it can be removed through small incisions during
laparoscopic surgery.  Lawsuits are currently ongoing on about this tool.  Ask your surgeon if he/she used a morcellator.

If you had uterine cancer at the time of your hysterectomy, and didn't know it, the morcellator would have
spread the cancer cells.

It is likely it was used if you had the surgery many years ago.  Not every surgeon uses this tool.

You can read about the lawsuits at www.drugwatch.com

Takingcontrol58

My mom had endometrial cancer cells on/in her colon last year, 6 years after her hysterectomy. One of the top gynecological oncologists in the country told me this is such an unusual occurence that if you ask 100 doctors you will get 100 opinions about how it happened and what the best course of treatment should be. There is a huge debate regarding cells being spread by a morcellator saw versus cells traveling via the lymphovascular system. The original surgeon who did mom's surgery said she didn't use the saw and would never use a saw on a uterus known to contain cancer cells (Mom was A1A staged at the time of original hysterectomy). That surgeon and hospital called this new cancer a "New primary cancer from endometriosis cells".  Mom never had endometriosis in her life. We changed doctors and hospitals.  My mother's current gynecological oncologist is pretty certain the cells had traveled via the lymphovascular system and because endometrial adenocarcinoma is generally a slow growing cancer the cells had been growing for that long and didn't show up as cancer until they had formed a large enough tumor on the colon to infiltrate the colon and be seen during a colonoscopy. We consulted 4 of the country's best oncologists and all agreed that endometrial adenocarcinoma that shows up years later responds well to treatment. After the colon cancer surgery, it was determined that the best course of treatment for my Mother was oral cytoxan for 6 months and Megace longterm. Unfortunately she now has a large blood clot in her groin from the Megace and will no longer be able to use that. When we get past the blood clot therapy, we'll see if there are any other prophylactic measures available to her. If you have any questions I can help you with, I will do my best. I'm a nurse and have been researching everything I can find on these later cases of cancer after hysterectomy and there's not much info out there. All the best to you.