I'm back and hoping for help please :(

Hi nateandkatesmom - I'm sorry I don't have answers to your questions. But I wanted to welcome you to the board. You will find a lot of smart ladies here that are willing to share information and provide emotional support. Please don't get ahead of yourself. I know that is easy to say and hard to do! Your biopsy results will be the starting point of information as far as cancer or no cancer and what the next steps will be. Until you have that, it is only a guessing game and that will drive you nuts.

Please come back and let us know your results when you get them!

Love and Hugs,

Cindi

Hello nateandkatesmom,

People on this board tend to be cautious about drawing conclusions or offering advice before medical diagnoses are available, and for good reason. No one knows what your situation is until the test results are in. But since you've asked for honest answers--

My situation pre-diagnosis was different from yours, so I'm afraid I can't offer any insights based on that. I had less time between the different steps--sonogram, D&C, hysterectomy--than you seem to have had. That may just be differences between providers or it may reflect something about our symptoms. For me I think everything moved pretty quickly from the time I first told my GP that I was having occasional spotting five years after my last period. I think that was because she and my gynecologist realized that cancer was likely. Once my gynecologist did an exam and a sonogram, I suspect that she was pretty sure it was cancer, although she didn't say that until after she did my D&C and got the results that showed some kind of cancer. The type, stage, and grade weren't known until after my hysterectomy a month later.

As I was going through all those steps, I had a growing feeling that I was being pulled onto a conveyer belt in a giant medical machine--that things were out of my hands, that everyone around me was familiar with all these steps and already knew what the inevitable result would be. I guess now I just take that part for granted. Up until the time I received the D&C results that confirmed there was some kind of cancer, I held out hope that it would be something else, but I was doing enough reading in reliable sources to know that cancer was the most likely explanation. So when I did hear the C word from my gynecologist over the phone, it was sad and terrifying but not a big shock.

One of the things I learned when my mother had colon cancer years ago was that when doctors seem concerned about something, we should pay attention to that, even if they're not making diagnoses or offering conclusions. It might sound silly to say that, but that was my introduction to the world of cancer.

So I guess all of this is a way of saying that you're right to be concerned about "abnormal" results and the finding of atypical glandular cells (there may be benign conditions that can have that finding, but I'm not aware of them). One way to prepare yourself for the possibility of a cancer diagnosis might be to read through the stories of women on this board. They will reassure you that life does go on and that all of us can handle much more than we knew we could before we had cancer. I also find it reassuring to know that there are so many different treatment options now. A diagnosis of endometrial cancer is not a death sentence.

I hope your doctor will give you straightforward answers to your questions on Monday. I doubt that a CT scan would be recommended before the D&C, but it's something to ask your doctor about. And make sure he's aware of all your symptoms.

I hope that others with symptoms similar to yours will respond. Please keep us posted and know that there is a group of smart, supportive women here to help you in any way they can.

Rebecca

I have never had a scan nor an MRI.  But I had Stage 1, grade 1 endometrial cancer and although I worried initially that none of this was ever done, there really was no reason for it.  Had my biopsy been more suspicious, I'm sure it would have happened.  However, it sure doesn't hurt anything to report your symptoms and to ask about these things.  And you can do that easily via a phone call or via email.  I'd rather ask questions about things I'm worried about than to not ask questions and not have a conversation about them.  You may find that all of these things you're experiencing are due to pre-menopausal changes taking place and they will resolve themselves, but you're worried so you should ask about this.  And keep reporting things you're concerned about - if you don't they assume you're just hunkey dorey.

After having had FOUR normal endometrial biopsies over my lifetime and waiting for my fifth, I asked my gyn if she would perform a prophylactic hysterectomy if this biospy was normal.  She actually agreed (I just could not go through any more of those stupid biopsies and did not want the worry - something was wrong afterall).  I was 62 at the time, tho, but I was only 5 years postmenopausal.   This fifth and last biopsy did show endometrial cancer, so it was rather a moot point, but even to this day I feel good that we had the conversation.  If all is well after your procedure on the 14th (and I hope it is), you might want to think about discussing a prophylactic hysterectomy with your gynecologist.  You are considerably younger than I was, tho.   I have this non-medical theory that if things do not get better (in my case, I had postmenopausal bleeding), then something just isn't right.     This is just MY theory, absolutely nothing medical.    I did not want to wait until I was 70 and then have to have surgery.   You have a long way to go to be a surgical risk because of age.

Good luck

Suzanne

Just like Notime, I had a d+c with my gynecologist and when the results came back I was immediately referred to the gyncholigist oncologist. I had two week waits between results and meeting with gynecologist. I live in a mid sized city, but we do have our own cancer center and excellent medical services. 

Hi NateandKatesMom. I'm so sorry to hear that you are having so much anxiety, in part because of how long it is taking to get some definitive answers for you. Becca really hit the nail on the head on how it feels when we all start having concerns that something insidious is brewing inside us. That conveyor belt metaphor is so apt!

How to deal with the anxiety? Reading may be a bit premature at this point because there is so much out there that will only add to your anxiety when you don't have enough details to narrow what you research. During my wait between suspicion and surgery, I channeled my anxiety into spring cleaning and doing crossword puzzles. The one helped me to relax and feel like I had control over something preparing for being laid up for awhile and the other engaged my mind enough to distract me from thinking constantly about what I was facing. I think our brains need those kinds of escapes to be able to cope the rest of the time. Asking for anti-anxiety meds is another possibility and there is no shame in doing that, either.

Remember, this is a no apology zone, so go ahead and post what seems like rambling concerns to you. We all get it. I lost 8 pounds in a week before my surgery just from all the anxiety, so I think any of us can appreciate how intense what your feeling right now is. 

Atypical glandular cells just means that there were a few odd looking cells found on a pap smear,  but that they don't exhibit the characteristics of adenocarinoma. Adeno means relating to glands and carcinoma means cancer. It's really not something you need to be anxious about. I had a finding like that from a colposcopy I had in my early 20's and nothing ever really came of it.

If you have endometrial cancer, odds are it wouldn't be detected from a pap smear in any case. There is no reliable screening test for this cancer other than biopsy and those are only routinely recommended for women diagnosed with Lynch Syndrome (a genetic mutation diagnosed from gene testing) who haven't had a hysterectomy. Most don't get genetic testing until after that happens to them because of a cancer diagnosis. I was tested for Lynch Syndrome during chemo and was positive for it. Colon cancer is the other thing it puts me at higher risk for, so now I get to have annual colonoscopies. 

High estrogen levels are a risk factor for endometrial cancer. It can be an inherited trait or influenced by outside factors such as diet, weight (fat produces it's own estrogen), low excercise levels, certain drugs, or exposure to endocrine disruptors (there are so many in our lives that isolating oneself from them is almost impossible). 

Things you can do for yourself to help lower your estrogen levels are: reduce weight if necessary; establish a daily excercise regime; eat organic to the extant that you can to limit exposure to pesticides and other endocrine disruptors that may have been fed to factory-farmed animals; do not cook in, eat from, or store food in plastic; avoid products containing paraben (scents and candles for instance); avoid processed foods (especially metal cans with BPA).

Foods that can help with estrogen levels are: 1). Foods that contain polyphenols which counteract estrogen effects and inhibit estrogen production. Examples are flaxseeds, chia, sesame seeds, and whole grains. Just don't go overboard on them because they also have phytoestrogens which can mimic estrogen. 2.) Sulfur rich foods that promote liver health since the liver is the organ that eliminates estrogen in bile. Examples are onions, green leafy vegetables, garlic, egg yolks, and citrus. 3). Cruciferous vegetables that contain phytochemicals which impede estrogen production. Examples are broccoli, cauliflower, Brussles sprouts, bok choy, kale, collard greens, turnips, and rutabega. 4). Any fiber rich foods that aid the liver to eliminate estrogen faster.

Hope this helps you and gives you somewhere productive to focus your attention on as you go through what seems to be a painfully slow path to definitive answers for what causing your symptoms. Hang in there!

Dorothy, are you dealing with a gynecologist or a PCP?  I can't really tell.  I would recommend working with a gyn who does nothing but the female reproductive system.  PCPs are great, all around people, but when I have one area that needs attention I don't mess around.  My gyn did my D&C and as soon as cancer was detected she immediately turned me over to a gynecologic oncologist.  She was not so arrogant to think she could 'do it all'.  I didn't know gyn onc's existed up to this point - my ignorance - but would say today any woman with gyn cancer should be working wtih one.  

Again, not sure if you are working with a gyn or a gyn onc, but after all this time if you are not maybe you can try there for help.  

well, it all sounds like more stress than one person should have to deal with. I have breast cancer not endometrial or uterine but my mother had uterine. i want to urge you to go to the chat room on this site, especially in the evenings. i am in claifornia and usually go on about 8pm my time. i dont know where you are but try somewhere about then from your state. there are a lot of caring and empathetic people in the chat room who have helped me get through many a night where all i wanted to do was just talk. and they listened and offered help. so please do the chat room as well as the discussion boards. you wont be sorry, i promise.