New help needed

Becrans
Becrans Member Posts: 2
in Uterine/Endometrial Cancer #1

Hello, I was recently (10 days) ago diagnosed with grade 1 uterine cancer.  I have only had a PAP and entromedtrial biopsy And ultrasound which showed thicking of entrometris  My ob/gyn has referred me to a gyno ocnologist  I see next week, plus I have also made arrangements for a 2nd opinion at CTCA in June.  

  Here is my dilemma, I am terrified of surgery, I am 55, type 2 diabetic,overweight, I have lost 65 pounds in past 2 years but still overweight. My ob said I will need a hysterectomy, i want to know what are the alternatives. I have done some reading and I do not think I am a good canadiate for surgery. 

One more question is there a place you can direct me to get a list of questions to be asking doctors? This is all knew to be and I am just not sure where to begin. 

Thank you in advance and God Bless you all.

Becrans

Comments

  • TeddyandBears_Mom
    TeddyandBears_Mom Member Posts: 1,814 Member
    #2
    Becrans, first of all...

    Becrans, first of all... welcome! Glad you found us and so sorry you had to....

    Congrats on your weight loss. That really is great. 

    The only way that I'm aware of to truly know what stage your cancer is, is to have surgery. This will confirm the grade, provide the stage and help determine if any further treatments are needed. I can only speak for myself..... Even though surgery is scary, it was way more scary leaving cancer in my body! The good news is, your cancer grade is the best one to treat successfully. I hope you can overcome your fear and proceed to give yourself the best chance at a long, healthy life.

    Please come back and let us know how you are doing.

    Love and Hugs,

    Cindi

  • Kvdyson
    Kvdyson Member Posts: 790 Member
    edited May 2017 #3
    Becrans, surgery is scary but

    Becrans, surgery is scary but there are minimally-invasive types that a gyn-onc might consider. For instance, a vaginal hysterectomy may be an option for you. You should talk to the gyn-onc and explain your concerns. They are the experts in our type of cancer and can explain how they will mitigate whatever issues are making you feel like you're not a good candidate for surgery.

    Regarding a list of questions, you may want to try googling "american cancer society questions to ask doctor" for a link to some general questions to get you started. My advice is to try to get copies of all of your surgery and pathology reports for your records. There may be information on them that will prove useful to you later on.

    Good luck to you and keep us posted on how you are doing.

     

     

  • Tethys41
    Tethys41 Member Posts: 1,382 Member
    #4
    Alternatives

    Hi Becrans,

    I am an ovarian cancer survivor from the ovarian board, but wanted to chime in on a couple of things.  As far as your surgical risk, many cancer patients have diabetes and are overweight.  There actually appears to be a link between sugar issues and certain cancers.  So, I think a gyn/onc would be very qualified to handle a surgery. 

    Secondly, I started this journey wanting to find an alternative to surgery and chemo.  For me, the alternative doctors I spoke to indicated that these were necessary for an ovarian cancer diagnosis.  I don't know whether this is true for your diagnosis.  I received a great deal of guidance in my decision making by talking to doctors at the Oasis of Hope hospital in Mexico.  They successfully treat a number of cancer types using alternatives alone.  I ended up going there for some integrative therapies between my chemo treatments.  It might be worth talking to someone there to see if they have good success treating your type of cancer with alternatives. 

    Good luck

    P.S. getting rid of my uterus and ovaries has been one of the best things I ever did.  Laughing

     

  • SandyD
    SandyD Member Posts: 130
    #5
    Less invasive surgery

    Hi Becrans, 

    I completely understand how scary it always is to get a cancer diagnosis and to deal with all the unknowns and why undergoing surgery is concerning. The good news about surgery for uterine cancer is that many gyn oncologists are now doing a much less invasive type of surgical procedure (vaginal/laprascopic). The other piece of good news is that for many women with a Grade 1 uterine cancer, surgery without additional treatment results in cure. However surgery also is necessary to determine if for any reason further treatment is necessary. I happen to have a high grade cancer but had the laprascopic procedure when I had my hysterectomy. My recovery was relatively uneventful and took less time than what I likely would have experienced with open surgery. Do make sure you ask about the type of surgery he/she will perform and whether he/she is qualified to perform a laprascopic procedure. Although any kind of surgery is not to be taken lightly, getting rid of that cancer will make it well worth what you'll have to go through. Keep us posted on how you're doing ((HUGS))

    Sandy 

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