Waiting for diagnosis...

From what you describe, I'm wondering whether you live outside the US?  In any event, the odds are greatly in your favor that this is NOT a malignancy.  Fibroids can grow very rapidly, like within a few months, and can necrose as they outgrow their blood supply. When I was about 28, I had a myomectomy for fibroids which were making it seem as if I were 5 months pregnant.  I had a lot of pain from them, and trouble with urination (in fact, there were times when I could not urinate at all, had to be catheterized twice) - and they were totally benign.  So there is every chance that what's going on with you is benign, too.  Sending you a private message.

The good news is that the chances are your symptoms are related to Fibroids and not cancer.  Massive bleeding is really annoying but I was too busy to let it slow me down.  I had fibroids since I was 40 and dealt with them (probably not the smartest thing but I was shy and didn't want to tell anyone how much I was bleeding).  I could never donate blood because I was always anemic.  When I mentioned it to my gyno I was told they would shrink after menapause (and they did - although I didn't got through menapause until 59 - another annoyance).

Try not to stress (I know easier said than done) but in all likelyhood it is those nasty fibroids - they are benign demons - but demons none the less! 

I am not Canadian but remember vividly being in Vancouver when my demon fibroids were being awful and being stuck in the Vancouver Airport - not fun!

You can read my story on my blog.   I ended up making flannel pillow cases for everyone I know during the waiting period.  It was conforting, and got my mind off the future.   You have not been diagnosed yet.   Most likely you don't have cancer.  And if you did it would most likely be endometrioid which is usually cured by surgery.  The high grade aggessive cancers are less common.  But they are very common on this message board because this is where people find support.  I said the Lord's prayer when I felt at the end of my rope.  I said it alot.  

For me it was taking it a day at a time even a moment at a time. Its okay.

 Uterine cancer was my second cancer. I remember both times. I had to have a biopsy for both. My first cancer i remember just crying because i didnt know. It really does feel better after the wait. It was for me anyways.  Waiting is the hardest. You will get through it. Im hoping for the best results for you.

It worked for another woman on this board, and I hope it helps you.  Denial is an extremely useful technique, and in your case, it is not without basis to believe that you do NOT have cancer.  The fact is that it's far more likely that you just have benign fibroids.  It's totally plausible to believe that you just have fibroids, because that's what it's most likely going to be!  So you tell yourself, "I probably just have fibroids.  I will believe that, until I have to believe otherwise.  It is extraordinarily unlikely that this is cancer.  So I will believe what is most likely, that it's benign." 

And then you try very hard to keep so busy with your daily life all day long that you cannot think about it, and if you cannot sleep at night, you drug yourself.  My drug of choice used to be, when I was younger, long 19th century novels that were very wordy and a bit boring.  Moby **** worked very well!  Nowadays, it is the screen.  I distract myself with Netflix or the like, until I fall asleep.  I wake up, turn it right back on, back to sleep.  That seems to distract me from thinking about what is going on medically.  I don't use sleep medications at all, but in your case, you might benefit from them temporarily if nothing else helps.

I'm using "plausible denial" right now.  I know that I have a highly aggressive cancer.  I have read every study out there, I know what my odds are.  But I know that there is also a chance of a cure.  So I'm just going with that now, in denial that there is a decent chance that I will die of this disease, because it's totally plausible that I may be cured, and live.  So I'm just going along in denial about the possiblity of a bad outcome.

Channel your inner Scarlett O'Hara.  "I can't think about that today.  I'll think about that tomorrow."  Whatever works for you.

My cancer was found by a biopsy. It was pretty accurate. Alot of ladies from this site would recomend a d n c to test for cancer. Ive heard it is a lot more reliable than the biopsy. Some ladies ended up doing both the biopsy first than the D n C. I would make sure they do what ever they need to to be sure. If your having the hysterectomy no mater what. The hysterectomy will diagnose you for sure if you have cancer. 

I remember when my gynocologist gave me a biopsy she said she didnt think it was cancer. In my situation they were doing a hysterectomy no mater what. When they found the cancer they moved the hysterectomy up a lot sooner.

I dont know if that helps. I wish you the best at your appointment.

Lacey, it sounds as if the issue is the large mass in the muscle wall of the uterus - which would be consistent with a huge fibroid- and I know from personal experience that they can grow very quickly.  I did a quick bit of research today, and the chances of it being cancerous are slim - it is by far more likely to be a fibroid.  I don't think that they're going to recommend a biopsy - they can easily do a scraping of the lining of the uterus, but can't biopsy into the muscle wall.  Probably they're going to recommend a hysterectomy.  They may suggest doing a hormone medication, possibly Lupron depot shot, to shrink the fibroid before surgery, to make the surgery easier.

You have to realize who you're hearing from on this board.  We're all women who desperately wish that we had had a hysterectomy BEFORE we developed uterine cancer.  So I for one, and I suspect everyone else, is biased in favor of hysterectomy, even total hysterectomy, meaning taking out the ovaries, fallopian tubes, uterus, and cervix, before cancer can develop.  The gynecologist may recommend otherwise.  I, for one, have realized that my perfectly qualified and experienced GYN missed my early report of symptoms - a lot of other women have had the same experience.  So from where I sit, my attitude is get it out if you're done having children.  But the fact is that most women will NOT develop GYN cancer.  The overall lifetime risk of uterine cancer is about 3%, and of ovarian cancer is about 1.4%, and of cervical cancer about 0.6%.  Risks can be personalized by genetic testing - but I have had ALL tests available for cancer genetics - and I still got uterine cancer which developed when I was 56.  But I don't know if I would have wanted my ovaries out when I was only 41.  51, sure, but 41?  These are all issues that you will want to discuss with the gynecologist.

One thing that you do NOT want is a surgical approach that could spread cancer, if God forbid, this is cancerous, instead of just a fibroid.  So you don't want the fibroid cut into for removal, and you want the entire specimen removed in one piece, if at all possible, if the gynecologist recommends hysterectomy.  If for whatever reason, they cannot remove it in one piece, they should use an approach that keeps it from spilling out into the body.  I don't know what the current thinking is in Canada, but in the US, there has been a massive shift only 5 years ago away from a procedure done for hysterectomy for fibroids, that wound up spreading the cancer in the few who had cancer in the fibroid.

Your take home message is that it's probably just a fibroid, you need treatment, which may be a hysterectomy, and you need it quickly because your urinary symptoms are debilitating (since you have to argue to get to the front of the surgery line in Canada) - so play up your urinary symptoms!  The chances of it being cancer are probably low.  If you're having surgery, you want every precaution to be taken to keep from the very slim chance of spreading anything that might be in that fibroid.

There are women who have troublesome fibroids at your age who are managed medically, and then at menopause the fibroids shrink, and they don't wind up needing a hysterectomy.  Me - I'd want the hysterectomy.  But I have uterine cancer.  But from what you say you are having a serious urinary symptoms that are being caused by this (and if anyone tells you that it cannot be related to the fibroid, that's not true - any pressure on the bladder, even from chronic constipation, can increase the risk and incidence of UTIs, so of course a huge fibroid could cause that!

Good luck tomorrow.  Bring an intelligent adult with you to the visit, to take notes for you.  You may be so nervous that you don't remember a thing afterwards!  Make notes with all your questions before you go in, and hand the surgeon your clear, concise notes very early in the visit.  Ask direct, concise questions, until you understand everything that you need to understand.

Really, it's going to be fine.  The odds are like 350:1 that you DON'T have cancer!

Would he consider doing a D&C. Often they don’t get enough tissue to be of any value with an endometrial biopsy and yes it hurts like hell. 

I'm assuming that by uterine biopsy you mean he did an endometrial biopsy through the cervix via a vaginal exam?

It sounds to me as if you're getting appropriate treatment.  The large fibroid will hopefully shrink so that it can be removed more easily.  It's going to take time for the Lupron depot shot to shrink the fibroid.

Good news is that he's pretty sure it's just a fibroid!  That's good!  If he were worried that it's leiomyosarcoma, he'd be rushing you into surgery, never mind any waiting list.