18mm endometrial lining

AnnieB33
AnnieB33 Member Posts: 20 Member
edited January 2023 in Uterine/Endometrial Cancer #1

Asked this on the gyn forum and then saw this one may be more helpful.

I guess I'm just trying to see what I'm headed for...

I'm turning 50 in a few months, and have had three full years of crazy periods from so heavy I was frightened and almost a month long, to missing period for months, to pink for days. Strange discharge from clear water to all colors. Endometrium is just over 18. Uterus is enlarged. 2cm polyp showed in ultrasound, which has doubled since we checked it a year ago. Cramps that wake me from a sound sleep, and some low right side pain which the ultrasound didn't show any reason for.

Seems like the most important thing is the 18 thickness, but my doctor says this can happen with polyps, and she's never seen a polyp come back cancerous in her career.

Dr. Google says polyps don't change thickness, and 3% of polyps are cancerous.

I'm having a hysteroscopy and polpyectomy, do I need to be worried? 

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Comments

  • LouDy22
    LouDy22 Member Posts: 25 Member
    edited July 2021 #2
    Please get it biopsied

    Please please please for your sake have a DNC, mom went in for polyp in March of 2021 and he we are Carcinosarcoma Stage 4B in July

  • AnnieB33
    AnnieB33 Member Posts: 20 Member
    #3
    LouDy22 said:

    Please get it biopsied

    Please please please for your sake have a DNC, mom went in for polyp in March of 2021 and he we are Carcinosarcoma Stage 4B in July

    So sorry

    CryI'm sorry to hear about your mom, and hope she is able to get it completely taken care of. Must be a very aggressive cancer! I had a very bad experience with D&C many years ago. Very scared to do it again. I wonder if my doc could just take several biopsies with the polyp.

  • AnnieB33
    AnnieB33 Member Posts: 20 Member
    edited July 2021 #4
    LouDy22 said:

    Please get it biopsied

    Please please please for your sake have a DNC, mom went in for polyp in March of 2021 and he we are Carcinosarcoma Stage 4B in July

    Symptoms?

    Was she caught completely unaware? Or did her symptoms get blown off by Dr.?

  • LouDy22
    LouDy22 Member Posts: 25 Member
    edited July 2021 #5
    AnnieB33 said:

    Symptoms?

    Was she caught completely unaware? Or did her symptoms get blown off by Dr.?

    Fainted

    she was completely unaware , we were out having some drinks and she just fainted and passed out , it was very scary , she found out at the hospital she had heart PVCs and then they did a CT scan of her abdomen and they found a couple polyps and biopsied one of them and now here we are 

  • AnnieB33
    AnnieB33 Member Posts: 20 Member
    edited July 2021 #6
    LouDy22 said:

    Fainted

    she was completely unaware , we were out having some drinks and she just fainted and passed out , it was very scary , she found out at the hospital she had heart PVCs and then they did a CT scan of her abdomen and they found a couple polyps and biopsied one of them and now here we are 

    Fainted

    Oh no, that must have been a horrible shock. I pray she will be okay. It's crazy, but we know several people with different stage 4 cancers right now - and through them, we've learned they've come a long way in being able to treat it!

  • LouDy22
    LouDy22 Member Posts: 25 Member
    #7
    Hope

    Yes we actually just got home from UNC Chapel hill today for a second opinion and they are going to start immunotherapy 

  • Forherself
    Forherself Member Posts: 1,018 Member
    edited July 2021 #8
    Hi Annie

    Welcome.   We are a very active board and do have lots of experience with this.  Many women come with questions like you, and most leave after a negative biopsy.  One in 10 biopsies are positive for malignancy.  So you do have symptoms that need to be investigated, and I am thinking they did wait a long time to investigate your bleeding.  But now you will have a biopsy and that is good!   I had a thickened endometrium like yours.  I did have cancer cells in a polyp but nowhere else.  Right now I would just relax.  Chances are eerything will be fine.  But maybe you want a hysterectomy to end all the risk of future cancer and all the bleeding.   Just sayin.  Please feel free to ask questions.

  • Harmanygroves
    Harmanygroves Member Posts: 487 Member
    edited July 2021 #9
    AnnieB33 said:

    So sorry

    CryI'm sorry to hear about your mom, and hope she is able to get it completely taken care of. Must be a very aggressive cancer! I had a very bad experience with D&C many years ago. Very scared to do it again. I wonder if my doc could just take several biopsies with the polyp.

    Helpful Suggestion from the Peanut Gallery

    Hey there, welcome to the board! I'm new here too, but have been through all the tests and surgeries and radiation, so I would like to mention that a very close friend advised me to get my D and C, hysteropscopy, and polypectomy done under General Anesthesia so you don't have to suffer pain and anxiety at all! It really worked for me. 

    I am so glad you are getting yourself checked out very thoroughly. Please let us know how things go! I also had a thickened endometrium and some spotting. Of course, around the age of 50, I was having some very odd periods and because I had endometriosis, it was always kind of a trainwreck.

    Welcome, and don't fear the D and C. Many years ago they may not have know what they were doing. Deep breaths, and cross the bridge when you come to it. One test at a time, girl!

    All the best---

    Deb

  • TeddyandBears_Mom
    TeddyandBears_Mom Member Posts: 1,814 Member
    edited July 2021 #10
    Welcome Annie. You have come

    Welcome Annie. You have come to a great place for information and support. 

    My polyp WAS cancerous. In fact it had serous and the garden variety type in it. I had a D and C and a hysteroscopy to remove the polyp. It was done under sedation and was an easy recovery.

    I also had a tiny tumor that was serous in my uterous that was found after my hysterectomy.

    You may want to consider getting a second opinion from a GYN ONC. 

    Please come back and let us know what you find out.

    Love and Hugs,

    Cindi

     

  • AnnieB33
    AnnieB33 Member Posts: 20 Member
    #11
    LouDy22 said:

    Hope

    Yes we actually just got home from UNC Chapel hill today for a second opinion and they are going to start immunotherapy 

    Hope

    That's great! Laughing

  • AnnieB33
    AnnieB33 Member Posts: 20 Member
    edited July 2021 #12
    D&C

    Sounds like I should ask for D&C instead of biopsy, if the doctor will do it. My experience with my last one was that I bled so much, bp went down to 40/12, I shouldn't have heard or seen anything but I could hear the nurse was getting stressed and the doctor was saying, more epi, another epi. Took me a week to get my strength back. But yes, that was 20 years ago, so they've come a long way. But I also just found out a few months ago that I have sleep apnea out of the blue, I'm 5'3 and 120 pounds, so no rhyme or reason- why all of a sudden? So between that and the previous bp incident I'd rather not! Frown I'm sure people with apnea have surgeries all the time and I'm just being a scaredy cat. 

    Thank you so much you guys, for your encouragement and advice! Wish there was a like or love button for posts Laughing

  • AnnieB33
    AnnieB33 Member Posts: 20 Member
    edited July 2021 #13
    TeddyandBears_Mom said:

    Welcome Annie. You have come

    Welcome Annie. You have come to a great place for information and support. 

    My polyp WAS cancerous. In fact it had serous and the garden variety type in it. I had a D and C and a hysteroscopy to remove the polyp. It was done under sedation and was an easy recovery.

    I also had a tiny tumor that was serous in my uterous that was found after my hysterectomy.

    You may want to consider getting a second opinion from a GYN ONC. 

    Please come back and let us know what you find out.

    Love and Hugs,

    Cindi

     

    GYN ONC

    I wonderif if I go to one of these without a referral. My doc would think I'm a hypochondriac!

  • cmb
    cmb Member Posts: 1,001 Member
    #14
    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. The bleeding stopped after this.

    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.

  • BluebirdOne
    BluebirdOne Member Posts: 656 Member
    edited July 2021 #15
    AnnieB33 said:

    GYN ONC

    I wonderif if I go to one of these without a referral. My doc would think I'm a hypochondriac!

    It is difficult to get an appointment with a GO

    until you have been properly diagnosed. Usually, your gyne does the dx, and then refers you to a GO, or you can initiate contact with a large cancer center and they will have the gyne do the dx and then refer you to their GO. The benefit of this is that it is usually a one stop shop, where they seamlessly in one facilty do the dx, surgery, treatment, etc. if your dx comes back with cancer, rather than one stand alone gyne, and a stand along GO you can get an intergrated treatment plan. Many of us get 2nd opinions at these institutions as they see these cancers and the rarer forms everyday, instead of once in a while. The odds are that you do not have cancer, and hopefully you will find out what is causing your problems. I had cancer in two polyps, UPSC, and in the endometrium, stage 1a. My orginial gyne told me and my husband after hysteroscopy and biopsy that I was cancer free because he could not "see" any cancer. Told me how lucky I was, until two days later the preliminary pathology indicated UPSC and clear cell, high grade, and then referred me to his buddy, the GO, who was terrible as well. After this GO refused to schedule me quickly for surgery, we contacted Mayo, who did my 2nd opinion, surgery and treatment. I never regretted my decision once, even though I travel 6 hours by car to see them. The doctors there have coordinated with my local docs so it is good to know that these doctors gladly do this. The process of getting an accurate dx is time consuming and can be pretty exhausting, as we don't know what we don't know and we don't even know what questions to ask! Good luck to you and come back and let us know how you are doing.

    Denise 

  • Harmanygroves
    Harmanygroves Member Posts: 487 Member
    edited July 2021 #16
    TeddyandBears_Mom said:

    Welcome Annie. You have come

    Welcome Annie. You have come to a great place for information and support. 

    My polyp WAS cancerous. In fact it had serous and the garden variety type in it. I had a D and C and a hysteroscopy to remove the polyp. It was done under sedation and was an easy recovery.

    I also had a tiny tumor that was serous in my uterous that was found after my hysterectomy.

    You may want to consider getting a second opinion from a GYN ONC. 

    Please come back and let us know what you find out.

    Love and Hugs,

    Cindi

     

    Endometrioid Adenocarcinoma

    Is the "garden style" type of uterine cancer. That's what I have. Let's be clear: there are weeds in every garden, but every woman in this site has some time of cancer, and some of them are much more aggressive than others. If you must have cancer, let's hope you have endometriod adenocarcinoma. If you don't, you will be in excellent company here as we have some very brilliant and experienced women here who have the more aggressive cancers.

    I am so glad that the wise elders are surrounding you. Another note: do NOT worry about what the doctor thinks about you. Worrying that a doctor will think you are a hypochondriac, especially given how much you've suffered, is NOT on the menu. Don't worry. BE ASSERTIVE.

    My general physician told me not to worry, a hysterectomy would remove all the cancer, and I was worrying without need. She was wrong. Now I'm not sure whether I should gloat or be furious. Gloating suits me better, I think!

     

     

  • Frances081920
    Frances081920 Member Posts: 37 Member
    #17
    polyps

    I too had a polyp which turned out to be papillary serous endometrial carcinoma, so yes, get it biopsied, So sorry about your problems, and maybe yours will be benign, but my OB gyn also thought it would be benign, he was wrong.

  • Molly110
    Molly110 Member Posts: 191 Member
    #18
    AnnieB33 said:

    D&C

    Sounds like I should ask for D&C instead of biopsy, if the doctor will do it. My experience with my last one was that I bled so much, bp went down to 40/12, I shouldn't have heard or seen anything but I could hear the nurse was getting stressed and the doctor was saying, more epi, another epi. Took me a week to get my strength back. But yes, that was 20 years ago, so they've come a long way. But I also just found out a few months ago that I have sleep apnea out of the blue, I'm 5'3 and 120 pounds, so no rhyme or reason- why all of a sudden? So between that and the previous bp incident I'd rather not! Frown I'm sure people with apnea have surgeries all the time and I'm just being a scaredy cat. 

    Thank you so much you guys, for your encouragement and advice! Wish there was a like or love button for posts Laughing

    My D&C was done with twilight

    My D&C was done with twilight sedation, and I was completely out of it without the risks of general anesthesia. 

     

    Good luck,

    Molly

  • AnnieB33
    AnnieB33 Member Posts: 20 Member
    edited July 2021 #19
    Molly110 said:

    My D&C was done with twilight

    My D&C was done with twilight sedation, and I was completely out of it without the risks of general anesthesia. 

     

    Good luck,

    Molly

    Twilight

    Thanks Molly - This sounds like the best plan. You don't remember anything from it? How did you feel when you woke up? Did you end up having cancer? 

  • AnnieB33
    AnnieB33 Member Posts: 20 Member
    #20
    Frances081920 said:

    polyps

    I too had a polyp which turned out to be papillary serous endometrial carcinoma, so yes, get it biopsied, So sorry about your problems, and maybe yours will be benign, but my OB gyn also thought it would be benign, he was wrong.

    polyps

    How big was your polyp and how long did you have it? I guess it happens more than they think. Interesting that my doctor has never seen one come back cancerous, she's probably in her 50s - hopefully I'm not going to be the first!

    Benign or not, whatever it takes I'm looking forward to at least having it out (and biopsied), because I recently counted how many times I go to the bathroom in one day, and it's 17x/day.  It must be pushing right on my bladder. 

  • AnnieB33
    AnnieB33 Member Posts: 20 Member
    edited July 2021 #21
    cmb said:

    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. The bleeding stopped after this.

    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.

    cmb

    Ugh, what a bummer that it came back! So this will definately be something I'll be watching for the rest of my life. Thank you for the heads up.

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