Please, what were your symptoms that promted you to get tested???

sweetone
sweetone Member Posts: 4
edited March 2014 in Gynecological Cancers (other than ovarian and uterine) #1
I am so worried.

First a little background.

I'm 29 years old.

For the last several months, my body hasnt felt "right". My bowels are strange (loose stools, gassy), i feel tired all the time (flt like wanted to pass out a few times), get sick easy, etc. And a few times (three times) ive had a little spotting between my periods and cramping.

Had blood work, etc...the only thing that ever comes up a little "abnormal" is my pelvic ultrasound...showing a slight chance of a euteran polyp. Slight thickening of eutheran lining, etc

Could this be cancer?? My doc says she dosnt think i need to get a D&C just b/c the risk of it is higher than my chance of cancer she says.

Comments

  • sweetone
    sweetone Member Posts: 4
    #2
    oh and if you wouldnt mind
    oh and if you wouldnt mind sharing your ages? thanks
  • sweetone
    sweetone Member Posts: 4
    #3
    also...isnt there a simpler
    also...isnt there a simpler less invasive biopsy test they can do in the office, besides d&c or surgery? thanks
  • sweetone
    sweetone Member Posts: 4
    #4
    one more thing, hehe...is
    one more thing, hehe...is 9mm thick for a euterin lining a few days after a period??
  • tlva
    tlva Member Posts: 56
    #5
    symptoms
    Girl,
    You better be jumping up and down on that doctor's head! Yes, they can certainly do a biopsy in the office. Yes, anything over 5mm on the lining is considered abnormal. You can have cancer and never have a symptom either. I'm not trying to scare you, but please don't let the doctor push you aside because you are too young.
    I was 46 when my annual pap came back showing that I was shedding endometrial cells, which is what you do on your period, but not after. My doctor said if I had been younger or closer to my period, he would not have called me back for a biopsy. But my cervix would not dialate and he was unable to get the biopsy. I had to wait till after my period for the ultrasound and I was 6mm but in a grey area for my age. So then I had to have a d&c and they saw endometrial polyps, but said they were not the kind that become cancer. Two days later he called me to tell me that it was cancer. I was stage 2B with grade 1 cells. I had a complete hysterectomy and 5 weeks of radiation. That was my choice after being sent for a second opinion. My cancer was defined as 2 small lesions that were 0.4cm...about the size of the mark of a pencil point. My doctor was so shocked, but he uses my case as he teaches at the medical school about always following up. There is no test for uterine cancer...the pap is for the cervix. This was found all because of my annual exam that I have been doing since I was 18.
    May 16 will be four years for me and I am in excellent health with no problems. I see my doctors every six months for at least another year.
    So Sweetone, you take this story to your doctor and jump on her head! If she balks find another one who will test you! Good luck and let me know if I can help anymore. Go to the M.D. Anderson site and research...it is awesome. You have to be your own advocate!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • tlva
    tlva Member Posts: 56
    #6
    symptoms
    Girl,
    You better be jumping up and down on that doctor's head! Yes, they can certainly do a biopsy in the office. Yes, anything over 5mm on the lining is considered abnormal. You can have cancer and never have a symptom either. I'm not trying to scare you, but please don't let the doctor push you aside because you are too young.
    I was 46 when my annual pap came back showing that I was shedding endometrial cells, which is what you do on your period, but not after. My doctor said if I had been younger or closer to my period, he would not have called me back for a biopsy. But my cervix would not dialate and he was unable to get the biopsy. I had to wait till after my period for the ultrasound and I was 6mm but in a grey area for my age. So then I had to have a d&c and they saw endometrial polyps, but said they were not the kind that become cancer. Two days later he called me to tell me that it was cancer. I was stage 2B with grade 1 cells. I had a complete hysterectomy and 5 weeks of radiation. That was my choice after being sent for a second opinion. My cancer was defined as 2 small lesions that were 0.4cm...about the size of the mark of a pencil point. My doctor was so shocked, but he uses my case as he teaches at the medical school about always following up. There is no test for uterine cancer...the pap is for the cervix. This was found all because my annual exam that I have been doing since I was 18.
    May 16 will be four years for me and I am in excellent health with no problems. I see my doctors every six months for at least another year.
    So Sweetone, you take this story to your doctor and jump on her head! If she balks find another one who will test you! Good luck and let me know if I can help anymore. Go to the M.D. Anderson site and research...it is awesome. You have to be your own advocate!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • kmygil
    kmygil Member Posts: 876 Member
    #7
    sweetone said:

    one more thing, hehe...is
    one more thing, hehe...is 9mm thick for a euterin lining a few days after a period??

    Don't walk, Run.
    Hi. Like was said, get the biopsy done! My case was a little different, but any abnormality should be taken very seriously. Get it done. If this doctor won't take it seriously, get another one. PAP smears are cervical only. Uterine cancers are usually not so symptomatic, so they tend to be fairly progressed if you don't take the small signs seriously. Get 'er done! At best, you are cancer free, and if you have something going on, you will get it as early as possible.

    Hugs,
    Kirsten
  • deanna14
    deanna14 Member Posts: 732
    #8
    Get a second opinion
    I do not want to scare you and hopefully you will have already gotten a second opinion. I am 39 years old and was recently diagnosed with endometrial cancer. I had not been feeling "right" for months, was constipated constantly with a lot of stomach upset and gas. I seemed to pick up every bug that I was exposed to. I felt like I just couldn't keep up with my life. Going to work took everything I had and keeping up with houseworking and cooking made me want to cry. They couldn't find anything wrong with me, all my bloodwork was good. I had endometriosis, so they blamed pelvic and rectal pressure, heavy bleeding and cramps on that. After I started spotting between my periods, my GYN decided to do an US. It showed endometrial lining measuring 15mm. Dr. said it was probably fibroids or a polyp. We scheduled hysterscope and D&C. At which time they removed a polyp, which are usually not a big deal. The pathology came back as cancer. 3 weeks later I had a total hysterectomy where they found a uterine tumor rather than a polyp and cancer in one lymph node.
    My point is, uterine cancer doesn't exhibit that many symptoms in the early stages. You know your body, and if you don't feel "right," then you need to find someone who will listen to you and explore. It's not that hard to do a biopsy and if it is negative then no harm, no foul. If it is cancer, then you will probably have caught it early.
    Good luck. I hope everything is okay. Better safe than sorry.
  • lindaprocopio
    lindaprocopio Member Posts: 1,980 Member
    #9
    Get thee to a gynecologic oncologist!
    I echo the other real-life examples shared here. I had absolutely NO symptoms, but had some abnormal "suspicious" cells show up on my annual routine PAP test. My gynecologist assured me that it was probably nothing but did a sonogram that showed a tiny polp the size of a pencil point in my uterus. She did some small in-office biopsies of my cervix and my uterus and scraped up agaist the polyp, and everything came back 'inconclusive'. Still, she wanted to err on the side of caution and did a D&C, cutting out that tiny polyp. (Please don't be afraid of the D&C; I was on a plane for a vacation 2 days later!) I had my D&C, and left for Utah with the reassurance that everything looked completely normal and that my pathology results from the D&C would be ready for me in week. So I went off, feeling wonderful, for a very athletic 9-day hiking vacation to Zion National Park, and came back to a recommendation to see a gynecologic oncologist for a total hysterectomy and staging (polyp removal for biopsy & diagnostics). Turns out I have Stage 3C Uterine Papillary Serous Carcinoma, a very aggressive rare cancer! Not a single symptom! NADA. Up until my surgery I had been doing 10 miles/day on the elliptical machine at the gym and working 60 hours a week at my business! Now I am facing a long winter of radiation and chemo, but now I at least have a fighting chance. But it was shear crazy LUCK that one of those cells from the polyp broke free and wandered down where it could be picked up on a PAP. Unbelievable odds! That's why the original pathologist didn't even guess at what it turned out to be, and it took an oncologist with 27 years experience to see it for what it is (and he was openly dumb-founded at my luck at catching this with a PAP!) I have the kind of cancer that is usually caught too late for a good prognosis, but with Stage 3C I am still in the game. Had my gynecologist taken the "let's keep a close watch on this for now" attitude, with no symptoms, I'd be counting my remaining life span in MONTHS. I don't like the big incision on my belly, and don't relish the months of radiation and chemo that will start in early November once my body is fully healed from the hysterectomy. But I still know how lucky I've been. Be aggressive with this. Get another opinion and a doctor who is an aggressive fighter.

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