Uterine cancer symptoms

ssfbeagle
ssfbeagle Member Posts: 50
edited April 2022 in Uterine/Endometrial Cancer #1
As I've posted before, my 78 year old mom was diagnosed with uterine cancer in January. Her only symptom was vaginal bleeding, similar to a period. I was wondering what other symptoms some of the other "maturer" women had. My mom had not been to a gyn in about 11-12 years and I feel a little guilty about not insisting she go for checkups. Maybe it could have been caught sooner.
Leslie
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Comments

  • Songflower
    Songflower Member Posts: 608
    #2
    Your Mom's Symptoms
    Dear Leslie,

    Vaginal bleeding is ususally the first symptom of uterine cancer. Pap smears pick up cervical cancer and rarely uterine cancer. A regular Gyn exam with palpation probably would not have picked it up. If she was having pain an ultrasound might have picked up some changes in the thickness of the uterine wall. I wish there were other early symptoms; bleeding was also my first symptom. It's one of the tough ones to pick up. They are decreasing the standards of frequency now that women have pap smears and Gyn exams. You certainly can't blame yourself and need to move on with just helping her now. I know this is a difficult time for you. You sound like a very caring person.
  • Reddie
    Reddie Member Posts: 72
    #3
    Songflower said:

    Your Mom's Symptoms
    Dear Leslie,

    Vaginal bleeding is ususally the first symptom of uterine cancer. Pap smears pick up cervical cancer and rarely uterine cancer. A regular Gyn exam with palpation probably would not have picked it up. If she was having pain an ultrasound might have picked up some changes in the thickness of the uterine wall. I wish there were other early symptoms; bleeding was also my first symptom. It's one of the tough ones to pick up. They are decreasing the standards of frequency now that women have pap smears and Gyn exams. You certainly can't blame yourself and need to move on with just helping her now. I know this is a difficult time for you. You sound like a very caring person.

    symptoms
    Every time I had period I had abnormal bleeding that goes more than 9 days which is the first symptoms of Uterine cancer. I had leg and stomach cramps that I couldn't tolerate especially during my third day of period. I've noticed it was abnormal so I told my primary doctor about it even though I had negative on my pap smear. She send me a referral for ultrasound which they found 3 fibroids and the thickness of the uterus wall. The next step they had me to have biopsy which they found cancer. I also had another symptoms that my left ovary was having strange reaction like pitching especially if I'm having organism but I wasn't sure if it was related but the ultrasound shows that my left ovary wasn't functioning which is why I had high estrogen level that can lead to cancer plus being overweight or related to heredity. It's best to have a good check up like ultrasound and biopsy to find it early than too late. hugs, Reddie
  • kkstef
    kkstef Member Posts: 688 Member
    #4
    Symptoms
    Leslie....Please do not feel guilty! I was 65 when I was diagnosed. I had annual exams and Pap smears...NOTHING. I had some discomfort in my Lower Abdomen and had ultrasounds and CT scan and a flexible sigmoidoscopy...NOTHING... I then had a very small amount of pink drainage...and that was when my cancer was diagnosed. It is all very elusive, so even with regular check-ups is can be elusive! Thinking about you...and don't beat yourself up!! Karen
  • livenow09
    livenow09 Member Posts: 60
    #5
    Uterine Cancer Symptoms
    Marie Stage 1A....I tell any and all women I meet.... a moist vagina in a post menopausal woman is NOT a good thing; it was my ONLY symptom; as an RN and post menopausal woman I became suspicious when intercourse became too easy; glad I paid attention; spread the word

    Marie
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    #6
    livenow09 said:

    Uterine Cancer Symptoms
    Marie Stage 1A....I tell any and all women I meet.... a moist vagina in a post menopausal woman is NOT a good thing; it was my ONLY symptom; as an RN and post menopausal woman I became suspicious when intercourse became too easy; glad I paid attention; spread the word

    Marie

    This comment has been removed by the Moderator
  • pj1
    pj1 Member Posts: 4
    #7
    unknown said:

    This comment has been removed by the Moderator

    symtoms
    Leslie,
    I am 68...always have yearly checkups...had gyn exam and pap smear, March 2008...1st sign of anything wrong was slight bleeding in late October...was in Dr.'s office with in 18 hours...Stage IIIC...go figure! Incidentally, I had just been to Greece and climbed to the top of the Acropolis!

    Hope you can dismiss any feelings of guilt about your mom...I'm sure she doesn't hold you responsible.

    Best wishes,
    Patsy
  • bonniesue
    bonniesue Member Posts: 124 Member
    #8
    pj1 said:

    symtoms
    Leslie,
    I am 68...always have yearly checkups...had gyn exam and pap smear, March 2008...1st sign of anything wrong was slight bleeding in late October...was in Dr.'s office with in 18 hours...Stage IIIC...go figure! Incidentally, I had just been to Greece and climbed to the top of the Acropolis!

    Hope you can dismiss any feelings of guilt about your mom...I'm sure she doesn't hold you responsible.

    Best wishes,
    Patsy

    uterine cancer is silent --Fran Dreschar site Cancer Schmancer
    My mom was diagnosed with uterine cancer when she had a scan for a kidney stone at age 71. She had no symptoms and had a yearly pap and pelvic as well as labs, colonoscopy etc. Yes, I wish there was a test(most of her friends in her age group had hysterectomies in their 40's--maybe not a bad idea.) The only symptom she had was extreme fatigue but like most of us women she does not complain and we are caregivers for our families. she had a hyst(Davinci) in Feb. 2009 and follows up every couple months. Incidently Cancer Schmancer emailed me today for letters to our state reps to pass preventative tests and awareness for gyne cancers. It was easy to email the letter that they had written to congress.
  • lindaprocopio
    lindaprocopio Member Posts: 1,980 Member
    #9
    bonniesue said:

    uterine cancer is silent --Fran Dreschar site Cancer Schmancer
    My mom was diagnosed with uterine cancer when she had a scan for a kidney stone at age 71. She had no symptoms and had a yearly pap and pelvic as well as labs, colonoscopy etc. Yes, I wish there was a test(most of her friends in her age group had hysterectomies in their 40's--maybe not a bad idea.) The only symptom she had was extreme fatigue but like most of us women she does not complain and we are caregivers for our families. she had a hyst(Davinci) in Feb. 2009 and follows up every couple months. Incidently Cancer Schmancer emailed me today for letters to our state reps to pass preventative tests and awareness for gyne cancers. It was easy to email the letter that they had written to congress.

    My UPSC found in PAP, but had NOT spread to cervix
    My cancer showed NO symptoms of any kind. My annual routine PAP test first detected my UPSC (the PAP just showed 'something suspicious as yet un-named.) Cerival biopsies showed no evidence of cancer in my cervix. And when I had my hysterectomy, the pathology showed that my cancer had NOT spread to the cervix. The explanation I was given is that UPSC cells can exfoliate, just the way your skin exfoliates, and I was lucky enough that a couple cancer cells drifted down right when I had my Pap test, and didn't attach or grow. Microscopic UPSC cells showed up in 1 of the 25 lymph nodes they removed and in the 'wash'.
  • kkstef
    kkstef Member Posts: 688 Member
    #10
    lindaprocopio said:

    My UPSC found in PAP, but had NOT spread to cervix
    My cancer showed NO symptoms of any kind. My annual routine PAP test first detected my UPSC (the PAP just showed 'something suspicious as yet un-named.) Cerival biopsies showed no evidence of cancer in my cervix. And when I had my hysterectomy, the pathology showed that my cancer had NOT spread to the cervix. The explanation I was given is that UPSC cells can exfoliate, just the way your skin exfoliates, and I was lucky enough that a couple cancer cells drifted down right when I had my Pap test, and didn't attach or grow. Microscopic UPSC cells showed up in 1 of the 25 lymph nodes they removed and in the 'wash'.

    GREAT picture
    Linda.....I love your new picture....looks like you had a wonderful time at the beach. Bet you feel very reguvanted! Good for you!

    Karen
  • Quiltergal
    Quiltergal Member Posts: 29 Member
    #11

    I am a 77 year old. I started bleeding and got it checked out. My doc did a d and c and I have uterine cancer. I am waiting to see a surgeon!

    It was adenocarcinoma 1-2. Is that bad!

  • SpringerSpanielMom
    SpringerSpanielMom Member Posts: 137 Member
    #12

    Ditch the guilt; there is virtually no regular screening for uterine cancer. My pelvic exam and PAP smear were normal--that's typical. I had the tiniest bit of pink staining on toilet tissue for a few days, which resolved on its own before I even got in to see the gyn, but it was the ultrasound that showed a thickened endometrial stripe at 16 mm.

  • Quiltergal
    Quiltergal Member Posts: 29 Member
    #13
    https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1695708#Comment_1695708

    Boy same here a 16mm endometrium. Had a d&c and diagnosed with uterine cancer

  • Quiltergal
    Quiltergal Member Posts: 29 Member
    #14

    is endometrioid adenocarcinoma 1-2. Bad!!!!!!

  • SpringerSpanielMom
    SpringerSpanielMom Member Posts: 137 Member
    #15

    Endometriod adenocarcinoma is not the worst of the worst. Caught early, it's highly treatable. Are you Stage 1 or 2, or Grade 1 or 2? Once you know more, this site is a great resource.

  • Forherself
    Forherself Member Posts: 1,013 Member
    #16
    https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1695721#Comment_1695721

    Welcome Quiltergal. You will get a lot more response to your enquiry if you create a new post. This conversation is very old and most people won't find your question. It is a very hard time to wait to find out about staging and treatment. If you have endometrioid grade 1 it is better than grade 2. We are here to help

  • NoTimeForCancer
    NoTimeForCancer Member Posts: 3,486 Member
    #17

    Quiltergal, please make sure you are working with a gynecologic oncologist for surgery and treatment. This is a journey and, while overwhelming, would recommend taking it a step at a time.

  • MAbound
    MAbound Member Posts: 1,168 Member
    #18

    No such thing as "good" cancer. Adenocarcinoma is often referred to as "garden variety" because it has the highest incidence of all of the types of uterine cancer, but it's still cancer.

    The good news is that it is a less aggressive variety and very treatable and likely curable if you go after with both barrels blazing from the get-go. You are likely looking at a grade 1-2 cancer if you haven't had your hysterectomy yet. Stage can't be determined until after surgery. Grade refers to how similar the tumor cells are to normal vs. cancerous cells. Grade 1 cells are mostly normal, grade 2 have characteristics of both, and grade 3 has very little or no normal characteristics. The higher the grade, the higher the risk for recurrence after treatment and the more aggressive frontline treatment needs to be for a favorable outcome.

    How much treatment you need after surgery will depend on the testing that is done on the tissue removed by your surgery and it can take a couple of weeks to finalize that. A lot hangs on those pathology results, so you want them to get it right. You can feel a bit relieved that your initial testing indicates a grade 1-2 because that really ups the odds that you were caught early and should be curable, but treatment...surgery and whatever else gets recommended, is still quite a big deal. It's very doable, but it's hard having it all in front of you. I had a grade 3, stage 3a adenocarcinoma and I'm still here and happy that I did what had to be done with a little push at times from this board when I tried to talk my way out of some of it. It's a good bunch here!

  • Quiltergal
    Quiltergal Member Posts: 29 Member
    #19

    You are such a help. Thanks!

  • SpringerSpanielMom
    SpringerSpanielMom Member Posts: 137 Member
    #20
    https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1695752#Comment_1695752

    It is also called "garden variety" because as MABound notes, it's highly survivable. Certainly, as she also sta

    https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1695747#Comment_1695747

    tes, no cancer is "good cancer", but yours, esp. if it's early, is a much better prognosis than say mine: GCS, or a sarcoma, serous, or clear cell. So, while no one is making light of your cancer, we're very happy for you that it's adenocarcinoma, not one of these others. Forherself, I think Quiltergal is getting responses pretty well since if you search uterine cancer boards, the ones with the mot recent responses get bumped to the top regardless of how old the original post is. I'm still learning all the tricks!

  • MAbound
    MAbound Member Posts: 1,168 Member
    #21

    Nope...let's not expand the definition of "garden-variety" that way. The term has nothing to do with its curability, only with the fact that of all the types of uterine cancer, this is the one that strikes the most of us. To try to expand the definition comes across as dismissive of the fact that adenocarcinoma is still cancer and no cancer is a good cancer. The treatment regimens are pretty much the same for all of us, and whether we get away with just having just surgery (just!) or have to have the "works", none of it is an easy path for any of us to trod. Please, let's be respectful of that for all of those that we have lost to "garden-variety" uterine cancer.

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