Adenocarcinoma Uterine treatment

Please act aggressively

Since you already have cancer in three lymph nodes it is likely your cancer will continue to spread. I would do the treatments your doctor suggests. Maybe get a second opinion first. Chemo and radiation can be tough but I think you have a much better shot at living longer if you get treatment. Sue

Making decisions

As Lou Ann said, cancer is such an individual disease that treatments that worked for one may not work for another and vice versa.  

Reading what you've written, it appears that your cancer was re-staged after surgery if cancer was found in your lymph nodes.  That would make it Stage IIIc.  Be aware that the CT scan will not show microscopic cancer cells.  I had a CT scan before my hysterectomy that showed no tumors other than the one in my uterus; however 4 of 22 lymph nodes sampled during surgery had cancer cells in them.  Thus, it's possible that you have other lymph nodes that have cancer cells in them as well.  I'm not telling you this to scare you...  it's just a distinct possibility.

I did undergo 6 rounds of carboplatin/taxol.  I had a relatively easy time of it.  Was it something I wanted to do?  Well, I was scared to do it and scared not to. I had a scan 5 months after finishing chemo and I was NED then and I feel good now.  But the big thing is to keep it from recurring, and all of us live with that possibility, whether we do chemo and radiation or not.  Such is the nature of the beast. 

One other thing you will find is that doctors will disagree on the best course of action.  While everybody was pretty much in agreement about the chemo in my case, when it came to radiation, the doctors were all over the place as far as whether I should have it and what kind.  I had doctors that recommended no radiation and doctors that recommended both external and internal and everything in between.  After much research and soul-searching, I opted for brachytherapy instead of extended field external radiation.  

As far as controlling the cancer with something other than chemo or radiation, it has been done. In my research, most who have gone that route make other changes in their lifestyle besides just diet.  If this approach interests you, I would strongly suggest that you find either an integrative oncologist or perhaps a board-certified naturopathic oncologist to work with you and with your other oncologists, if they are open to it.  In any case, you may want to get a second or even third opinion.

In the final analysis, after taking all of the recommendations and research into consideration, you will make a decision on which treatment feels right for you.  I would suggest that you make this decision not based on fear, but hope.

Peace and strength,

Chris

 

DSNYC said:

chemo seems to be the route for everyone

all good to know and hear. Im so glad you're better. Nothing like a bunch of grand kids, sorry great grand kids, wow! to put a msile on your face eveyday im sure

Thank you Lou Ann

I am sorry.

i am afraid you,may have missunderstood me. I am not exactly better. The one microscopic cell that slipped by the frontline,treatment has caused metistatic  cancer  that has spread to numerous places in my body.  When it was discovered at my 2nd CT scan after treatment , I was told I would be on chemo for the rest of my life.  Except for one other short time when a CT scan also showed nothing.  As soon as treatment is stopped for  a short while those darn cancer cells start growing again.  It Has been very agressive.  I am not ready to give up the fight yet though. And I still say that I have had many more good days than bad.  I have had 36 rounds of chemo and am now on an experimental treatment of immunotherapy.  We won't know if it is working for awhile, but I do feel better and havemore enery than I have had for quite a while..  It hasn't been easy, but, it was doable and I am thankful for that.  Treatment has given me a chance for a longer live and enjoy all the wonders that are out there.

i know this is a hard decision, but you will come up with a plan that you will Comfortable with.

Hugs and prayers, Lou Ann

Stage 1A Grade 2 Endometrial Adenocarcinoma

Hello Diana,

As it has been mentioned by the other posters, the decision is all yours.  If you are not sure, I would suggest getting a 2nd opinion after you talk with your oncologist.  I was diagnosed with Endometrial Adenocarcinoma Stage 1A Grade 2 in October 2014.   I had a total abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (removal of both ovaries) with 18 lymph nodes removed along with peritoneal washing.  Other than finding the tumor in the uterus, there were no cancer cells found in any of the 18 lymph nodes, other organs, or the washing.  I was very lucky.  My Gyno-Oncologist said I didn't need chemo or radiation since there was no evidence that cancer cells had spread.  Of course, I wish that my cancer was not grade 2 but according to my doctor, it is still considered low grade.   My case is different from yours because the pathologist did not find cancer cells in any of the sampled lymph nodes.  I think if they had found positive lymph nodes, my doctor would have had me go through chemotherapy.  It has almost been two years for me and I have had three month check-ups with pelvic examinations and CA125 blood tests.  So far, knock on wood, I am still NED.  I don't know if knowing my story helps but I hope it does give you another viewpoint.  

All the best to you,

Cathy

Welcome, Diana!  I have UPSC

Welcome, Diana!  I have UPSC Stage II, Grade 3.  My oncologists recommended six chemos (Taxotere and Carboplatin) with no radiation.  I made it through three chemos and just about died.  My GP and I made the decision to stop - as she put it, the oncologist wanted to make sure he killed all the cancer, but he was killing ME.  I'm hoping those three chemos were enough to kill any random microscopic cancer cells, but it they weren't, I'll deal with it then.  I will not have any more chemo but radiation is still on the table.

Let us know what you decide.  No way is THE right way - it's a crap shoot on what works and what doesn't.  I'm following LouAnn who is being treated with Keytruda (hope I got that right, LouAnn?).  To me, this looks like the treatment of the future.

Love,

Eldri

DSNYC said:

something new?

Hi Eldri

I havent heard of Keytruda, I will research it today. I might start with the radition with ight dose of chemo at the same time and then forgoe the 3 or 4 rounds theyre recommeding after the radiation. I dont know yet. I have about 3 weeks to decide. Thank you for this info, I feel like we have to tell our doctors that sometimes what they want us to do isnt what works for us since the same treament cannot work for each unique individual. We have to take some control in our treatment. Thank you again!

Diana

Keytruda

i am the one on Keytruda.  It is an immunotherapy drug. It has not been opproved for this kind of cancer yet, so I am getting it as experimental use.  I understand that you have to be platinum resistant, failed traditional chemo, and a couple of other factors before you are a good candidate for it.  Jimmy Carter was on it but he had the type of cancer it was approved for, metistatic melonoma.  I have no side effects and feel better then I have for a long time, but we won't know if it is working for a while.  My doctor is very encouraged though.

Good luck as you start this journey.  It is hard to,know what is best.  Different doctors have different ideas for sure, and what is right for one person may not be hat the next person needs.

Hugs and prayers, Lou Ann

Hola,

Hola,

I am not clear why your cancer was stage 1, if some lymph nodes were involved. I had Adenocarcinoma, grade 3 (clear cell). I am assuming you do not have clear cell, since you mentioned grade 2. I had 18 treatments of chemo and no radiation. That is what my gyno/oncologist prescribed. As many here, I have made radical changes in my life including dieting. However, uterine cancers must be attacked aggressively as suggested by some. This is just my opinion based on my experience. It is hard to give people advice, since this is about your personal well being. Big hugs to you!