TVUS Result 13mm, Scared to Death

Welcome

Welcome Spydergal!

Wow! You have been through a lot! I can appreciate how much you so do not want to go through another big medical issue after that, but oh what a strong person you are! You won't have to go through it alone now that you've found this community...there's a lot of experience and empathy here for what you are facing.

Going to a gyn to get accurately diagnosed and referred for the right treatment is absolutely the right first step. Dealing with cancer is a step-by-step process and I'd advise not getting ahead of yourself researching google until you understand exactly what you are facing because there is so much out there that may not apply to you that you can scare yourself silly with. I know it's hard not to look, but you really shouldn't, especially as regards statistics because those are pretty much just gereralities that don't really apply to individuals. Cancer has so many variables that it's better to be laser focused on only what applies to you.

As far as having a biopsy, you'll find that we are not big fans of those here because they can miss cancer when it's actually present. They can also be painful if you've never had children. Hysteroscopy or D & C are a bigger deal for the doctor, but more difinitive for diagnosis and painless for most. I was diagnosed by biopsy, but my lesion was visible through the cervix so the doctor was able to see exactly where to take tissue from and that is rarely the case. There currently is no screening test for uterine cancer like there is for breast or cervical cancer, so that is why PAP smears are useless for detecting uterine cancer.

Until you are definitely diagnosed with cancer, try to just live your life (not so easy...but helpful). If cancer is found, you will initially only know what type of uterine cancer it is and what grade. A grade indicates the degree of mutation that has occured within the tumor sampled on a scale from 1-3. Grade 1 tumors have more normal cells within them and grade 3 tumors are primarily all cancer cells.

The next step would be referral to a gyn oncologist for further testing and surgery. You want that referral, so if it isn't offered, insist on it. Only surgery can tell you what stage you are; anything you are told before that is only a guess and likely to change. Stage tells where cancer cells are found indicating the extent of spread from the point of origin. The grade of the tumor and stage determines what, if any, treatment is needed. Other factors play a role in treatment, but it would be getting ahead ourselves to discuss them now. For now, this is enough to chew on and ask questions about.

Above all else, know that getting a cancer diagnosis is not the death sentence it was once taken to be. The science for treating it and making that treatment tolerable has come a really long way from those days. The experiences your friends and family may have had with it in the past will be quite different from what you might be facing today. You'll find the answers to your concerns and fears a lot more up-to-date here. We'll get you through it each step of the way. Just ask for whatever you need.

It is scary

and welcome.   I like to remind people that 1 in 10 biopsies are positive for cancer, so chances are you don't have cancer.   And if I were you, I would request a hysterectomy so you don't have to worry about it in the future.   Keep in touch and let us know how you are.  Keep busy.  It will take awhile after the biopsy to get your results too.  

Spydergal, Welcome!

You have gotten excellent advice above. The waiting is the hardest part. First, you are already the kind of woman who is not afraid of hard things. You've been through so much, and come out of it. Yes, it's hard. You can get through this.

I was also losing it when I was initially diagnosed, even before. In your current situation, you must wait and get that D & C (my friend Michele advised me to push for a D & C also, btw, as the biopsies are sometimes not possible to even obtain. I had never had babies, and was well past menopause, both conditions that make biopsies harder).

Once you get the procedures done in which they can test your tissue, you will then have answers. Take ONE procedure at a time!

I'm in Oregon, so when I was completely terrified and stressed, I just got some CBD / THC gummies, and took 1/4 to 1/2 at a time. I am not prescribing for you. I am noting that for me, I had to calm down. When I was finally diagnosed, then I was a mess for another several weeks before surgery. I coped by taking some sedatives and using gummies. 

My gyn onc (gynecological oncologist, which you will end up with IF your tissue shows cancer) told me, "Look, you've been through much worse."

And, in fact, I have. I had an emergency laparotomy in 1997 as I was hemhoraging internally from an ectopic (out of "place") pregnancy. The fetus had lodged in my tube. Yep, I've had two of those pregnancies, part of my badass woman warrior history. 

In brief, don't let yourself get wound up. As others have noted, a low percentage of those with fibroids, polyps, thick endometrium end up with cancer. You may end up needing to have some "general maintenance" done to get that thick tissue out, but don't cross the bridge until you come to it. 

If you find yourself stressing nonstop, for sure get ahold of your doctor and see what you can do to get some decent medications so you can calm yourself down. You are going to be in a much better space when you start setting up one appointment at a time and just dealing with it (one at a time!).

I will be watching and caring about you. 

Deb

 

great advice

All of the ladies here have given you great advice. I just want to chime in about Pap smears and biopsies not being all that precise in diagnosing endometrial cancer and to share my experience in that regard. 

I had a significant "post menopausal bleeding” episode out of the blue one day last August and since it was almost time for my annual physical anyway I went to my PCP about it. My mother had endometrial cancer at about the same age as me, so I fully expected the cancer diagnosis. What I didn't expect was the degree of spread. That being said, my PCP did a Pap smear and it came back negative. So Pap smears are not all accurate for diagnosing endometrial cancer. 

Biopsies can also miss cancer if they don't happen to biopsy the area of the uterine lining that has the cancer or can’t get deep enough to get a good sample. In my case, the gynecologist missed a cancerous nodule in the upper part of my vagina that the gyn oncologist spotted when she did her own pelvic exam…sure am glad she did that. And even so, the biopsy that the gyn onc did came back negative for cancer. However, my gyn onc was not convinced it was accurate and felt that the biopsy didn't get a deep enough sample to be accurate. So of course when that "nodule" was checked at the time of my surgery, the pathology report was positive for cancer cells. I went from expecting a simple laparoscopic hysterectomy as an outpatient to a modified radical hysterectomy (started out laproscopic followed by open procedure) with a five day stay in the hospital and a 6 month treatment plan with chemo and radiation because of that vaginal nodule.