Eagle how are you?

Just wondering with surgery, awaiting results, etc.

Orchid, I've been very very fortunate! I went for my results on Dec 21st and received the best news, that the cancer was Stage 1A, which means that it had not reached the lymph nodes, was removed by the surgery and does not require any further treatment at this time. All I need is to be checked every six months for the next five years, but with only a 1-3% chance of recurrence, my prognosis is excellent.

One interesting tidbit was that uterine cancer is linked to both breast and colon cancer. So in addition to my yearly mammograms (which I've been doing for years because of an extensive maternal history of breast cancer), I also need regular colonoscopies.

So I've been extremely luck that we caught this so early. I don't know if you've seen them on the tv, but I owe my early detection to Elizabeth Manley's commercials that she does for ovarian cancer (her mother died of it). It was her ad that sparked me to ask the doctor to investigate matching symptoms that led us to find the uterine cancer...at the time of the biopsy it was still pre-cancerous, but had reached full cancer by the time of the surgery. So it was a fast-moving one, which could have had much worse results if not caught so early.

Thanks for asking. I share all that I share here in case it might help someone else...early detection in any cancer is key. We women should be getting regular mammograms, pap smears and colonscopies, and watching our bodies for any changes that don't match our normal cycles/behaviour.

I just want to add something to my post. All through my investigative process (it took almost 2 years from first appointment to biopsy/diagnosis), I heard over and over from every specialist and nurse - better to be safe than sorry. In other words, it's better to go in and "bother" the doctors with what we might think are minor problems (I thought mine were simply due to menopause). As busy as they are, they much prefer that we women go in and get things checked, even if everything turns out to be normal and okay (their favourite findings!)

So if anyone here is even remotely concerned about problematic symptoms (unusual or constant bleeding, especially after you've been menopausal for at least a year), please go and get yourself checked. The symptom that initially made me go to the doctor was the bloating...there were times when I felt like I was nine months pregnant! Well, who goes to see the doctor about bloating?! But when I heard that it was one of the symptoms of ovarian cancer, I decided to get it checked out. Bloating IS one of the symptoms of gyne cancers. Thank God I checked it out!!!

Excellent information, Eagle Heart, and you provided information I didn't know, so probably helped a lot of people.

I am so thankful your results were so positive. ESPECIALLY after that weird mailing you received...

As for me, I am always tempted to NOT call with symptoms and hope they will go away. So big thanks for urging us all to NOT worry about "bothering the docs about something that is probably nothing..."

Eagle Heart, I'm so sorry you went through all of this and so happy you're healthy now. I never knew bloating was a symptom of gyn cancer. There's so many things we don't know. Thank you for sharing that info.

Thank you Saundra. I'm really happy with the results too, though am still dealing with odd problems stemming from the surgery (like my hormones seem to be completely out of whack these days, causing me to bounce between manic agitation and severe fatigue.) I have another follow-up on the 18th, so will get that checked out then if it continues.

Because uterine cancer is so treatable and rarely ever causes death, it's not high-profile and therefore rarely talked about. Ovarian cancer is much more serious, and we should all be aware of the symptoms and signs to watch for. The severe, prolonged bloating that I spoke about is a predominant symptom of ovarian cancer, and is often brushed aside as insignificant. I knew the difference between my regular bloating and this, it was much more severe (many women with ovarian cancer share the common comment that they felt nine months pregnant). Thankfully, my bloating was not due to the ovaries, but eventually led the specialists to the uterus (it was actually very swollen but I couldn't tell the difference between swelling and bloating).

Anyway, I've learned a lot about my body, it's always a good and valuable thing to know how your body works so that you can catch the new quirks and trends as early as possible.