Endometrial cancer

Hi Trish56,

My name is Keith and I’m one of the Cancer Information Nurse Specialist

I hope you are finding the support from our online community helpful.

On this platform as we are a charitable organisation, we don’t have access to your medical information. For this reason, we have limited information re your clinical history.

In a situation like this we would always advise for you to contact your  multidisciplinary team (MDT) to clarify your situation in regards to the benefits/risks involved in having radiotherapy after your hysterectomy.

In the information you have provided you have mentioned grade 2 in your diagnostic information. The grade is a way of describing the appearance of cancer cells under a microscope. They are split in to three grades.

 Grade 2 can also be called moderate grade where the cells are described as abnormal but still able to identify the type of cell.

The higher the grade the quicker the cells grow and divide, so the higher the grade the more likely they can spread. Looking at this information will explain this in more detail.

You will also hear consultants talk about the stage of cancer. This is usually used to describe the physical size of any tumours as well as whether the cancer has spread beyond the endometrium. The previous link given will also explain stage in more detail.

Your MDT will consider the stage and grade of your cancer as well as any current and past medical history you may have to make any decisions in regards in what treatment they may offer you.

They are also guided by evidence-based practice usually lead by the NICE guidelines.

However, this is only clinical guidance, as everyone can be affected differently, this is why the MDT approach usually works very well as they will look at both the individual and how they are affected as well as the diagnosis in making their final decisions in how they manage your individual sets of circumstances. Your team should explain all the above in a way that you understand so you can make what we call making an informed treatment choice. There is no rule book in how you do this but a big part of this is in what you want. So don’t hesitate to talk to your treatment team and let them know how this is affecting you both physically as well as emotionally so they can give you the best possible support moving forward.

Regarding treatment surgery is the first thing they will consider and if the cancer hasn’t spread it would usually be the first treatment offered.

Radiotherapy is also commonly offered but can be for different reasons. Such as a belts and braces approach to reduce the risk of recurrence. Or instead of surgery when the area of concern can’t be removed surgically, or if the team aren’t sure they have physically removed all the cancer. Discussing this further with your team may be helpful to understand their thought regarding your situation.

It can be quite common for teams to delay their decision in offering radiotherapy or any other treatment until after surgery. As after surgery they will have more to go on before making any final decisions. Such as histology of tissues removed and visualisation of the affected areas during surgery and any possible lymph node involvement.

 On this platform it can be difficult to have a two-way conversation and to fully understand what you are going through.

If you’d like further explanation or have any other questions, please feel free to recontact us. Or if you it may help to discuss things with someone outside the loop please feel free to give us a call or contact us via our web chat platform.

 take care.

Keith, Cancer Information Nurse Specialist

You can also speak with the Macmillan Support Line team of experts. Phone free on 0808 808 0000 (7 days a week, 8am-8pm) or send us an email.

Ref KM/KHa