Mom’s New Cervical Cancer Diagnosis

Hi sunnyskies and welcome to our group.

I’m sorry to read about your mum’s diagnosis and appreciate you will be very worried.

I’m wondering if you are based in the UK? It’s not an issue if you aren’t but as Macmillan is a UK based charity our discussions are based on treatment in the UK.

You have said that the pathology from the LEEP identified grade 2 cells-were those grade 2 cancer cells? It would be usual here in the UK to receive a staging for the cancer, in addition to a cell grading, and these are two different numbers. 

The grade of cells are given from 1 to 3 based on how cells look under the microscope, with grade 1 cells looking closest to normal cells, grade 2 looking a little more abnormal and grade 3 looking very abnormal.

The staging of the cancer refers to the size and location of the cancer and whether it has spread anywhere either local to the cervix or further away. These stages are stages 1,2,3 and 4. 

You have said that your mum will be having a radical hysterectomy which would suggest it is a low stage cancer and has not spread,  as surgery is normally only performed with stage 1 or an early stage 2 cancer.

Not everyone who has a radical hysterectomy will need chemoradiation, but that is a decision the doctor will make from the pathology of what is removed during the surgery.

It wouldn’t be possible for any us answer questions on the appropriate timescale the petscan-these are performed less often in the UK at original diagnosis as it’s more usual to have an mri and/or ct scan. Scans in the UK take time to organise and we need to wait -2 weeks or more- for results. We don’t say what we want here in the UK as our healthcare is not insurance based so it would be our doctors who would arrange a petscan if they thought it were necessary. We can’t request it as a matter of course.

I didn’t have a petscan myself at diagnosis, but did have one later on in the process. I went though chemoriation. and I appreciate that you have bad memories of this treatment for your dad, but I’d encourage you to try not to compare the 2 situations. 

Chemoradiotherapy, if it is required, can be a very effective treatment for cervical cancer and we’d be happy to share our experiences here in the group if it turns out your mum needs it.

Please feel free to keep posting, sharing your thoughts and asking any questions and we’ll be happy to do our best to help support you through this.

Sarah xx

i am confused the reason the doc suggested a radical hysterectomy without having a PET scan as the PET scan will confirm the stage and if the cancer is spread or localised.

i am not sure if it is a standard process but I had PET, MRI  and also a EUA  to confirm the stage prior to the treatment.

If it is small size and localised then they will do a hysterectomy stage1- stage 2a if it is larger or it has spread then it will do chemo radiation with possible brachytherapy without surgery to have the best chance of success you will need to have clear margins. 

i was diagnosed with 2b and I was not able to get the surgery so I undertook the chemo radiation and brachytherapy treatment. 
The chemo radiation is not that bad it is 2.5 difficult months but you have a good chance to get rid of cancer.

I hope all the best with your mum and try to be strong Xx

In the UK it’s typical to have an mri scan, or a CT scan and mri to stage the cancer. A pet scan is not necessarily required. I didn’t have a pet scan until it was required to confirm my recurrence, so it’s not unusual not to have a pet scan before deciding on a hysterectomy. my cancer was staged at 2b, locally advanced on the basis of a ct and mri.

Sarah xx

I struggle to remember if I also had a CT scan for diagnosis. I remember I had it prior of treatment in order to plan the treatment.l for the radiation  I guess pet scan depends on the consultant to refer. In my case, the EUA was the exam that confirmed the stage as initially it was staged at 2a and then the surgeon did the EUA and confirmed that couldn’t do the hysterectomy and changed the stage at 2b

I was a bit confused why the doctor told us it didn’t matter if we get the PET scan before or after surgery too.. because of this I made sure my mom got the PET scan before her surgery which was yesterday. During the surgery the surgeon found some enlarged pelvic lymph notes and also some of the cancer was up against the ureters and bladder.. I guess that would make my mom a stage IV?  

I also asked the doctor for an MRI but he said if we are getting the PET, an MRI would be redundant..

Hi sunnyskies,

I had my treatment in the Uk it looks like that the doctors have followed a different type of treatment to the one that is usually done in the Uk..  are you abroad? 

I am not sure why he would suggest this as these two scans are used for different reasons. PET scan will show the location of the cancer and MRI is much higher resolution and as such it will show the actual extend of the cancer and if it has invade nearby tissues.

I am not sure about the stage but if the cancer has progressed to ureters and bladder it is likely that she will need to do the chemo radiation  treatment following the surgery..

I truly wish a speed recovery from the surgery xxx

Hi sunnyskies 

None of us in the group are medical professionals and cannot give an opinion on the stage of your mum’s cancer. Please speak with your mum’s doctors to get a definitive answer, as our responses here should be based only on our own experiences and not opinion or guesses.

We also cannot say what the treatment might be as we don’t actually know, and things can differ for individuals, especially in different countries.

Sarah xx