Hi, I’m new here and I’m sorry you all find yourselves here in this kind of support group. I apologize for the long post.
I’m Jo and a 37 year old mother of 3! I’ve no diagnosis, but I’m petrified I have cancer.
I have every single symptom I read and have a family history.
I’ve been to a&e this week in extreme pain in my pelvic area and lower back, that has gradually got worse over the course of 5 weeks when I first saw a GP. I’ve had irregular bleeding for most of this year but recently have bleed or had spotting for 3.5 weeks, I put it down to a surgery I had in January and was hoping it would settle. Looking back I now realise I should have flagged it a few months ago. Other symptoms are uncomfortable/painful intercourse (not uncommon to have spotting after), bloating, loss of appetite, nausea, extreme fatigue. I had an transvaginal ultrasound scan at hospital this week and nothing seen on ovaries, I thought I had another large cyst on my ovary. I had emergency surgery in January to remove a 10cm cyst causing me a lot of pain (ovarian torsion) and the symptoms was exactly the same. Basically they couldn’t find anything to explain my pain in a&e, although an examination was done it wasn’t with a speculum to see my cervix etc. they sent me away with strong painkillers and the urgent scan for 2 days later. Very annoyed further investigating wasn’t done and I wasnt admitted in. I orginally was being admitted for further investigation but a 2nd gynecologist who saw me briefly whilst I was waiting for a bed to become available sent me home, wish I spoke up to ask for more tests and an admission to hospital as I know something isn’t right. But after 15 hours in a&e I was exhausted and just wanted to get home.
I’ve been unable to work all week due to how uncomfortable I feel (I’m self employed so will have a big impact financially to have a week off unplanned)
anyway I thought I’d visit the GP today as last night was awful and I was in tears with the pain. GP who before my examination said I looked unwell and tired. During an examination internally, she called another GP in to double check what she could see. They said my cervix is red, abnormal and mentioned something about a ‘lump’ or ‘lumpy’ . They took swabs, bloods, urine and I need to drop a stool sample off. They have referred me on the 2 week cancer pathway.
My smear test is due in a few months . I’ve previously had emergency surgery for an ectopic pregnancy and also had a miscarriage around the same time, no idea if it’s of any relevance.
my husband is telling me not to worry and wait to see what’s seen at the hospital. But I can’t help but worry and everything is pointing in this direction so it’s hard not to worry. What tests can I expect at the appointment?
Did anyone’s diagnosis start like this or similar? Please be honest with me, I know I have no diagnosis but I’d like to prepare myself for the worst possible outcome and hope for the best.
All the best to you all on your journeys
Jo
Hi Joann21 and welcome to our group.
You’ve certainly had an awful lot going on and been suffering a lot of pain, so I can understand why you’re so worried.
You ask what will happen at the appointment, so I can tell you what happened at mine. I first had a chat with the gynaecologist and went over how I was feeling and the symptoms I was experiencing. He also asked about my family history and whether or not I’d had children, and were they normal births without any incidents/surgery. He asked to examine me.
I was in stirrups for this on the table, and he spent time examining my cervix and performed a hysteroscopy, putting a small camera through my cervix and into my womb. I was bleeding a lot so things were difficult to see, although I was offered the chance to watch this on the screen beside me if I wanted. He could see what he described as a lesion, so took some biopsies which were then sent for analysis.
Some of this was a little uncomfortable but not painful. No further tests were done at this appointment, but I was told to return in a week for my biopsy results.
You mention your symptoms of painful sex, bloating, loss of appetite, nausea and fatigue. I had none of these. What I did have was bad pelvic pain, post menopausal bleeding, a watery discharge and hip pain. While some ladies can report symptoms which might be similar, it’s honestly not going to be very helpful to try and diagnose yourself, as we’re all different and symptoms present in different ways.
The gynaecologist will decide on the basis of your examination if you need any further tests, which may involve having a scan such as an mri or ct scan but these won’t happen on the day-they are separate appointments if they are required. I did have a cancer diagnosis, but that doesn’t mean you would, so if you are reading stories in the group, try to remember that their story is not yours.
I hope you don’t have long to wait for your referral and you’ll let us know how you get on. Please feel free to ask any questions here and connect with others. If any members have completed their profile information with their story, you can read this by clicking on their name.
Sarah xx
Hi WindyThistle and welcome to our group too.
I notice you haven’t joined the group yet, so although you can reply to posts without joining the group, you cannot start your own. To join the group, click on the black banner which goes along the bottom of the group when you open the page.
Would you like help or support with anything, or do you have any questions? Unfortunately you haven’t given us any information yet, so you may want to complete your profile details to tell us where you are with things, and what tests you’ve had. It makes it easier for us to have an understanding of your situation and helps us with not having to ask the same questions and have you repeat yourself.
I hope you’ll find the group supportive and helpful for you, and look forward to you posting again.
Sarah xx
Hi Sarah, thank you for your reply, I appreciate it! I’m just keeping myself busy and feel bad for feeling how I do without a diagnosis when all you sadly do have that!
im just trying to navigate the site at the moment, and reading some stories. I don’t get alot of free time between work, kids and life so I’m not great at replying quickly either 
take care xx
