Hysterectomy

I have just had this done on 17th March, was an overnight hospital stay i was home within 22 hrs, minimal pain and discomfort just used paracetamol, went for dressing change 1 week later on wednesday, ( I have 5 small incisions from robotic surgery) all healing well, it has been much better than I expected, at age 55 I had never had any surgery and was petrified, all the best for your operation, take care x

Hi 

Thank you for replying 

I have an aggressive endometrial cancer, started bleeding first week in December 

Had a hysteroscopy 23rd January, fibroid, polyp  and biopsy taken, then diagnosed on the 5th of march 

Can't stage the cancer until after the operation, so don't know if I need chemo or radiotherapy 

Sorry I'm 64yrs old and have been in my menopause since 2018 

I started post meno bleeding in January after a year of nothing, previous to that 10 years of peri pausal, my gp fast tracked me and had the hysteroscopy 2 weeks later,( I found that painful) it showed atypical hyperplasia ( pre-cancerpus abnormal cells) with chance she said that it was running alongside established cancer, robotic hysterectomy was booked in within 4 weeks of that, im now waiting on histology report to see what else will be needed, it sounds like your team are on the case with your treatment plan, I was lucky to have the robotic surgery my consultant said the recovery is quicker, wishing you all the very best  the helpline is great to talk things over with x

Hi Mogsmum

Its very normal to feel scared when facing something as big as surgery for cancer. It is good that you have your date now and it is not too far ahead. Maybe use this time to sort out the practical things. I started to think about what I would take to hospital and did things at home to get ready. I did a big clean, stocked up on shopping and things like that. It can also help to think about how you will get to the hospital etc. 

My surgery was in 2022 and was via keyhole- I had little pain, was in hospital for 1 night and recovered well at home. It was a case of listening to my body, resting when needed, eating little and often and I was also able to go for short walks everyday. I went shopping with my son at around 7 days post op- he carried the shopping but I was fine walking to the local shops and back. 

My post op results came back at around 3 1/2 weeks post surgery but there can be a variation between hospitals. Normally they can give you a provisional stage and grade from the biopsy results and any scans that are done. However it is the post op results that will confirm whether any further treatment is needed. 

I had chemo and radiotherapy. My advice through would be to focus on the surgery first. If you try to look too far ahead it can feel overwhelming. Once the post op results come back and you have clarification whether you need further treatment, then focus on that step then. 

On your letter there should be a contact number that you can call. It may say something like cancer nurse specialists or gynae oncology nurses. Sometimes there may just be details of the consultant and an email address for the secretary. If you do want to talk to someone about the surgery and you can not get through- then give your GP a call and they may be able to contact the hospital directly on your behalf. Mine was able to do this. 

You could also give the Macmillan Support Line a call if it would help to talk through your questions. 

Jane

Thank you, that is most helpful

I have been bleeding since Dec and after the hysteroscopy  its been worse which is a nasty smell, ive been checked for an infection and its come back negative, the hospital said its the cancer cells that die, I will be just pleased to get the operation done, then go from there, they are also taking some lymph nodes and taking something from my omentum, not sure if they are removing it all together 

Thank you for your help 

Hi Jane 2511

I feel quiet positive regarding the surgery, ive had my case ready for weeks since I saw my oncolgy doctor lol, its the not knowing what stage my cancer is, all the Doctor as said that it is contained in the uterus, and hasn't spread to the bowel or bladder 

I keep getting pains in my ovaries and a lot of backache, my Doctor as said I still have a fibroid and a large uterus so I think this as a lot to do with my aches and pains 

Thank you for your advice 

Take care  

I understand. It does sound promising that the doctor feels that it is confined to the uterus- this would suggest an early stage 1/2. If there was evidence that it had spread then that should have been hopefully picked up on the scans. 

It does sound like the aches and pains could be explained by the enlarged uterus/fibroid. Hopefully once surgery is done, it will all settle for you.

Fingers crossed that the post results come back quickly. I remember the day of my surgery that my surgeon came to see me back on the ward and was able to say that he felt everything was confined so hopefully you will have the same reassurance. 

Hi Mogsmum, I had my laparoscopic hysterectomy in January following a post menopausal bleed, scan and hysterscopy and biopsy which revealed Stage 1 Grade 3 endometrial cancer.

The surgery was not nearly as scary as I had thought, I had lots of reassurance from the consultant and the anaesthetists, I had spinal and general anaesthetic and stayed in hospital for only one night. I was able to go home the following day. I had to take it easy for the first six weeks, built up my walking slowly, but I am now over 8 weeks post surgery and feeling a lot better. 

Hi Mogsmum, 

I am having a divinici robotic hysterectomy done on the 16th April. Can I ask, have you had an MRI? I was lead to believe that they stage from there? They have told me that mine is stage 1 grade 2, and on the hysteroscopy they only saw Ashermans syndrome and said that everything was ok and after I got the all clear from the biopsy that I could start on HRT. 

Mine is not a normal presentation so it was a huge shock. 

People today have all said am I worried about being plunged into the middle of a surgical menopause, which I hadn't thought about, but at mid 40s and only very slight perimenopausal I suppose I could turn in to a psychotic woman and watch out if I come near anyone yielding a carving knife lol. 

Ps my only symptom is pain and im even on Morphine for in as it is horrible so ask your GP for analgesia. There is no need to suffer.

Good luck with your op.