Asymptomatic and post menopause hysteroscopy

Hi rollercoasteride,

I'll start this message with a caution that I'm not a medic, your consultant will keep you right, but I'll try and pass on what I've worked out over the last couple of years! A thick womb can sometimes be caused by hyperplasia (it can be caused by other things like fibroids and polyps too), hyperplasia is the stage before it would turn cancerous. Some younger women in the group have hyperplasia and early stage cancer treated with a mirena coil and oral progesterone and are regularly monitored to check progress. They usually start by clearing out the womb before they start the treatment with a 'D n c' or myosure procedure, the lovely, Lass can tell you more about that.

Lots of people pass through the site and get the all clear though, so take one step at a time, the stats say that 90% of womb biopsies are clear.

While you wait keep as busy and distracted as you can, and step away from google! Stick to this site, the NHS or cancer research U.K. until you know what's happening. 

I was diagnosed in 2017 and had a hysterectomy as my only treatment, I hadn't had kids either and didn't even know womb cancer was a thing you could get! 

Please share your worries and keep asking questions while you wait, if you are worrying about it, we all probably have too.

lots of love

xxx

Heya Roller-coasterride, 

Sorry to hear you're going through this worry at the moment. 

Just to pick up on what Arla was saying, hyperplasia is indeed a condition that causes a thickening of the womb lining. However it isn't one step before cancer. Atypical, or it's sometimes called camplex, hyperplasia is the step before. So the womb lining needs to thicken, then it needs to mutate to become atypical, then it needs to mutate again to actually become cancerous. This usually takes a long time, and so is often caught at the hyperplasia stage. 

Now, as Arla says, it is possible to control that and get rid of it with progesterone therapy. However they usually only do that for pre-menopausal women. From my understanding, usually if things start to go a bit wonky after the menopause then it does result in a preventative hysterectomy - even if it's only at the hyperplasia stage.

However, every consultant and case is different, so they may have a different treatment route in mind for you. Especially because things are developing and changing all the time in the medical field. So keep away from Google and concentrate on having an amazing festive period with whatever and however you spend the time. Too many nice things going on out there to be stressing over things Google says.

Lass

Xx

Hello Arlo

How lovely to get such a quick reply - thank you!    Will try to step away from Google but I just felt so completely clueless when I saw the gynae consultant last week that I needed to do some research on what was going on, as I didn't even understand what she was telling me at first - and I think of myself as reasonably intelligent!  It feels much better just to know the right terminology and some idea of what might be discovered.   Like you, I hadn't ever worried about womb cancer -  cervical and breast cancer seem to get more publicity.

Thanks again for your support and will keep myself busy in the coming days to avoid worrying too much.

cheers

Hey rollercoaster ride,

I goggled too, I think we all do it, it's good to get some control, there are some good guides on the Macmillan site but they take a bit of finding, let me know if you want a link to the womb cancer book. I got a Macmillan womb cancer booklet from the hospital when I was diagnosed but I couldn't face looking at for about a month.

xxx

Thanks, Arla.   

You are absolutely right - it's all about grabbing back a bit of control when these things hit you out of the blue.  I feel better informed now about what options might be presented to me when I get the biopsy results and that really helps. 

cheers.

Hi Lass

Thanks for that very clear explanation.  It chimes with what "Dr Google" had told me and as I'm post-menopause I'm expecting they will probably recommend a preventative hysterectomy.   I'll see what the consultant has to say in due course and in the meantime will make some nice plans for Christmas/New Year with friends! 

Thanks for your support.

Cheers.

Hi RollerCoaster

A girl after my own heart! Prior to my surgery I had a fabulous Xmas Ladies Day event booked and almost cancelled it as I was reeling from the shock.

i went along so as not to disappoint my friends who had no clue what I was going through and had a fantastic day full of Lawanda dancing ... and vino!

The photos and memory of that day pick me up on bad days now and I’m so glad I didn’t cancel. 

Hope you have some lovely times with your friends xxxxxx

Don’t know what Lawanda dancing is but it sounds like fun !

that should read laughter 

Note to self: always proof read posts before sending lol

I have dancing (hopefully in Lawanda style....) and vino planned for Wednesday evening so am looking forward to that.   However, just got a call from the gynae consultant to come and see her at Outpatients  early tomorrow morning to discuss results of biopsy done on 9th.  Her first question to me was "Are you in the UK at the moment?" and now I'm worrying why she would have asked that, rather than just saying "I've made an appointment for you tomorrow"??  Now I'm thinking that some kind of bad news or urgent operation is on the cards and they want to fit me in before Xmas.   Just wondered what other people's experience is of the waiting time between hearing you need treatment and actually having it?

I know I need to stop worrying and just wait until tomorrow when I find out what's going on, but it's not easy is it!!

Heya, 

Lots of people travel for Christmas either to get away or to go and see family. So it's not an unusual question to ask before offering you an appointment. It's better than offering an appointment, only for someone to panic that they are away and start trying to plan how to get back. If you'd said you were away, they'd probably have said it wasn't urgent and they'd catch you when you got back.

With all the bugs that are around at the moment, they probably had someone cancel their appointment as they weren't well enough to attend. So they looked down the list to see who was next on the waiting list, and started calling to see who was free. 

If they can fill slots, it's makes everything more efficient, and saves the NHS money. It doesn't usually mean anything more than that. 

Lass

Xx