Diagnosis .grade 3

Hi Dogsmum, sorry to hear you have been diagnosed with grade 3 endometrial cancer but welcome to this group where you will find plenty of advice and support. I was diagnosed with stage 1a grade 3 serous endometrial cancer in July 2022. I had a total abdominal hysterectomy in October 2022 and at the post op follow up appointment I was advised that the cancer was contained in the uterus.A couple of months afterwards I had a one-off brachytherapy treatment. Since then I've been on 3 month follow ups. It is a shock when you receive the diagnosis but, hopefully, you have been given a CNS - Cancer Nurse Specialist- who will be able to help you with any queries and concerns you might have. I'm not familiar with the term 'no gross extension' so, unfortunately, can't comment on that. There are different types of grade 3 cancer, have you been advised which yours is? Also, once you've had all the necessary pre op scans you should be advised of your provisional staging. I had a CT and an MRI scan pre op but hospitals do vary in their approach. Hopefully you won't have to wait too long for your operation. I wish you well and, no doubt, you will receive lots of helpful replies. 

• Thank you so much for sharing your experience.  I have been assigned a CNS , I'll give her a call on Monday for more clarification. Its a minefield with all the diffetent jargon to get used to . But I do feel better for having read your journey as I feel its close to my own . Thank you . 

Hello Dogsmum

Welcome to the Online Community. I am sorry to hear that you have been diagnosed with endometrial cancer. I remember what a shock it was when I had my diagnosis. But there are many lovely ladies on here who have been where you are now and will want to offer support. I found the best thing for me was just to go with the flow and accept that there were going to be lots of different emotions and to ask for support when I needed it. Hopefully your CNS will be as supportive as mine was. They are your first port of call with any questions. 

My advice is to stay away from google as a lot of the information out there is not up to date and not particularly accurate. I found this particularly so for Grade 3.

I will pop a link below for a booklet that I found answered my questions when I was diagnosed.

Womb cancer booklet | Macmillan Cancer Support

I also had a grade 3 endometrial cancer. Mine was stage 1b which meant it was contained within my womb. The CT scan is to look for any possible spread. I don't know what no gross extention means and it wasn't a phrase that was used with me. Maybe it is something to ask your CNS to explain. 

After your hysterectomy they will do more pathology and that will confirm your stage and grade of cancer. This information is used to determine whether any follow up treatment is needed. My advice however would be to focus on one step at a time- so focus on the surgery first- I found if I looked too far ahead it could become overwhelming. 

My hysterectomy was straightforward, I recovered well and had little pain. My follow up treatment was chemotherapy and external beam radiotherapy. I did not have brachytherapy as it wasn't recommended as there was no cancer in my cervix. Some people do not need follow up treatment after the surgery. 

You may want to consider adding to your profile at some point. If you click on my name you will see mine to give you an idea. It just helps people know what stage you are at and it helps when replying to posts. I found it helpful as I did not have to keep repeating myself. It is entirely up to you though, but something to bare in mind. 

If you feel talking it through would help, then I can recommend the Support Line- the number is below and they are lovely on there.

I hope this helps a bit, but if you have any other questions or need anything, please just ask.

Jane