3rd Anniversary

Thanks Chrissie, that’s such a thoughtful message and I’m glad to hear you’re doing well now. I’ve got grade 3 cancer and am still waiting to find out the level and when my hysterectomy will be. Hopefully I will know more tomorrow. Wishing you all the best x

Hey Chrissie, it’s so good to see you here again! Three year anniversary for me too - as it’s three years on Friday since I started my treatment after my hysterectomy in Jan 2022: 25 x radio and 2 x brachy. My grade was 1 and my stage was 2, but I had a weird rare thing too - unexpected items in the Fallopian tube area  - very rare precancerous stics (“so rare we don’t really know what to do about it” - not what you want to hear a doctor say!) which, if I’d not had a hysterectomy, would have led to high grade ovarian cancer) so although my treatment was preventative, I considered it vital to help guard against what else might be going on in my body.  

This group was a tremendous support and source of friendship for me - a safe space to meet women who could relate and understand/empathise. We supported each other either on the group or by social media or email, and it helped. Together we learned ways of riding the inevitable emotional rollercoasters which are an unfortunate but integral part of it all, negotiating the anxiety and mood swings and weathering the unhelpful things that people may say even when they think they’re being supportive, We swapped tips, shared stories, learned from each other, let off steam, laughed and cried. And the underlying message for me was that of all these women can get through it, so can I. And every one of you reading this can too. 

Hi, your message is very warming, couldn't have come at a better time for me, I’ve had my hysterectomy 5 weeks ago and recovering well from that. My next step is chemo & radiotherapy. I come on this site for all the answers I’m looking for, it gives me great hope when I’m in doubt and reading your post is just where I would like to be in 3 years time too.

Wishing you many many healthy years ahead of you.

Hi KeswickC 

We chatted on the cervical cancer group, so I was just checking to see if your 1a diagnosis was cervical or womb cancer? I see you have now joined the cervical group, so you may want to post there also. 

We have a lot of ladies in the cervical group who have had a hysterectomy, and also the chemo and radiation treatment you will be having. Womb and cervical are different types of cancers, and can be treated differently, so you may be able to connect with ladies in the cervical group too if you have this diagnosis, who will have have gone through the same experiences. There are lots of positive stories in both groups, and I am now successfully past my 5 year anniversary.

Sarah xx

Hi Chrissie

Am glad you are doing well. 

Thanks for sharing.

Jane

Hi Mrsceedee 

It's really reassuring to read your post. I had a hysterectomy on 29th July last year and I am currently sitting in the unit having 5 of 6 chemo.  

Best wishes for your ongoing good health.

H 

Thank you for your lovely message. 

Thank you so much for your kind and brave words, which will help so many women.

Hi SarahH21,

Thankyou for thinking of me. Not sure if this sounds right or not but amongst the midst of telling me my lab results I recall stage2 for the womb and stage3 for the cervix (is this possible). I’ve got an appointment on 30th April to further discuss the start of 6 chemo (every 3 weeks, starting Fri 2nd May) with another scan further down the line and radiotherapy. Quite a shock or maybe naivety considering I thought my stage1 hysterectomy would be the end of it. The reason for the stage3 on the cervix was over 30 years ago I was treated for pre-cancerous cells with a burning off treatment and apparently my cervix was thinner than normal (if that sounds right).

Hi KeswickC 

I remember in the cervical group you were waiting to hear if your staging had changed from 1 to 3, so I’m sorry to read that it has, and that you need further treatment. 

I’ve not heard from others that treatment more than 30 years ago would have caused stage 3 cancer, so I can’t comment on that I’m afraid. Sometimes precancerous cells are not completely removed in procedures and can then develop into cancer over a long time, but usually these treatments are successful and follow up checks pick this up.

It is possible to have 2 different types of cancer at the same time-womb and cervical-but it’s also possible to have one cancer(eg cervical) which has spread somewhere else but it still cervical cancer. For example my cancer was cervical, but spread all over my womb and bladder, leading to their removal even though there was no cancer in my womb or bladder. I would suggest perhaps that you need some further explanation from your doctor as to your exact situation.

With stage 3 cervical cancer if it is staged at stage 3 at diagnosis, hysterectomies are not performed and the treatment is chemo followed by concurrent chemo and radiation, followed by brachytherapy (internal radiation). We do have a lady in the cervical group who had a hysterectomy but stage 3 cancer was found in the post surgery results, so she went on to have chemoradiation.

I’d be happy to put you in touch with her in the cervical group-it’s a rare occurrence, as cervical cancer staging is usually established before a decision is made on treatment and while hysterectomies are performed at stage 1 up to stage 2a they are not performed at higher stages. I was staged at 2b, so required chemoradiation with no surgery at that time. I only had surgery because my cancer recurred.

When you have your appointment at the end of April, I hope you’ll get some more clarification. I’d ask exactly what type of cancer you have-there are different types of cervical cancer, and different types of womb cancer. I’d want to know exactly what the situation is so that you understand exactly what’s going on.

Normally when you are having radiotherapy it is done alongside a different chemo to the one you’ll have for you initial cycles of chemo, but you’ve only mentioned having radiotherapy. I’d also check if you’ll be having the internal radiation (brachytherapy) at the end of your radiotherapy as you haven’t mentioned that so far.

Please feel free to post more in the cervical group as we do have lots of different experiences to help you there. 

Sarah xx