I'm new here. Hello.

Hi Helvellyn Girl, just wanting to say hello as I am another runner (although not as many miles as you).

I had a stage 1 womb cancer in 2017 at age 56.  I had keyhole surgery to remove womb, cervix, ovaries and fallopian tubes and was fortunate enough to need no additional treatments. So my disease was at an earlier stage than yours, but I still had many questions.

When I saw the specialist I asked what would be my treatment. I asked her to draw me a diagram to explain what the operation would remove. I asked what would happen to me if I did nothing.  I opted for surgery so the next step was a pre-operative assessment where I was given information on what to expect after the operation i.e. things to avoid while you heal, such as heavy lifting, and driving. So I reckon a good question is: what treatment will I have, what are the after-effects, side-effects and so on. Ask if there is anything you can do to prepare yourself for the treatment.  If your treatment is going to render you unwell for a time, or weak (as I was for quite a while after surgery) then you need the facts in order to plan how you will cope at home and whether you will need to arrange any help. You could also ask if any help would be available to you from e.g. GP, District Nurse, Macmillan or other charities.

I found it useful to keep a notebook and pencil which went to all my appointments with me. I kept it handy at home and wrote down any questions I thought of at random times, and when speaking to the doctor or the nurse I wrote their answers in the notebook so I could refer to it later at home. Sometimes you are hit with so much information it is hard to remember it all. Ask for a contact person - I was assigned a CNS (specialist nurse) and a phone number to get in touch with them. You may find that you think of more questions after your appointment so it helps to be able to phone the right person for advice.

I found that many people were surprised at my diagnosis as, like you, I was fit and sporty. Hopefully your physical toughness will be a help to you.

I hope someone else with similar diagnosis to you will soon be along to add some more specific advice.

Do you live near Helvellyn? I haven't been up that one but I did Scafell Pike last year. The scenery was wonderful.

Do keep posting on here if you have more questions... there are lots of us here with a variety of experiences. Wishing you well, LR.

Hi LR, thanks so much for your reply. At the moment I am a little overwhelmed by it all. I have started a diary from day one, which was only at the end of June, so all pretty recent. Running keeps me sane & so is important to me. I retired at 62 and had lots of time on my hands so started by walking up Helvellyn. That year I walked up there at least twice, sometimes more each week! Then started running. I have been assigned a nurse, but unfortunately with annual leave have been passed on, then back, then on to other nurses. I have had to chase them all the way, which of course has made it all a bit more stressful than it needed to be. The Macmillan people have been really helpful. Scafell is a great mountain. I live on the edge of the Lakes so plenty of great places to explore. Even during lockdown I was able to get out on the trails. Hope you are back to running after your treatments. I'm running 4 miles every other day & have no pain so at the moment I am grateful for that. Take care, & thanks. xx

Hi Helvellyn Girl,

I am only answering you because I was 72 at the time of my diagnosis, and petrified about my age. I am no runner, never was! But, equally so, I don't sit around all day and the doctor described me as fit. I had early stage cancer, so only had a hysterectomy by keyhole surgery. Keyhole surgery is marvellous and I found things had changed a lot since having children in hospital 40 years ago. That was 4 years ago, now. My consultant drew me a diagram of what they were going to do. It depends what sort of a person you are, but I would have been content not to know until afterwards!!! I should think your fitness will stand you in good stead. Good luck. xxx

Hi and a warm welcome to our spot in the Online Community. I'm very sorry to read your diagnosis and to find it's incurable. 

Some people will have treatable but not curable cancer from the moment they are diagnosed. Others develop it if their cancer progresses or comes back. You may hear some of these cancers described as advanced or incurable. While not curable, these cancers are generally considered treatable if treatments are available that could be used to slow the progression of the cancer and help people to manage their symptoms.

Advances in treatment and care mean people can now live for several years with treatable but not curable cancer. Some people will live for many years. In some cases, it may at times feel like living with a long-term condition such as multiple sclerosis or type 1 diabetes.

I'm sure things will become much clearer on Wednesday when you meet with your team on Wednesday.

Here's a link to some reading material you might find helpful Living with Incurable Cancer. You might find some questions needing answers for yourself there.

I see you live in one of my favourite places in the world - lucky you. I was staggered about the easily running 50 miles. The longest walk I ever did was about 18 miles - I'll be honest - I'd knock myself out (literally) if I ran anywhere. 

Come back after your meeting Wednesday if you want and let us know how things go.

Sending hugs, Barb xx

Thank you for your reply & encouragement. x

Thank you Barb. What a great group this is. I will read your reply properly when I get home from shopping. x

Hi Barb, I've had time to read your post properly. All encouraging, thank you. I'm really hoping that they can offer me treatment. I'm very lucky where I live as I can be in the outdoors in minutes. It wouldn't be the end of the world if I was unable to run, but it has been a big part of my life for the last 10 years. Thanks for the link, I will go and take a look at that. x

Hi again. Yes, I am running again. After my op I was under instructions to stop for a while, 3 months I think, but actually I felt way too feeble to run at that point. Then I started again from scratch and built up slowly. After some months I worried that I might be harming the healing of whatever remained of my innards, so I found a specialist gynae physio and had a few treatment sessions with her. I had to pay, but I thought it was worth it in order to have the confidence to run and cycle long distances again as it is a big part of my life. Some ladies here have seen a physio on the NHS but that wasn't on offer for me. That post-op period of staying indoors was good practice for lockdown.

Hi Little Runner, that is great to know. That's a top tip regarding the specialist gynae physio. I'm expecting that whatever treatment I have I will be tired too. I've never been a cyclist or a swimmer, so running is really important. I can imagine the staying indoors was really good practice for lockdown. I've got a long list of questions for the consultants, but it is rather difficult to know what to ask until they tell me what treatments are available. Thanks for all the information. Knowledge is power (I think they say!) x 

Hi . How did you get on yesterday?

Barb xx