Perhaps I should have added I had my hysterectomy by keyhole surgery, which I think is marvellous. They went in by the tummy button, and other than that I had 3 small incisions which healed up fine. My only other operation was for tonsils in my 20's, and I could only remember the pain, living on boiled eggs, and being told off for not eating dry fish in hospital!!! (I remember scooping the fish into a tissue and putting it into my dressing gown pocket to be disposed of later!!!)
My pain after the hysterectomy was only like a bad period, if that. No where near as painful as child birth. I was in hospital for two days simply because my bladder wouldn't work. I could not tell when I needed the loo, so went by time initially. It settled down after a week. I went away in our motor home after 3 weeks, although took things gently. My consultant said I would regain normal fitness after 3 months and that was about right. I think if you are fairly fit to start with it helps your recovery. xx
Hi again Squirrelee, just to let you know there are three basic things to know with regard to endometrial cancer - the type, the probable grade and the probable stage. I say probable because it’s all reviewed after the hysterectomy. For me, I’m the sort of person who likes to know as much as possible - we are all different and you know yourself best. I think mine might have only told me the stage if I hadn’t asked, but I decided to be proactive from the start as that was what was right for me. If you decide you’d like to know more, you can phone your CNS and ask - have you been given their contact details? They’re basically a team of specialist nurses there to give you extra support, easy contact with the consultant and they have access to your case notes.
Just saw this other reply of yours - glad that you have had contact already and I’m sure they’d be happy to hear from you. One thing I’ve found with cancer is that they often tell you things gradually, to see what you’re comfortable with, so if you’re wanting to know more, it’s good to ask and they will tell you. Mine was originally an adenocarcinoma, grade 1, stage 1a, then after my op remained the same type and grade but was restaged to a stage 2.
No they didn't say what grade only that it's contained. I was seen at my local hospital. West Suffolk and they mentioned Addenbrooks but it looks like I will have the surgery at my local.
Squirrelee, I hear you - I can remember that first phone call and having to ask the doctor to stop talking while I caught up as her voice felt like the words were racing by like a train and I needed time to catch up. As well as any questions you may have about the type and grade, you may want to ask them the typical wait time at the moment and also when your pre op assessment is likely to be. I had to have a blood test pre op (was able to negotiate that to be done at my local hospital) and also a drive through PCR test a few days before my op, but I don’t know if they are still doing the latter now.
Morning Squirrelee, welcome to this forum. I had my diagnosis in July 2020. I had a vaginal ultrasound scan and a biopsy after I experienced a slight discharge with small streaks of blood. I was convinced it was a polyp as I’d had them before, the thought of cancer had never entered my head, so like you I was absolutely shocked rigid when they said they’d found cancer cells. Bearing in mind this was during the pandemic I was seen remarkably quickly and had my op in August 2020. So only took about 4 weeks from start to finish! I had keyhole surgery and it was fantastic. I didn’t have much pain afterwards, just needed paracetamol for a few days, and i didn’t have any bleeding. The incisions were glued so no dressings to deal with either! The thing I had been most concerned about was having a catheter, but I didn’t even realise it was there until my surgeon saw me the next morning and said it could come out! And that didn’t hurt either, so I neeedn’t have worried. After that I was out of bed and walking around the ward unaided. It took about 6 weeks to get back to normal, but I was being ultra careful.
At my diagnosis they didn’t say what stage I was, merely that the biopsy told them it was Grade 1, that is the cells were that not much different to normal cells. My surgeon did draw me a diagram to show me how they staged things, but it looked like a Picasso and he had to tell me where my legs were lol! Anyway, about three weeks after my op I was told I was Grade 1 Stage 1b, and they recommended three doses of brachytherapy ( internal radiation) to cut the chances of recurrence. Since then I have been on three monthly checks and all but one of them has been telephone consults and I’ve had no problems so far.
I hope this helps you a bit. If this cancer is caught early our chances are good. Try not to worry yourself too much….I know, waste of time saying that! So keep distracting yourself and hopefully you will get a date soon and that will make you feel better as you know something is happening.
I don't know if they are still doing the pcr drive up tests anymore. There seems to be alot of covid in my area at present. I'm being extra careful and everybody around me is also. Thank goodness it has calmed down at most of the hospitals now.
