Unexpected diagnosis

Hello LizzieV

I'm so sorry your mum has a diagnosis of cancer.

It's my understanding that when the doctor does a hysteroscopy, they take samples of what looks suspicious, with myself, it was a thickened womb lining and a large polyp that he couldn't remove at the time but took samples of both. At the time I remember him saying that there was nothing of too great concern going on, at worst I would need hysterectomy, at best I would need  the polyp removed by another attempt at hysteroscopy with different instruments. He would send off the samples and I should hear 3-4weeks later. 

Only after the hysterectomy where they test different bits from the whole uterus etc will they be able to confirm the actual stage and grade. Many ladies have reported preliminary findings of cancer stage and grade which then changes after hysterectomy. If you click on my username you can read sequence of events with rough dates.I hope everything goes well for your mum and if she does need further treatments she copes well.

Thank you for taking the time and trouble to reply. I am glad you are doing well. Sounds like a lot so hope you are being kind to yourself. You have really helped a lot to explain the process. It’s just a bit of a shock. We thought it was just precautionary in case the cells changed at some point in the future. Now it is confirmed I don’t know if they removed the lymph nodes but assume they didn’t as at the time they didn’t think it was cancer. After two hysteroscopies and a hysterectomy in close succession I worry about her health and well-being. She is very fragile. I guess we will see what the new year holds and just hope they got it all. Will think positive. We both really like her consultant so she is in good hands. Thank you again

Hi Lizzie. I think it's very hard for them to tell properly until they have everything removed from the hysterectomy to look at properly. With endometrial cancer there is no blood test that will show what is happening. I was diagnosed grade 3 from my first biopsy but it changed to grade 1 after everything was removed. There is more tissue to see. They should have taken some lymph nodes at her op and should know if they are clear or not, perhaps you could call and ask if that result is in? All the best to your mum, it takes time to recover, the first couple of weeks are the hardest.

I was informed that one of the polyps they removed had atypical hyperplasia (precancerous cells) and the recommended treatment was a hysterectomy.  I also found out that 40% of atypical hyperplasia cases are found to actually have cancer once the womb etc have been biopsed following hysterectomy, so it’s not actually that uncommon…

Thankfully my histology was all normal, no cancer and not even any hyperplasia which was a huge relief.

I hope your mum recovers from her op soon and wish her well with any treatment which might be necessary x