awaiting hysteroscopy due to postmenopausal 14MM thick womb

Hi I’m so sorry to hear this. Did your Gp put you through as a 2 week wait referral? 
Can you talk to your Gp? 

Hi, no because i wanted Hysteroscopy done by general i have had to wait 7 weeks. march 17th is when i will finally get this done. the stress and anxiety has been awful and i read my symptoms are advanced which is making me even worse, no one on here seems to have all these and can help me. x

My personal advice would be not to google symptoms and remember everyone’s journey and symptoms seem to be different from reading on here. I am early in my journey and only just 3 weeks post hysterectomy so may not be the best to comment. I do remember my sleep suffering.  Can you go back to the Gp to ask for further tablets? I tried lavender spray and also I started to use the Calm app to meditate. Let me say none of these things were in my routine pre cancer but they definitely helped me. 

Thank you. I havent been googling and because i did at one point, all the stuff comes up now and when it popped up the other day with night sweats etc i have just been laying in bed at night shaking with fear, what you said is right tho, everyones symptoms are different i guess, I will need to remember this. glad to hear your on the mend. can i ask what your journey was?, xx

So I went into premature menopause about 5 years ago due to treatment for fibroids. 
over the last 6 months I had spotting no heavy  bleeding and hardly any pain and it was not all the time. I eventually went to the Gp  ( I’m a nurse so worst patient lol) 

Any way was reffered had an ultrasound, then a hystoscopy 

I was then called back to say it was cancer. A complete shock in away as I felt so well at the worst I thought it would be pre cancerous cells. 

anyway I’m now 3 weeks post hysterectomy and I’m back to clinic on Thursday to see if I need further treatment or if the the surgery was enough 

my chest x ray and MRI did not show any spreading 

fingers crossed you are ok now and over the worst. Thank you for letting me know your journey, is it womb cancer you had?. sorry if i am stupid !!, can I ask how you coped awaiting your results?. I am not coping at all. have the worst scenario continually popping in my head. Any help would be so much appreciated. I think i would cope if i thought if cancer, early stage instead of thinking advanced. appreciate any advice you can give me. xx

Hi crazycookie

The waiting is tough and you have waited a long time and I can understand why you are anxious. 

One suggestion is to see if your hospital has a cancellation list, so if someone does not need an appointment at short notice- they may contact you. It is worth asking. 

I had high grade endometrial cancer in 2022 and I had none of the symptoms that you are mentioning. My only symptom was heavy bleeding. Some ladies have little or no symptoms. Most commonly on here the symptom that sends someone to the doctor is abnormal bleeding after the menopause. 

An endometrial thickness of 14 mm when we are post menopausal is thicker than they would like and it is important that they rule out cancer. However there are several reasons for the hyperplasia (thickened lining)- sometimes it can be benign and just resolve in time, sometimes it can contain cells that could, in time, become cancer in some ladies and sometimes there may be a cancer present. This link has some info.

Endometrial Hyperplasia: Causes, Symptoms and Treatment

A pink discharge may well be a tiny amount of bleeding which can happen with hyperplasia. It is something that needs investigating but does not automatically mean cancer. Hence the hysteroscopy to take a closer look and to take a small biopsy to rule out cancer.

Blood in urine is not something that I have seen on here as being associated with endometrial cancer. It could well be something like an infection that caused it and as long as the doctor is aware - that's the main thing. If you get blood in your urine again whilst waiting then I would suggest contacting GP in case there is a UTI brewing. 

The hot flushes and head sweats is not something that I have seen on here to be connected with endometrial cancer. Sounds more like the normal peri menopause/menopause type issue. Also I know for me anxiety can sometimes make me be affected. Also if it is hot and I am doing a lot. 

With weight loss, whilst it can be connected to cancer- I would expect that this would be a big loss at a time when you were not trying to lose weight. I know when I am anxious or worried about something I can lose weight. If it is only a couple of pounds and you are under this big stress at the moment- would it not be more likely down to that?

With an advanced cancer there would more likely be additional symptoms and you haven't mentioned having for eg; pain, change in bowel habits, difficulty urinating, fatigue etc.

The biopsy that is normally taken during a hysteroscopy is the only thing that will say for sure whether there is any cancer present. So whilst you have got some symptoms that need double checking at this stage they are trying to rule out cancer as a potential cause. If the worst does happen and some cancer is found then when caught at an early stage, endometrial cancer is normally a very treatable cancer. 

I do remember how tough it is while waiting for tests and when you are worrying about cancer so perhaps consider giving the Support Line a call today and chat things through. It may help.

Jane

Thank you so much Jane for taking the time to help me. I just wish I could sleep and forget enough to sleep. I did put myself forward for the cancellation list with both the consultant and at my Pre op and hoped this may have happened by now but looking like still the 17th march. How i will cope until then i have no idea.  I did have slight cramping left side for a couple of days and i have inflammation of the bowel so it could be that . I have had very frequent stools over the years due to this. xx

apologies for not asking how you are now. I do hope you are fully recovered  how did you cope awaiting results?

17th is not too far ahead and in 2 weeks you will be at home and waiting for results. In the meantime we will help you cope. Its not easy I know- I just tried to keep busy and keep to normal routines. I used to go for long walks in the fresh air and that used to help clear my head. If it is something you could do, it may help with the sleeping. 

Talking to people helps. Am not sure if you have people around you that you can talk to but sometimes it helps to chat to someone who you don't know, which is why I suggested the Support Line. I used to worry about family and friends being upset. 

I would try not to look things up on the internet- it is natural to want to know more but far better to stick to asking people on here who will have been through similar. The Macmillan resources are great and accurate. And remember also that we are all individuals with our own medical history and the internet does not know those specific details. 

It is hard to focus on much else when waiting for tests but I found I watched more rubbish tv as well- anything to take my mind off things. I found if I sat at home and did nothing it gave too much time to think. And how ever much we worry it is not going to change the outcome. 

I also had a bit of a tidy spree at home and cleared out cupboards etc- a bit like an early Spring clean. 

Try to keep your normal routines, meals- eat regularly, even if you don't feel like it, go to bed and get up at the same time can help. I find a soak in a bubble bath with some Radox helps- the blue one with the lavender. I also have a lavender pillow spray. 

After I had my biopsy I chose to have my results by phone and was called by a nurse around a week later. Hopefully yours will also come back quickly. 

Jane