Hi
I’m hoping someone might be able to offer some advice.
My mum (84) had a couple of urine infections last year, which she got antibiotics for and got countless blood tests over a period of months. The doctors at her GP Practice said her sodium levels were very low. They didn’t give her anything so I got her electrolytes and the next time she was told her sodium levels had improved. On her next visit the locum GP spent some time reading her notes because she had never met her before. She decided to send my mum for a CT scan of her kidneys and liver. We thought that perhaps there was an issue with her kidneys because she’s had Type 2 diabetes for around the past 20 years.
My mum and the rest of the family were flabbergasted when her usual GP wanted to speak to her face-to-face to discuss the results. He told her there is a 7cm lesion in her womb, 1cm lesion in her liver and two nodules in her lungs. He asked her if her ˋaffairs‘ were in order. He said to hope for the best but prepare for the worst.
My mum has had no symptoms of womb cancer however she was sent to got two biopsies from her womb because they think that’s where the ˋproblem´ started. They have indicated that they think it’s cancer of the womb ,but they can’t give a definitive diagnosis until the results of the biopsies.
She got the results yesterday. The biopsies were inconclusive! They now want to take a biopsy of her liver. My mum is a very independent and strong woman (she has lost a lot of weight in the past few months and feels very tired though) but the results have left her feeling anxious. She’s not sure why they’re moving onto the liver. I’ve suggested she phones the nurse (one has been assigned to my mum as a point of contact) as she needs a more detailed explanation. I’ve said I’m happy to with her when she makes the call as it might help to have a second pair of ears listening to the explanation. I know everyone has an individual experience but I just wanted to share this in case anyone in the group can offer advice.
Thanks,
SJ
Hello SJ
Welcome to the Womb group.
I am really sorry to hear that your Mum has been undergoing tests for possible womb cancer. I hope that you can both find out very soon.
The most common symptom of womb cancer can be bleeding although some ladies may not always have this. There can be other signs though that something is amiss.
From reading what you have put it sounds like the low sodium levels triggered the investigations. Low sodium levels can be a sign that something is wrong and this can sometimes be a sign that a cancer may be developing. Her weight loss and her fatigue are also a sign that further investigation is advisable.
When the scan showed the lesion in her womb that would normally lead to the biopsies being done.
Sometimes biopsies can be inconclusive for different reasons. There could be problems processing the sample. The sample may not be big enough. There may be insufficient affected tissue in the sample. In these circumstances they would normally suggest another biopsy.
As they have found the lesion in the womb and also a small one in her liver- they can look at her liver and take samples from that. If there is a cancer that started in her womb then the sample from her liver would be able to show that- due to the nature of the cells. So if someone has a cancer that starts in one place and goes to another place- the cancer cells show up as from the original place. I remember my consultant explaining this to me.
I understand that this is really hard for the both of you. I think that phoning her nurse is a really good idea and perhaps make a list of questions that you want to ask. Then you can go through them one by one. It is only a biopsy that will show if Mum has cancer or if it can be ruled out. Given her symptoms and her scan results the liver biopsy sounds like an appropriate next step.
We do have the Support Line available from 8am-8pm daily if you or Mum need to talk things through.
I hope that you both get answers soon, in the meantime if there is anything you want to ask, please do so.
Jane
