Thickening to the lining of the womb…

Thickening of the womb lining is fairly common and is often caused by an excess of the hormone oestrogen caused in part by being overweight. It can be treated but first they generally need to check that it's not cancerous. There is usually bleeding but the only way to tell for sure is by having a biopsy/hysteroscopy test at hospital. You need to liaise with your team/GP in order to get the womb lining tested in order to exclude cancerous cells. That's the starting point generally but there is also a chance that it may be simply be benign hyperplasia (thickening).

Hi caroley

Welcome to the Womb group.

Am not sure what symptoms, if any that you have been experiencing that lead to the investigations. 

CA125 is a blood marker that is normally done where there are symptoms that could be gynaecological. On its own it does not diagnose or rule out cancer. Any level below 35 is considered normal. A raised level would indicate the need for further investigation however there can be different reasons for a raised level- eg; infection. So it's useful but only part of the picture. 

In your case because it was higher than expected the next step is normally a pelvic and transvaginal scan. 

When this was done they found that the womb lining was thicker than would normally be expected. This is called hyperplasia and there can be different types. Some types can be more concerning than others and would need treatment/further investigation. It is most common in post menopausal ladies and can cause abnormal bleeding, pain- however sometimes there may be no symptoms. Typical hyperplasia normally would resolve without treatment. Atypical hyperplasia is a type of precancer that may need some treatment. 

What I would expect to happen next is that you would be invited to have a hysteroscopy (camera test) and/or a biopsy of the endometrium. This would hopefully be to rule out cancer. If cancer was found to be present then endometrial cancer is normally a very treatable cancer. First line treatment would normally be a hysterectomy.

Hyperplasia is not unusual and is caused by an imbalance of the hormones oestrogen and progesterone. This is why it is more common around menopause. 

It can be a worrying time going through tests so if it would help to talk things through, do give the Support Line a call.

Jane

Hi Jane,

thanks for your reply. It was very helpful! 
The Symptom that took me to doc was a change in bowel habit. Then tests revealed positive FIT test and raised CA125. 

Thank you… your replies are appreciated. 

Hope that you get answers soon.