Potential Sister Here

Hey Ladies,

Glad I found this place. I've been reading through the forums since Friday night. I had a biopsy done about about 3 weeks ago and the VA hospital was supposed to call me with the results. Instead when I got home Friday I had a letter in the mail saying I've been scheduled for an off campus appointment with a civilian doctor. The letter didn't say what for or what kind of doctor but it did give the name. I'm a pretty good googler *grin* and quickly found out the doctor is a gyn-oncologist... well, I don't think they'd set me up with an appointment with one unless the biopsy was positive. So I'm about 95% sure I have endometrial cancer. I'll find out for sure tomorrow when I can make some phone calls.

I'm assuming my appointment (Wed the 6th) is just a preliminary, I don't think they'd just throw me straight into surgery without talking to the doctor, LoL. I'm sure I'll find out more then, heaven knows I would love to get rid of the awful discomfort that seems to be getting worse daily. I've been doing a lot of research the past couple days so I have all my ducks in a row when I go see the doctor.

I'm not freaking out at the thought of cancer or a hysterectomy, thankfully. I am somewhat concerned about the fact that I'm obese (100+ overweight), I have high bloodpressure and type II diabetes. I don't think this makes me a good candidate for any kind of surgery! I don't think it's going to help speed up recovery afterwards either. I am very lucky in that I have a supportive husband that works at home and family that's not too terribly far away.

Another thing that concerns me is that my VA hospital and the civilian gyn-oncologist they've set me up with is 3 hours away. This is no big deal for a consultation or the operation, but followup appointments could be a nightmare (especially since my husband doesn't drive and I'd have to get my father to drive down 2.5 hours to take me 3 hours away for an appointment... then back again).

I guess I just wanted to say hello and kind of vent about my situation to people that will understand. I'll be glad when I can call tomorrow and hopefully get a better idea about what's going on.

Hi and welcome. I'm glad you found us also. Please let us know what they say tomorrow. There seems to be alot on your plate but your attitude seems terrific and I think that will help carry you through whatever comes your way.
I'll be thinking of you.

Hello and ,
You sound like you are a brave Sister. I'd be a nervous reck. Well actually I was. I had a TAH on 11/01/07 due to fibroids and enlarged uterus with adenomyosis (sp) and I too am over weight and I have high blood pressure and am a diet controlled diabetic. The drs. know and take extra care of us. My healing was not so bad except for some fluid that collected on one side on the incision and caused it to open less than an inch. But all in all, I'm 120% better than ever. Good luck and please keep us posted on your outcome.
Princess G

Hello there!

I am glad you found us here! You have been very busy researching these last couple of days! What kind of symptoms are you having that led to you getting a biopsy?

I hope your instinct is wrong and that they are just referring you to a gyn/onc as a precaution....but if you find yourself in search of more info and support, please feel free to drop by the Cancer Concerns forum here on Hystersisters.com. We have a nice group of gals over there who have gone through many different kinds of gynecological cancers and they are very willing to offer support and information https://www.hystersisters.com/vb2/forumdisplay.php?f=6.

You sound like an amazingly strong person and I hope everything goes smoothly for you.

xoxoxoxo

Thanks for the welcome ladies

	Quote:
Originally Posted by k9equinewhine I am glad you found us here! You have been very busy researching these last couple of days! What kind of symptoms are you having that led to you getting a biopsy?

Let's see, since reading here I've found out I have a lot more symptoms than I thought, LoL. The main thing that started it is I've had problems with a clear, watery, vaginal discharge. Now, this has actually been going since sometime in 1999. When it first showed up I thought it was urine and that I was leaking from my urethra, but that wasn't it. It wasn't awful at first but eventually got to the point over the years that I was wearing a tampon 24/7 (not good, I know). It had gotten even worse over the past years to the point where I'd soak through an ultra tampon in about 2 hours. Keep in mind this is a clear liquid and not blood.

I had mentioned it to several doctors but nothing was ever done about it. Finally when I got my new ob-gyn at the VA hospital in Murpheesboro she thought I might have PCOS and scheduled me for an ultrusound. I had my first one in March of '07 but it didn't get discussed until my regular exam in November. My uterus was enlarged and I showed fibroid tumors. The doctor told me to stop wearing tampons and wear pads (which I did immediately).

Once I did that things actually seemed to get worse. Not only did I still have the clear discharge I started bleeding much more often. Now I've *always* been irregular except for the 7 years I was on the pill back in the 80's. But it used to be I would go for months without a period and then have a short one and then go months again without one, etc. Now I started bleeding more often and for longer. As it stands I've pretty much been spotting/bleeding non-stop since the middle of December. Not only that but since the end of November I've had a continually increasing discomfort/pressure/pain in my pelvic area. The pressure makes me feel like I have to defecate all the time. That started out just occasionally, usually in the afternoon, now it's almost every day, several times a day, and usually at night. It's worse when I lay down so I've been sleeping upright on the couch a lot (my poor husband misses me and I miss him).

My ob-gyn scheduled me for a second ultrasound followed by an appointmen on the same day, which I had on the 8th of this month. I didn't get the same doctor so I had to go through the whole explanation again (not only that she had a student doctor with her and another male doctor, LoL). That doctor agreed that it sounded like I PCOS even though the ultrasound didn't show it. She talked about what could be done for the fibroids but wanted to do a biopsy to rule out cancer before they considered doing that.

Like I said, never got the phone call, just the letter sending me to a gyn-oncologist.

Some other things I've read on here that sound like the could be related are things like my constant tiredness. I always attributed that to not sleeping well due to my weight (which probably does contribute). I have a real hard time losing weight, I managed to lose 40 lbs. a few years ago but then couldn't get my weight to budge no matter what for over 6 months (needless to say I quit trying and it all came back). I've had several episodes of flooding over the years, but never consistently, usually years apart, and they never last long.

As I tell my husband, I'm a wreck

Welcome to the forums.

I hope that you get all your questions answered by the doctors very soon.

Your sisters are here to support you no matter what you find out. We'll be by you every step of the way.

Downyocean but you can call me Kay

Well, it's confirmed. Endometrial cancer. I have a consult with the doctor at 10:30 on Feb. 6th followed by a pre-op appointment at 1:15. Had to tell my father, that was tough. I was a little shaky for a bit after it was confirmed but I've talked it out with my hubby and feel better now.

Glad you folks are here!

Fhyreworks, I am truly sorry for your diagnosis. We're here to help you with your fight. Hugs are coming your way.

Kay

Sorry to hear about your diagnosis. Have you gotten a date for surgery yet? Mine's 3/11. Hang in there!

I'm sure they'll set my date when I go next week. I can't imagine they'd have me set up for a pre-op appointment without doing the surgery shortly thereafter. Thanks for all the hugs Honestly, the sooner the better. The daily discomfort/pain/bleeding is starting to take a toll on me mentally and physically. I just hope it goes away after recovery.