I might be having a hysterectomy........

Hello, all--

I may be posting prematurely, but here goes!

I'm an almost-53-year-old, peri-menopausal woman who has had light but prolonged vaginal bleeding for about 8 months now. I just had a D&C, after a transvaginal ultrasound showed an endometrial stripe thickness of 1.4 cm (WAY too thick, I gather). Material from the D&C was sent to the path lab for analysis; I'm supposed to hear the results tomorrow. BTW, my mother died of breast cancer; my maternal aunt died of uterine cancer, and I have a long history of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome.

I've been reading, reading, and reading--and am still perplexed at the variety of opinions out there regarding physicians' responses to hyperplasia (which I suspect I have). Some physicians regard ALL hyperplasias as potentially cancerous, and recommend a hysterectomy. At the opposite end, some feel that ONLY the most "extreme" kind--complex hyperplasia with atypia--is pre-cancerous or cancerous, and warrants a hysterectomy.

What's a woman to do? I don't know yet what my ob/gyn will recommend, but I guess I don't want to rush into a hysterectomy if I don't have to....or, NOT have one if I really should!

Is there anyone else out there with my "profile"--similar symptoms; similar age; similar risk factors? If so, did you have a hysto because of ANY kind of hyperplasia, or because of hyperplasia with atypical cells?

Guess I want to be as educated as possible without being the actual doc! :-) Thanks.

Hi Celia

Welcome to Hyster Sisters -- I'm glad you found us.

Good for you for WANTING to be educated! There's actually so much information out that that it's scary. And there are also many websites that have a real agenda -- thankfully, this is NOT one of them!

You might want to visit the Options and Alternatives Forum --- here's a link:

Options & Alternatives

You can also search this website by clicking the "Search" button at the top of the page and typing in "hyperplasia" to see what other sisters in this position have experienced.

This is a great place to ask questions and do research. We're so glad you're here!

z

Celia

I had my hysterectomy in July 2001 (age 56) after suffering years of unpredictable bouts of heavy and uncontrollable flooding due to fibroids. A hysterectomy was the last thing that I wanted but after the worst ever bleed I ended up in hospital and realised that I simply had as much as I could bear.

In the waiting time for surgery my fibroids had grown tremendously and the surgeon had a long and difficult operation to perform. He forewarned me that he may have to take my cervix and ovaries due to the sheer bulk involved and he did!

My histopathology report showed that everything was (thankfully) benign, but there was stromal cortical hyperplasia in both ovaries. The operation was really performed to improve my quality of life, not because hyperplasia was suspected so, I suppose that maybe it was just as well that my ovaries went too!

I realise that our symptoms are not really similar, but thought that you may like some feedback from another perspective.

Good Luck!
Leni

Thanks for the replies. folks! :-) I'm definitely going to take a cruise through your forums and archives. I'm sure there are a number of sisters who have had hysterectomies as a result of the same symptoms/risk factors/age consideration that I have.

Great web site, by the way--LOTS of stuff....I'm sure it'll be a while before I've explored everything!

Thanks again--

Celia