Endometrial cancer dx before or after surgery?

Hi all. I have a question maybe you can answer. Did you find out about the cancer before or after the hyst? I had a D&C which showed endometrial hyperplasia, complex with atypia. I was told an oncologist would assist with the LAVH/BSO and determine if the lymph nodes will have to be removed? From this thread it soulds like you knew before the hysterectomy...apparently I was told when the uterus is removed, they will cut it in half and biopsy it right there to determine "cancer". Does something sound wrong? I have a pre-op coming up in a few weeks and already have a list of questions. Is it possible I have cancer and am not being told until after the hyst - why take everything out? I am confused, sorry.

Hi Senga, I found out I had cancer after the surgery. Both an utlrasound and a D&C indicated complex hyperplasia with atypia (CHA) cannot rule out cancer. My gyn who has much experience with this cancer and did the D&C did say she "did not like what she saw." I had wanted to avoid surgery since there still was not a definitive cancer call but was told by her and the gyn/onc that regrettably sometimes with a CHA DX the only way to definitely determine if cancer is there is to exam the entire uterus and this can only be done after surgical removal.
FYI, an initial path report usually is done during the surgery but sometimes these result can change after the entire uterus is subject to pathological study. My initial path report indicated a stage 1A (tumor restricted to the endometrial lining) but the final report came in as a stage 1B (tumor affects less than1/2 of the muscular layer thickness)
Hope this clarifies things somewhat.

Peggiesue - thank you so much, you are a breath of fresh air. I finally understood this thing I have. I guess my doc does not want to say anything until the hyst is done which makes sense, but you explained alot to me. So I will just have to wait and see what happens and deal with it when I find out more. I was just wondering why do a total hyst if nothing is wrong. All he kept saying is I am pre-cancerous and if I dont get it done, I will get cancer. But from what I am reading (and that website explained alot too, thank you) I am learning more and more - will have lots of questions for him at my preop.

Senga219,

My endometrial cancer was diagnosed after my 5/31 hyster from the path report. My gyn/onc assured me by phone that the reports came back saying contained. He never said the stage or grade as he knows I get anxiety and I did not ask because I felt very scared and afraid. He also told me that it was well hidden and very glad we chose to do the surgery. I have an appt with him July 3 to go over all reports and that is when he will tell me what the team has decided for my treatment. Hope this helps you. Be well.

Ok I am understanding this more. Apparently he will wait to see what happens with the hyst. He has another doctor working with him who is a gyn/oncologist. I have to pay him a visit too. But apparently he is the one who will check the uterus and determine how far the cancer, if any, has gone. There is so much weighing on other things, so guess I will just have to wait and see, which is the hardest part. But thank you so much, I dont feel alone and at least I have someone to talk to. Hubby is a doll but all he keeps saying is I will be alright. It's nice to hear but I am still scared. I almost lost my life last year with a gallbladder operation - I was totally infected from a perforated gallbladder that was leaking into my system and they did emergency operation at 10:30 PM - I was on antibiotics for 10 days in the hospital....so you can see why I am nervous. And the waiting is driving me crazy. But "talking" here is helping alot.

	Quote:
Originally Posted by Senga219 Hi all. I have a question maybe you can answer. Did you find out about the cancer before or after the hyst? I had a D&C which showed endometrial hyperplasia, complex with atypia. I was told an oncologist would assist with the LAVH/BSO and determine if the lymph nodes will have to be removed? From this thread it soulds like you knew before the hysterectomy...apparently I was told when the uterus is removed, they will cut it in half and biopsy it right there to determine "cancer". Does something sound wrong? I have a pre-op coming up in a few weeks and already have a list of questions. Is it possible I have cancer and am not being told until after the hyst - why take everything out? I am confused, sorry.

Hi Senga219:

I knew before my surgery that it was cancer, but pre-op tests showed a lower grade/stage. It wasn't until after my surgical path results came back that I knew just how bad it was and that I needed further treatment.

Hope and everything turns out well for you.