Uterine Cancer Survivor

Thank you for sharing your story Cheryl.
I was in the same boat as you: active, non-smoker, had checkups regularly, careful about what I ate and didn't fit the demographic. My doctors were just as shocked as I was to learn of my diagnosis. I'm 34 yrs old and have been diagnosed with uterine cancer. Since it's a low grade cancer, my doctor has offered an option to try high dose Hormonal Therapy as a means to avoid surgery.

I haven't seen any comments on this forum of women who have been issued the same treatment plan. It's only been a 1.5 mos since my treatment began, but I'm getting all types of side effects. I'm wondering if surgery would have been a better choice, given the side effects I'm withstanding.
Has anyone else experienced hormone therapy treatment?

I do think there is lack of uterince cancer awareness and women think if they have a normal pap and normal mammogram they are safe. We need to be shouting from our rooftops that this cancer does not have a screening tool. You may have no symptoms except nonspecific and some do not have bleeding. Needs to be a commercial where a woman is smiling and then says I had my mammogram and pap but I have uterine cancer solemnly. WE NEED AWARENESS AND TO MOBILIZE. If found early it is much more curable. How about demanding transvaginal ultrasounds when pap smears are done?? That would safe lives and easeier to perform than a mammpogram!! WE are unheard.

I too am a 26 year old female who recently (sept 09) was diagnosed with endometrial stromal sarcoma, low grade. It came as a shock to me. I was bleeding for 3 weeks with severe pain. After several visits to my gyno with no answers as to why I was having horrible pain and bleeding, I took it upon myself to go to the ER. There, they performed a vaginal US..several hours later the doctor came back to tell me I was severely anemic (with absolutely no signs or looks of it) and I had to stay over night to have a blood transfusion. A few days in the hospital and 3 blood transfusions later the US report came back stating I had a large tumor in my uterus and surgery was to be scheduled. I was terrified. I had my surgery vaginally and through the top outer abdominal area (like a c-section). Thinking everything turned out okay, I left the hospital feeling great although still recovering. One week later I was called into the doctors office and I was told that I have Endometrial Stromal Sarcoma (Uterine Cancer) and there was still 4cm of the tumor left inside me. I was referred to a specialist and went to see her. She recommended I have a complete hysterectomy. However, because I have no children and strongly would like to have children I wanted to see what other options I had. She referred me to a fertility doctor who I went to see. My option were good as long as we lefted my ovaries in. Later, on Dec. 3, 09' I had the hysterectomy done along with the removal of the lymph nodes. The report came back positive to having cancer in the lymph nodes and I am scared to death that the cancer has spread elsewhere. However, I have not let my hopes down. I am a strong young woman. There was one complication after the surgery and that was the fluid collection. I was in horrible pain for a day due to the fluid collection in my left leg. I went to the ER to have it drained. I feel better now and I'm waiting to see my doctor to get results. I hope it's not an infection. I just want this all to be over with so I can go continue living my life. If anyone else understands what I'm going through I would like to hear from you. Vanessa.ruth.gonzalez@gmail.com

I am a single Mom with five children, and 14 grandchildren. I have had a patch of white cells on the side of my tongue for many years. At first it was diagnosed as Thrush, and would go away will an antifungal swish and swallow. However two years ago it was getting more painful, and stopped responding to the Nystatin. I didn't have insurance, but my teachers encouraged me to get it diagnosed. So I did get a biopsy, and it turned out to be nothing at that time.
This past summer the spot got much more painful than usual, so I decided to go in to have it checked out again. The Dr I had this time wanted to do a much more intense biopsy, and as it turned out I was diagnosed with stage one squamous cell carcinoma. When I went back to have the stitches taken out the Dr told me that they would have to go back in again, because they didn't get all of the cancer. As it turned out, there was another lesion that wasn't seen before. So I went back in the following Monday to have another spot removed. This time they took much longer to examine everything that they felt was suspicious. Now I am preparing to receive radiation treatments. I will get a treatment every day, Mon-Fri for six weeks. One of the side effects of the radiation will be a 2nd degree burn on my skin where the radiation will be directed. But it will also burn the inside of my esophogus, so I am going to be getting a feeding tube put in so that I can still get the nutrition I need to fight this when I can't eat or even swallow.
I am just getting started with this, but I will not let it defeat me. I am strong, and will beat this. The fact that I got in right away when it started to change will be the difference. I could have buried my head in the sand, and just ignored it, but I love my kids and grandkids too much. I want to watch them grow up, and be active in their lives.