Coping with an Unexpected Diagnosis of Endometrial Cancer
- A 41-year-old real estate agent wishing to become a mom learns she has stage 1 endometrial cancer while undergoing health checks despite showing no signs or symptoms of the cancer.
- Endometrial cancer begins when cancerous cells form in the tissues of the endometrium or lining of the uterus. Symptoms typically associated with this type of cancer include vaginal bleeding and pelvic pain.
- In early-stage disease, removing just the tumor may offer a cure, while later stages may call for more extensive surgery and other treatments.
- Surgery is the most common treatment option for endometrial cancer. Chemotherapy and radiation are also options; however, they are more useful when the cancer is in more advanced stages.
- A hysterectomy is a procedure that removes part or all of the uterus (or womb), often along with the cervix. Women who receive a diagnosis of uterine, ovarian, and cervical cancer may have their cancer treated with a hysterectomy.
A successful real estate agent decided she wanted to finally have children of her own after soundly laying the groundwork for her career. However, as she underwent a health check to see if her 41-year-old body was up for rearing a child, she learned she was facing endometrial cancer despite showing no signs or symptoms.
“It was hard to absorb because my plans of becoming a mother immediately evaporated. They told me I shouldn’t be thinking of having a child – I needed to focus all my energy on trying to survive,” Tina O’Connor told FEMAIL, a subsidiary of news outlet The Daily Mail.
Read MoreDays after undergoing a health check, O’Connor recalls a phone call from the hospital that upended her life as she knew it. She soon went to see her doctor to learn about her health status.
“My doctor was fidgeting and couldn’t make eye contact with me. That’s when I knew something was wrong,” O’Connor said.
Her doctor told her that they found cancer and that she began treatment immediately.
“I had absolutely no symptoms; there was nothing suspicious or abnormal about my health,” O’Connor said.
Typically, signs of endometrial cancer may include abnormal vaginal bleeding, pelvic pain, and unusual vaginal discharge.
However, she said she experienced no pain or discomfort in O’Connor’s case.
“It was difficult because I didn’t know if the cancer was going to be treatable. The doctors just told me I was going to need a hysterectomy,” O’Connor said.
A hysterectomy is a procedure that removes part or all of the uterus (or womb), often along with the cervix. Women who receive a diagnosis of uterine, ovarian, and cervical cancer may have their cancer treated with a hysterectomy.
A silver lining for O’Connor came when she learned her cancer was in its early stages, making it easier to treat. She was also able to preserve her fertility to keep hope alive of having children after she finished cancer treatment.
WATCH: Treatment Options for Early-Stage Endometrial Cancer
“I went through the process of egg retrieval because they were going to take everything out – my uterus, ovaries, cervix, fallopian tubes,” O’Connor explained.
Cancer patients are encouraged to talk to their doctors about their desires to have children before undergoing cancer treatment in case fertility preservation is an option. Egg, sperm, and embryo freezing are common approaches to fertility preservation, but other options exist.
RELATED: Fertility Preservation After a Cancer Diagnosis
O’Connor is grateful her doctors were able to discover the cancer early when it’s more treatable. She did not need chemotherapy or radiation because the cancer was only in stage 1, meaning it had not spread to other parts of her body, such as the lymph nodes. She now receives tests every six months to monitor her treatment progress.
Expert Resources to Help Patients Living With Endometrial Cancer
- Advanced or Recurrent Endometrial Cancer Patients Have New Hopeful Combination Therapy Option
- Combo Immunotherapy-Chemo Treatment May Help Slow Progression of Advanced Endometrial Cancer: Studies Show Promising Results
- Hope for Endometrial Cancer: FDA Approves Durvalumab/Chemotherapy Combination for Hard-to-Treat Advanced Disease
- ‘The Google Earth of Endometrial Cancer’ — a New, Molecular Snapshot Could Lead to Better Treatment of the Disease
Understanding Endometrial Cancer
Endometrial cancer begins when cancerous cells form in the tissues of the endometrium or lining of the uterus.
After a woman has been diagnosed with endometrial cancer, her doctor will stage the cancer based on its spread within the body. A pelvic exam and imaging tests help your doctor learn if the cancer has spread or metastasized.
WATCH: Different Types of Endometrial Cancer
Some common risk factors for endometrial cancer include:
- Obesity
- Taking estrogen-only hormone replacement therapy after menopause
- Having never given birth or started menstruation at an early age
- Having a family history of endometrial cancer
Common symptoms of endometrial cancer may include:
- Pelvic pain: Some women may experience pain or discomfort in the pelvic area.
- Pain during intercourse: This symptom is less common but can occur in some cases.
- Unusual vaginal discharge: Watery or blood-tinged discharge may be a sign of endometrial cancer.
- Weight loss: Unexplained weight loss can sometimes be associated with cancer.
- Urinary problems: Difficulty or pain when urinating.
Treatment Options
Treatment for endometrial cancer includes surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and targeted therapy. Surgery is the most common treatment method.
“There are a lot of new exciting treatments for advanced endometrial cancer that we’ve just discovered over the last couple of years,” Dr. Dana Chase, gynecologic oncologist at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, says.
“So even if you’re diagnosed with an advanced stage, ask your treating doctor what are the latest treatments or even potentially is there a clinical trial I can participate in for my endometrial cancer? … There’s a lot of research on new treatments for endometrial cancer, which is very exciting,” Dr. Chase continued.
The most common procedure is a hysterectomy, where the surgeon removes the uterus. They often also remove both ovaries and fallopian tubes in bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. This helps lower the risk of the cancer spreading or coming back.
WATCH: What to Know About Endometrial Cancer-Related Surgery
“Doctors usually treat early-stage endometrial cancer with surgery as the main approach,” explains Dr. B.J. Rimel, a gynecologic oncologist at Cedar-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. “During the surgery, doctors may also perform staging to see how far the cancer has spread. This involves taking out and examining nearby lymph nodes and tissues.”
Chemotherapy and radiation are options, particularly when the cancer is in more advanced stages.
Treating endometrial cancer with hormone therapy involves removing hormones or blocking their ability to help cancer cells grow. Targeted therapy treatment uses drugs designed to target specific cancer cells.
“Hormonal therapy commonly works because most endometrial cancers are estrogen receptor-positive,” Dr. Michael Toboni, an assistant professor in the division of gynecologic oncology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, tells SurvivorNet.
“So if you give progesterone, it can counteract the estrogen feeding the cancer. This is commonly given with multiple anti-estrogen medications or an anti-estrogen medication in combination with another medication that inhibits a common pathway in endometrial cancer.”
Each treatment method can have side effects, and the impact on the body may differ depending on the treatment type. If you are moving toward treating endometrial cancer, talking with your doctor about potential side effects and how to minimize their impact is important.
Questions to Ask Your Doctor
If you’re battling cancer or on the other side of it, and you’re struggling with your outlook on life, here are some questions you may consider asking your doctor to get the conversation started:
- What can I do if I’m struggling to be thankful for what I have in my life?
- Are there local resources for people wishing to improve their mental health?
- What else can I do to help reduce my stress level during my cancer journey?
- It’s difficult for me to find happiness and joy. How can I find help?
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