Female Endometrial and Uterine Cancer
Well, life was moving along smoothly, with no major hitches and at 54 years old, that was fine by me. I had gone through menopause, and whilst I no longer bled, I suffered terribly with hot flushes.
I seemed to drip with sweat at any time, day and night. No matter what the season. Sleeping with me was like sleeping in a furnace!
And ladies, believe me, I know I'm not alone. I also lived a life of terrible pain. Suffering from a lower back injury at the age of 17 years, I have dealt with shocking pain that has gradually gotten worse as I've aged.
I welcomed menopause. My monthly cycle was the most painful experience for many, many years. I would often double over in pain in the middle of the night. Reluctantly I would drag myself out of bed and run a hot bath that I would lie in until it cooled. But before I jumped in I'd madly rummage around for a strong painkiller like
Nurofen. Nurofen is the only over-the-counter pain killer I have tried that worked for me. By the time I left the bath, the pain would have died down to a rather savage ache, rather than feeling like I was being ripped apart from the inside.
I asked my girlfriends if they went through the same thing, but none did.
I suspected I had
Endometritis, but as I could not have children, I never saw a
gynaecologist.
I just didn't think I needed to. If in doubt, CHECK IT OUT
Two years after I no longer had my monthly cycle I had a bleed. It was heavy and full of thick clots but only lasted a day and night. I didn't think that much of it. I'd heard of spotting and thought it had occurred because of a treatment I had recently had for another condition I have.
Luckily, I told my herbalist when I saw her a week later.
She advised me that it was concerning and that I should see my doctor.
Because I needed regular blood tests, I had a doctor's appointment the following day.
Private health insurance is expensive but the benefits outway the negatives, so I pay for it every year. The decision I made over 20 years ago has played a massive part in what happened next.
After leaving the doctor's practice I started walking home and within five minutes the specialist's office was on the phone booking me in for an appointment in 45 minutes time!
It was the 22 ND of December and my fantastic specialist wanted me to have an MRI done and then go to the hospital that day. So it came about that on the 23 RD of December I was the last surgery of the year and it was confirmed I had cancer of the Endometrium.
She could not tell me how invasive it was and had, over her Christmas break, contacted a Surgical Specialist dealing with Cervical Cancers. It was to be the first surgery of the new year. But it was to be a slow wait until February kicked in, and by that time I just wanted it done.
My Specialist explained to me that I should have a
Total Hysterectomy and not just one part of my reproductive organs removed. If I only had part of my reproductive system removed then there is a larger chance of it coming back again, and because I would no longer bleed, I would have no idea until it was too late.
I have a rare form of cancer that could attack other organs, but because they don't know much about it and how it acts, I am on a watch-and-act plan. I have 6 monthly checkups and blood tests.
I am a positive person, and I am telling myself that it has been dealt with and will never return. But I digress ...
"Tell all your girlfriends and any female you know that if you have a bleed, or sort of a bleed between cycles or at menopause, that it is not normal. YOU must see your DR and get a specialist appointment. Cervical Cancer has the best cancer recovery rate as long as you get it early enough. There ARE NOT MANY SIGNS, BUT BLEEDING IS ONE OF THEM.
Unless you are still wanting Children, think seriously about having a total hysterectomy. This is your safest option, says my specialist. If there is nothing there, there is nothing to attack.
I am not a Doctor or medical professional and this is a personal blog from my experiences.
The Surgery
The surgery took just a few hours and was a clean in and out. I was lucky enough to have keyhole surgery, which is much less invasive and has a much faster recovery time. But the best news was that the cancer itself was contained to the endometrium wall and had not spread into other organs of my lymph nodes. This meant no chemotherapy.
I had just 4 small incisions, (one of which was a drain) and spent just two days extra in the hospital. The only pain I really experienced from the surgery was from the drain, and that was removed 24 hrs after surgery. The pain killers given to me masked any other pain.
The most remarkable thing of all was that once I stopped taking the pain killers, I noticed I had virtually no more pain. I'll say that again. NO MORE PAIN
The pain I had always believed was coming from my bad back was Endometritis, and I had suffered for 30 years when I did not have to. Literally Blood, sweat and tears!
MY Symptoms
For 14 months before my cancer discovery, I was very unwell. After seeing the doctor and having numerous tests, all to no avail, I sought the help of a wonderful herbalist, a nurse before changing professions. Within months it was found that I have a condition known as MTHFR. In easy terms, I am a non-methylator and don't absorb my nutrients. So I started taking a series of herbal remedies. - More on MTHFR later.
I will tell you the symptoms I'm sure came from cancer and not anything else.
I started to retain more fluid and develop a bit of a belly. Belly fat wrapped around my midsection and thighs, but at my age, I presumed it was just part of my lifestyle and working life-changing. I still had terrible heat issues and felt even more tired than usual.
But one night, I was making soup, and I tasted a mouthful, and within minutes I was throwing up. Somehow I suspected I had given myself food poisoning and tipped the soup out. A few days later, I was still throwing up several times a day and was in enormous pain. Pain-like contractions, constantly for thirty or forty minutes, then it would stop, but only to start again. And I was still vomiting, hot, tired and exhausted. The DR gave me some painkillers and said it was food poisoning. I had also thought food poisoning, but I had done a good job of it to last so long.
Three weeks later it all stopped: the pain, constant vomiting, and the overly swollen stomach.
Then with a vengeance, I had another attack, worse than the first. I was trying not to scream from pain. Again, like I was giving birth twenty-four hours a day.
I ended up having every test and exam you can think of ( including an internal exam) and they found nothing. My imaging report said that I had refused an internal exam? Not all imaging centres are the same. Some are more thorough than others, get recommendations as to the best centres as you can. And not from your Doctor. Find a nurse or other medical professional that knows the truth.
I had an attack and vomited 11 times in a row. I had nothing to bring up but foam by then. All by stomach acid was gone. I was delirious with pain and had had enough, so got my husband to take me to the hospital. I refused to go home and said I wanted to be admitted.
Again I had a CT scan, x-ray, blood test, you name it, but NO internal examination. Even though my main symptom was lower abdominal pain, and 'feeling like I was trying to give birth'.
The painkillers kept it to a minimum but did not eliminate it.
I asked to be discharged around a week later and thought I was going home to die. Even though I have health insurance AND an Endoscopist Specialist, the Doctor in charge refused to contact him and refer me to him.
I was told I have reflux and a stomach ulcer ( if you vomited like I did, of course, your poor internal system would be burnt) and was given prescription tablets to take. I stopped taking them. I had another colonoscopy and nothing was found. My wonderful Endoscopist told me not to take any more tablets for an ulcer as I was all clear.
Until I had the bleed 14 months later, that became my life. I carried sick bags with me everywhere. I had heavy-duty prescription pain killers with me at all times. I ate very little and kept away from deep-fried foods, oily food, salty foods, acidic foods, animal fats. I learnt that these would often set off vomiting attacks.
I had to virtually shut down my business, I could not do it any more. My system is already depleted from the MTHFR and does not have enough fuel to fight of Cancer and keep me healthy. Cancer won the first round, and I won the second. It's gone and has been dealt with.
Unbelievably, I virtually now have no pain. The back pain that had plagued me for all of my adult life has gone. I get very few migraines any more and mt heat issues are now under control.
Endometritis was the cause of those problems, but because of my back injury, no one suspected anything else.
I always suspected I was affected by it, but I did not realise the amount of pain that can be associated with it. I would be doubled over in pain, sweating from it and trying not to vomit. Not every month, but around eight months of the year. I would also experience discomfort and start to feel bloated on ovulation. For days before my period arrived, I could start to feel sick. But I work for myself and had to keep going.
I encourage all females that have a very painful, often clotted period to see a Doctor and a Specialist.
