Endometrial Cancer Treatment

Question: Is tamoxifen a must for ER/PR negative menstruating lady for breast cancer treatment? i m 32 years old treated for breast cancer 1 year before and was advised tamoxifen. since i had endometrial hyperplasia, tamoxifen was stopped and started letrozol. now i m advised to stop that also and go back to tamoxifen, ER/PR negative. what can be done?

Answer: Tamoxifen (also known as Nolvadex) is a synthetic compound similar to estrogen. It mimics the action of estrogen on the bones and uterus, but blocks the effects of estrogen on breast tissue. Tamoxifen is used as adjuvant hormonal therapy immediately after surgery in early stages of breast cancer and in advanced metastatic breast cancer (stages III and above) in women. Tamoxifen belongs to a family of compounds called antiestrogens. Antiestrogens are used in cancer therapy to inhibit the effects of estrogen on target tissues. Estrogen is a steroid hormone secreted by the female ovary. Depending on the target tissue, estrogen can stimulate the growth of female reproductive organs and breast tissue, play a role in the female menstrual cycle, and protect against bone loss by binding to estrogen receptors on the outside of cells within the target tissue. Antiestrogens act selectively against the effects of estrogen on target cells in a variety of ways, thus they are called selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs). Depending on various health factors and improvement of the patient antiestrogens are stopped and started again. I feel your Oncologist might have felt the necessity to stop and then again resume Tamoxifen in your case. It is in order to give negative menstruating breast cancer patients. Hence you may take it as advised by your doctor. Best of luck. - Addition - The reason for Tamoxifen may be because ER/PR+/HER2- cancers are often not extremely responsive to chemotherapy. However, they generally do respond to Tamoxifen.-

Question: do you or anyone you know have endometrial cancer and are you or they cured now ? Did you have to get a full hysterectomy? did you need to follow it up with radiation treatments? I feel great and look great right now its just i have extra bleeding going on down there. So I have to get an endometrial biopsy to check for cancer. If the results come back positive i feel like just not going through all the pain of surgery and radiation....is that being to selfish?

Answer: all depends on whether you want to live or die the choice is yours

Question: Would Americans who think British people "die of Cancer whilst waiting for treatment"? (on the NHS) beleive me if I told you that my mother was diagnosed with endometrial cancer in February and operated on just TWO WEEKS later? On the NHS. The cancer is now clear. The NHS has its faults but for a low income family like us its a godsend. There was no waiting when my mum was diagnosed, she saw a specialist straight away and was booked and in for a hysterectomy within two weeks. I have never ever ever heard of anyone having to "wait" for chemo or urgent surgery. It just does not happen. There are waiting times for non-urgent surgery but then we also have private medical treatment here so that anyone with the money can "go private" if they don't want to wait. Some of the people on "waiting lists" are waiting for things like IVF treatment! I'm sure someone will reply to this with an NHS horror story but in my experience I've had nothing but excellent treatment on the NHS and I feel very secure knowing its there! Don't beleive everything you see/hear on CNN! Tinman. Your "friends" are talking rubbish., I'd like to see them claim it "doesn't work" when they are ill and can't afford to pay private medical bills. Or they go bankrupt because they have cancer. They can moan all they like but when the chips are down they'd be glad of it. If you ask me the American system doesn't work. A country where an 18 month old baby dies because the hospital turns her away (yes I've seen Sicko) its totally wrong. The NHS "works" just fine. Anyone who says it doesn't is talking rubbish. Jess - we pay about 20% tax. That covers everything, including all our medical treatment. You pay less than that but you stil have to pay extra for your Health Care Insurance, which might not even cover you when you need it! And then there's all the Co-pays, Deductibles, Drug costs, I thin you're the ones who are spending the most, not us. Those of you who criticise the NHS - what would be better? A private-only system where the poorest and the under-insured die because they can't access the care they need? OK for the rich and middle class I suppose and they're all that really matters, eh? demos-jones - watch SICKO. The baby was turned away because her mother's Health Insurance Co hadn't approved that particular hospital. She had a fever of 104 and the delay in transporting her to the correct hospital caused her to go into seizures and die. That baby was virtually murdered by the neglectful Medical Staff who turned her away! Since when did doctors deny care to sick children all because of money?!

Answer: I am glad you and your mum have a positive story about the NHS. The NHS should have more positive stories put out about what they do for the people. As for the negative side of NHS, and people waiting for treatment again this is down to personal experience. Unfortunately I have seen the negative side and watched someone I love die from cancer having to wait for treatment. I am glad that your mum had such a positive experience.

Question: DOCTORS/NURSES HELP!! Endometrial Cancer, AFTER surgery AND radiation therapy.? 52yr diagnosed with cancer, did the surgery, did radiation therapy, declined chemotherapy. it has been 19 months since last treatment. she has lost weight, has a loss of appetite, weakness (cant go up stairs or walk with out stopping). She says shes tired from work (7pm-7am 3x a week, 3-11 every other weekend) It seems like she is in denile of having cancer and feels shes ok and that she is just tired from work. She has also been bleeding and uses a pad (i am told). She wont let her husband go to doctor with her, when she came home she said the doctor said she has dementia? is that true or even possible? what else could it be? HELP!!!

Answer: It’s possible she has dementia, but that would not cause bleeding. Are you sure she declined chemo? Not all endometrial cancers require chemo it depends on the type and the stage, which you did not mention. It is also used in patients who do not respond to hormone therapy. It’s a little hard to be in denial after you have been through surgery and radiation. It sounds more like she just doesn’t want anyone, including her husband, to know the status of her condition. I know it seems a little odd, but I see it probably twice a month. She should not be bleeding and the weight loss and being tired are not good signs. Radiation oncologists follow their patients closely and she should have had an appointment at 18 months. I wish I could tell you what to do. I know it’s hard when you care about someone, but it is up to her to disclose what she wants and to make decisions about her care. All you can do is love her and respect her decisions.

Question: Has anyone ever been diagnosed with endometrial hyperplasia, and been able to have children? My husband and I have been trying to have a baby for years. When I finally went to the doctor about my unusual cycles, I was diagnosed by a specialist as having endometrial hyperplasia. She didn't really explain to me what it was, other than it could be cancer. The only treatment she gave me was birth control to regulate my periods, but I stopped taking it, for obvious reasons. Anyone ever been through this? What are our chances of ever having children?

Answer: I had endometrial hyperplasia (although my GYN used the term uterine hyperplasia.) I'm sorry, but you need to control the thickness of the endometrium by controlling your periods. My GYN told me hyperplasia put me at risk for cancer. In addition, mine went untreated (because my symptoms were misinterpreted by GP doctor) so I got to the point where big bloody globs fell into my underwear without warning. Trust me, you cannot live your life that way. The preferred way to control this is with birth control pills. However, I resisted "the pill". So I started by taking progesterone pills for about 10 days every month or two. This did cause the endometrium to bleed out regularly and adequately controlled the hyperplasia. However, I had side effects from the medicine. It gave me uncontrollable appetite and I gained weight. So I went on the pill. I'm glad I did. I haven't noticed any side effects. You could consider the progesterone treatment. But I'm pretty sure your doctor won't prescribe it unless he/she is sure you are not pregnant and won't become pregnant. But if you are really dedicated to this, you might work out a schedule with him/her. If you abstain from intercourse for about 2 weeks and pass a pregnancy test (negative result) then is might be OK to force the period with progesterone. I'm not saying that avoiding "the pill" means you can achieve pregnancy. I think we get hyperplasia because our hormones are not cycling normally. That might mean you don't ovulate anyway. For any woman with irregular cycles who wants to achieve pregnancy, I strongly recommend Natural Family Planning (NFP) classes. Practicing NFP will show you the pattern of your hormones and when/if you ovulate. Google "natural family planning" and "classes to find one near you.

Question: Should there be any worries if I now have signs of endometrial cells 10+ after hysterectomy? 12 years ago I was diagnoised with ovarian cancer and went through the treatment and survived. I have been cancer free since, but my last pap showed positive for endometrial cells - my doctor said it could mean something, and he'd check in January. A friend who also is a doctor, said "I definetly needs to stay on top of that" It could be something serious or maybe just something to watch" So basically I do not know any more that what I did before. Has anyone been through this??

Answer: Endometrial cells are found at the entrance to the uterus - the cervix. Hysterectomy can be done with removal of the cervix (most of the time it is), but there was a trend in the early '90s to leave a cervical remnant. It was thought to contribute to a woman's sexual response - I've talked with Gynecologists about this, it doesn't seem to be studied, and the procedure has fallen out of favor. So...it probably means that you have a cervical remnant and need to continue regular PAPs since you can still get cervical cancer.

Question: Problems with having low estrogen levels, please help? I am in my early twenties, constantly getting vaginal infections, am irritated and red every day of my life, missing periods, and intercourse with my fiance is impossible because my skin is so thin it rips. My gyno says there is no doubt i am seriously lacking estrogen- but he does not believe in perscribing hormones due to endometrial cancer risk. All i can do is take birth control pills and premarin topical cream. This is not enough, because i only am getting minor releif. I am planning on marriage soon, and hoping to start a family in the next few years. Will having low estrogen now pose a problem for when i want to conceive? How can i even have a sexual relationship with my husband if i am always so sore? Is it really that dangerous to take estrogen? or should i find a doctor who can perscribe it for me? I don't want the risk of cancer, but I'd like to be able to live a normal life. If i were given hormones for treatment would i have to take it forever, or temporarily? Help!

Answer: why not take a natural supplement that encourages your body to produce the estrogen naturally? It is called DHEA, and it is a hormonal precursor, normally produced by the adrenal glands. Perhaps for some reason you do not produce enough DHEA which would lead to you not producing enough estrogen. I would suggest trying the DHEA and see if it helps. Personally, I take 100mg per day and find it very helpful in maintaining my hormonal balance.

Question: Cancer Help? I am 24, single, and recently found out that I have endometrial cancer and bills have been piling up, because I've missed alot of work due to treatments. Is there anywhere that I can go to obtain help, I make more than allowable for any kind of government assistance. I am not under any circumstances looking for a hand out, I just don't want to ruin my credit along with everything else. Any suggestions.

Answer: I will follow this discussion. My friend is battling cancer and we tried to find help for him along the same lines. Sadly, until he was unable to work because of the treatments, we could find no help. I hope someone here can help you. Advice: I hope it doesn't happen, but if it does, the *moment* you become unable to work because of treatments , file for Social Security disability. Once you have qualified for that, everything else falls into place with assistance programs. (Keep the letter safe. It is very important. Everyone will ask for a copy.) Once my friend had the acceptance letter, everything else was relatively easy to get. As to your credit, medical "hits" to your credit score are not as bad as other types of credit problems. Concentrate on recovery. You'll have to time to fix your credit later.

Question: Thermogram result--may have cancer. What can I do to prevent growth for next thermogram in couple months? The report says it is not a significant finding but is larger than the previous thermogram almost 2 years ago. 5 years ago I was diagnosed with endometrial stromal sarcoma during a hysterectomy. I had abdominal radiation treatment and took Megace for lung mets. What would you suggest that I do now to decrease this hot spot in the breast? Thanks for any help.

Answer: Check this out: Home Remedies for Cancer Relax. Take a deep breath. We have the answers you seek.

Question: Do you, ladies have PCOS? I do, and i believe that all women who has , should start writing long letters to docs, explain how messed up can be and find not a treatment but A REAL CURE, for this curse of nature. my personal experience. I got my period 14 years old, it was painful, like a stomach ache. After my first period the second one came 5-6 months after. PAIN PAIN PAIN, VOMITING , LOW PRESSURE, FAINTING,COLD SWEATS, all these for 12 years, ( iim 26 now) and i didn't knew , my family didn't get me to the doctor, (messed up family, another big story), and when I went to a doc, she told me that i have them and its ok. I was 22 when i went and until now i didn't knew how serious can be. Did you know that: More than 50 percent of women with PCOS will have diabetes or pre-diabetes (impaired glucose tolerance) before the age of 40. Women with PCOS have a four to seven times higher risk of heart attack than women of the same age without PCOS. Women with PCOS are at greater risk of having high blood pressure. Women with PCOS have high levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol and low levels of HDL (good) cholesterol Chance of getting endometrial cancer the symptoms are: infrequent menstrual periods, no menstrual periods, and/or irregular bleeding infertility (not able to get pregnant) because of not ovulating increased hair growth on the face, chest, stomach, back, thumbs, or toes—a condition called hirsutism (HER-suh-tiz-um) ovarian cysts acne, oily skin, or dandruff weight gain or obesity, usually carrying extra weight around the waist insulin resistance or type 2 diabetes high cholesterol high blood pressure male-pattern baldness or thinning hair patches of thickened and dark brown or black skin on the neck, arms, breasts, or thighs skin tags, or tiny excess flaps of skin in the armpits or neck area pelvic pain anxiety or depression due to appearance and/or infertility sleep apnea—excessive snoring and times when breathing stops while asleep (Not all women with PCOS share the same symptoms) Thats is so messed up. I got : Acne, depression, very irregular periods, increased hair growth on the face, chest, stomach, It ruined my life until now, because no doctor told me anything of those and i might have insulin resistance, because of my family background. now i went to a hospital and im waiting for my next period so i can do some tests. here in greece, docs saying " oh birth control pills are bad , don't take them, blah, blah blah, " fuck them , the minute i start birth control pills , is my happiest moments i.ve ever lived, no acne, no pains, everything is so perfect, now i stopped because i have to do the blood exams, and guess what..... ACNE ACNE ACNE, HAIR, SMALL BOOBS! I took yasmin, and here in greece birth control pills cost like 10 euro, why in america cost like 60 dollars? because of the advertisment? here they don't do to much advertisment. thanks, all ladies you can share if you want to. All my life i thought that i was crazy, crazy bitch from hell, i was feeling bad and now i know.

Answer: I have it. Ugh. :'( I started my periods aged 12. It lasted for two weeks and then if didn't come again until 5 months later! I thought there was something wrong with me. Now I'm 16. That was four years ago and I still barely get my period. When I do, its very long and painful... I have facial hair which I struggle to hide (and boys crack jokes at me at school) and my back, stomach and chest has a lot of hair on it too. I have really bad acne on my face and back. I am also slightly fat and I can't shift the weight! I want a solution. The tummy pains are the worst. I get them most when I'm stressed and that's not good when I'm sitting exams... I speak to my doctor for help but he just sends me for a blood test to check my hormone levels. :( Ugh. I want help. :(:(:(

Question: Why should Viagra be covered by health insurance companies? But not birth control for women? Especially considering BC pills are not only used to prevent pregnancy. They are also prescribed by doctors for the treatment of endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome, endometrial and ovarian cancers, regulation of periods, control of PMS symptoms... and a few "female" issues. Isnt both BC(strictly used as pregnancy prevention) and Viagra...about having the ability and choice to have sex. By that logic first answer...we dont need more hard peters around either. it depends upon the company dark eyes..some wont cover either BC or maturity cost she she get pregnant (funny hu) oops typo's *Should and *maternity Jim I dont oppose Viagra and other ED medications being covered...just think it's silly that in some states and certain companies will cover one but not the other. There is a bill in the works that talks about this issue..plus fact on this this link http://reproductiverights.org/en/document/contraceptive-coverage-for-all-epicc-act-is-prescription-for-women%E2%80%99s-equality

Answer: Entitlement of women knows no bounds.

Question: Success Stories: Battling PCOS and Hyperplasia.? My husband and I have been trying for 9yrs. I was diagnosed with PCOS Apr. 2004 and just recently developed Complex Endometrial Hyperplasia w/o Atypia. No cancer and still no baby. :( Right now, I'm undergoing more treatment to try to correct the Hyperplasia...I have a D&C scheduled (third one) in February. If I still have it, then I continue to try to shrink it. If it goes away (I pray!) then we are onto injections. Anyone relate and/or have any success stories for us? We desperately want a family, and I'm not giving up yet!

Answer: i havent been through the same thing with the hyperplasis, but i do have pcos, endometriosis, and stage one ovarian cancer. i know what its like though, i wish u the best of luck and hopefully someone can give a good answer. a great website to check out is: www.soulcysters.net many women on there have ur story and can help!! see u there! go to the forums!!

Question: Am I a good candidate for clomid? Can my ob/gyn write me a script for it? Okay I am 28, and have been with my husband 11yrs total. My periods have never been regular. My husband and I have almost never used any protection and I have NEVER fell pregnant. About a year ago I went to hospital because I was bleeding vaginally for over 2 wks. The bleeding turned out to be a cervical polyp had it removed and did not pose any threat. The radiologist preformed a vaginal ultrasound, to make sure everything else was fine. I was told that my ovaries are fine and they did not find any tumors or cysts, but that the lining in my uterus was thick. I was referred to the ob/gyn and found out through a endometrial biopsy that it was not cancer but a complication due to my periods not being regular (lining built up but didn't shed off). The Doc put me on progesterone treatment to see if that would fix the problem, went through 3 cycles of medproxyprogesterone with no success. Finally I went through 2 or 3 cycles of a stronger progesterone called Megestrol Acetate and that cleared up the problem. He gave me the go ahead to try and conceive. I have been trying for 5 months now with no luck. The doc said if I did not get pregnant on my own to see him again and he would refer me to a specialist. I have heard that they are very expensive and my insurance will not cover infertility. So if any one with experience give me any hope?? Thanks ladies! I made a appointment with my Doc, I will be seeing him in 2 wks! :)

Answer: First off, I'm so sorry that you haven't been able to get pregnant. I know that it's heartbreaking. (I think our stories are similar! My husband and I are celebrating our 12-year anniversary this year - I'm 29, nearly 30.) Anywho - clomid is known specifically for regulating ovulation (which it sounds like you need) and also for decreasing the endometrium/uterine lining in many users. While this is a problem (or can be a problem) for some women, it appears that it may be useful for you. Your OB/GYN can indeed prescribe clomid for you. Normally in the U.S. they'll do so after one year of trying. In my opinion (I became pregnant on my second round of clomid - 100 mg, CD 3-7)), clomid is USELESS unless you're tracking the size of your follicles/measurement of your uterine lining via ultrasounds. I would insist on them. Also note that clomid is VERY affordable. I actually took the generic (Clomiphene) and that's what I became pregnant on. Best of luck to you. KB

Question: Complex Ovarian Mass - Endometrioma or Functional Cyst? (Re-posted question. I posted last night but only had one response (Thanks for taking the time), but am posting again in the hopes of more responses) Hi, I was hoping that someone could provide me with some advice. Below are my reports, this has been going on for more than 10 months. I saw one Gynecological Oncologist and she said that the reports show functional cysts (despite having them for 10 months) that will go away by themselve and no treatment is needed. That was last week. I saw another Gynecological Oncologist this morning for a second opinion and she said that they are Endometrioma. She has scheduled an Trans-vaginal ultrasound for Jamuary 21, and I will get those results from her on February 4, 2009. I am completely confused. I do not know which one to trust. Worse still - will these continue to grow? What if they are neither? My CA125 was 63. My father died of colon cancer and my paternal Aunt of Breast Cancer. My first report dated February 8, 2008 states: Endometrium double layer thickness is just over 7mm. The uterus is anteverted with overall diameters 37x40x76mms. There appears to be a fibroid subserosal posterior at the fundus 24x19x14mms. In the cervix, there is a little cyst 8mms. The right ovary is 34x28x22mmx. Here we find 2 follicles or a biloculted cyst with a thick septum, more likely that these represent 2 adjacent follicles. The septation between the two are little hyper vascular. The left ovary is 30x30x28mms contains a follicle 13x8mms. The cul-de-sac is clear and the bladder appear normal. Report 2 dated Sept 22, 2008: The uterus measures 7.7x4.8x3.7cm. There is a fibroid at the fundus measuring 2.2cm. Endometrial lining is 0.4cm. In both adnexa there are abnormalities. On the left there is a complex primarily solid but inhomogeneous irregular mass measuring 6.1x4.1x3.7cm. On the right there is one measuring 2.5x2.4x2.3cm. * 17 hours ago * - 1 week left to answer. Additional Details 16 hours ago Sorry, should have mentioned that I am 37 years old, have never had kids, and got my period when I was 13. Symptoms: bloating pelvic tenderness, lower back and leg pain, headaches, constant need to urinate (sometimes a lot, sometimes a false call!) and extremely tired. Very heavy and painful menses.

Answer: http://www.cancerhelp.org.uk/help/default.asp?page=19373 This is a good summary on functional cysts as you see the raised CA125 can be a sign http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/255865-overview This covers all kinds of cysts - and you can see quite a few of your symptoms are in their list. I think if either of them thought they were sinister findings you would be getting treated much, much quicker, so I don't think you need to worry. Oh, BTW, your fibroid is a reasonable sie and could definately be leading to heavy menses and you could also be anaemic

Question: Complex Ovarian Mass - Endometrioma or Functional Cyst? Hi, I was hoping that someone could provide me with some advice. Below are my reports, this has been going on for more than 10 months. I saw one Gynecological Oncologist and she said that the reports show functional cysts (despite having them for 10 months) that will go away by themselve and no treatment is needed. That was last week. I saw another Gynecological Oncologist this morning for a second opinion and she said that they are Endometrioma. She has scheduled an Trans-vaginal ultrasound for Jamuary 21, and I will get those results from her on February 4, 2009. I am completely confused. I do not know which one to trust. Worse still - will these continue to grow? What if they are neither? My CA125 was 63. My father died of colon cancer and my paternal Aunt of Breast Cancer. My first report dated February 8, 2008 states: Endometrium double layer thickness is just over 7mm. The uterus is anteverted with overall diameters 37x40x76mms. There appears to be a fibroid subserosal posterior at the fundus 24x19x14mms. In the cervix, there is a little cyst 8mms. The right ovary is 34x28x22mmx. Here we find 2 follicles or a biloculted cyst with a thick septum, more likely that these represent 2 adjacent follicles. The septation between the two are little hyper vascular. The left ovary is 30x30x28mms contains a follicle 13x8mms. The cul-de-sac is clear and the bladder appear normal. Report 2 dated Sept 22, 2008: The uterus measures 7.7x4.8x3.7cm. There is a fibroid at the fundus measuring 2.2cm. Endometrial lining is 0.4cm. In both adnexa there are abnormalities. On the left there is a complex primarily solid but inhomogeneous irregular mass measuring 6.1x4.1x3.7cm. On the right there is one measuring 2.5x2.4x2.3cm. Sorry, should have mentioned that I am 37 years old, have never had kids, and got my period when I was 13. Symptoms: bloating pelvic tenderness, lower back and leg pain, headaches, constant need to urinate (sometimes a lot, sometimes a false call!) and extremely tired. Very heavy and painful menses.

Answer: Hi. Sorry to hear about all this trouble you've been having. I had ovarian cancer some years ago. Of course I can't say what exactly is wrong with you, if two gyn oncs who examined you are both unsure what you have. So I can't make any judgment one way or the other. But if I were you, I'd schedule an appointment with another gyn onc for a third opinion. You can bring your scans. It sounds like the second gyn onc isn't too worried, or she'd have scheduled further testing immediately rather than in a month. Your symptoms could mean a variety of things--that's one of the difficulties of ovarian cancer. Its symptoms are also the symptoms of many common and not terribly dangerous ovarian problems. Likewise your CA-125. This test, while used for detection of ovarian cancer, is actually testing something that rises in your body in the presence of any abdominal inflammation. So the things you currently have--a cyst, maybe uterine fibroids--could cause a rise in CA-125 all on their own, with no need for them to be cancerous. Good luck!