Two questions

Submitted by CrocoX13 on May 24, 2012 - 7:58am
Body: 

Hi! I have been lurking here for a couple of months, learning lots and enjoying the positive energy.
I am 55 years old, recently diagnosed as post-menopausal and have a self-diagnosed cystocele and rectocele as well as a low uterus. I used the self-diagnosis section of my Whole Woman book and found it to be a wonderful tool-very well written, easy directions and descriptions of the prolapses that made me have no doubt about what I was feeling up there. I have been working on my posture and at a recent gynecologist visit, I was told my uterus was just where it should be.

First question: Alas, I was also given a biopsy and find that I have endometrial cancer, so it won't be long before I will have no uterus to worry about. It is very upsetting, knowing as I do now, that hysterectomy can bring on a whole new set of prolapse issues (like vaginal vault prolapse or enterocele). I wondered if anyone has any advice about anything I can do before or after the surgery (in two weeks), that may help me from developing any further prolapse. If I have any of my prolapse facts wrong, please let me know. My surgeon recommends also removing my ovaries and I am not sure if this is a good decision. Anyone have any input on that?

Second question: As if my week hasn't been bad enough, today I found a pea-sized external hemorrhoid. I do NOT push when having a bowel movement, have no problem with constipation. I was wondering if pushing too hard on my rectocele when splinting it could have caused this?

Thanks in advance for any help you can give me! :)
Lynn

Forum:

Surviving60

May 24, 2012 - 8:26am

Hi and welcome CrocoX13. Lots of serious questions here, and we will try to give you answers.

Practicing and learning WW posture principles as well as you possibly can, now and always, is probably the best thing you can do to try and maintain support for your remaining organs after the uterus is gone. Christine or one of our teachers, someone better versed in surgical methods, might have advice on how to manage that surgery and what procedures might do less harm than others. Why does your doc recommend taking the ovaries?

We have plenty of splinters here, and I don't know that anyone has established a direct connection between that practice and hemorrhoids. I think a little pea-sized hemorrhoid can probably come and go....... a souvenir of the child-bearing years that likes to stop by every now and then just to add to our misery.

Anyway - keep us posted, maybe we can get some more surgery-savvy responses on this thread. - Surviving

CrocoX13

May 24, 2012 - 10:53am

Thank you, Surviving, for your kind reply.

My doctor, who took a bit of umbrage at being questioned, said if my ovaries were removed, I would not have to worry about ovarian cancer in the future. I told him that I understood removing them could increase my chances of heart disease and osteoporosis. At that point, he just said he would do whatever I wanted him to do. The appointment kind of went downhill from there and I came away feeling he thought I was some know-it-all (there may be a smidgen of truth there) pain in the @$$. I feel women need to be more informed and aware of their health choices and I hope I'm not the last woman to ruffle his feathers. ;)

Surviving60

May 24, 2012 - 10:59am

Well now, next time you go back to this guy, ask him if he would consider having any of his male parts removed, right now, just so he wouldn't have to worry about getting cancer in the future!

chickaboom

May 24, 2012 - 2:27pm

I don't have any advice but just wanted to say I like your attitude! :)

Christine

May 24, 2012 - 3:26pm

CrocoX13...can you tell us a bit more about your endometrial symptoms...when they started, how they have progressed and whether you were on supplemental estrogen? Also...can you get another biopsy...perhaps after a trial of super-nutrition? Losing your uterus as a result of one biopsy seems a bit curious...

CrocoX13

May 24, 2012 - 6:32pm

I'd had very light spotting, but no pain, off and on for several months after a full period in August. I thought it was just more perimenopausal stuff. I have never taken any supplemental estrogen. In January, I decided I'd better go get it checked out. I know I should not have waited so long. I made an appointment with a new GYN who did an ultrasound and FSH test, then told me I was in menopause, had polyps and I needed a hysterectomy. Just that, no other suggestions, so I knew she probably was just excited at the excellent level of insurance coverage I have. I did not go back there again.

My family doctor, who I adore, told me that any bleeding after menopause needed a biopsy. I found another
GYN who said the bleeding was probably from the polyps but I should definitely have a biopsy. When I saw the results, I did ask for another biopsy, but was told that usually errors in that type of biopsy show a false negative. I guess it could be possible to miss the exact area of cancerous activity in a uterus, but there is not much doubt when they find cells that are "well-differentiated endometrial adenocarcinoma." Chilling words to read. I plan to speak with this GYN about keeping my ovaries after the discussion with the oncologist - I will ask again about another biopsy.

Thank you, all of you, for your support.
Lynn

bad_mirror

May 24, 2012 - 8:57pm

Second opinions (another biopsy) before undergoing radical treatment is ALWAYS a good idea. I work in a hospital, and at least once a week there is an unusual lab result that when redone, yields something quite different. You may be ill, or it may be a mistake. Go to a different doctor, get a second opinion. Best wishes.

Christine

May 24, 2012 - 10:09pm

Thanks for that, BadMirror. I've struggled with how to respond to your post, Lynn, as I don't want to interject doubt into a path you've obviously committed to....Yet, this is such an important subject, generally speaking.

Endometrial cancer is actually quite rare in a woman who has not taken supplemental estrogen. It is a well-understood, estrogen-driven process and your history suggests that the multi-factorial, sequential steps toward malignancy took place at the peri-menopausal transition when estrogen levels were high and progesterone low. Estrogen prevents the natural death of cells, hence the reason strong and persistent forms of estrogen or estrogen metabolites can be so dangerous. However, cells must still develop several acquired capabilities in order to become a malignant cancer and there are actually interventions along this cascade that are well-known by science, but practically unknown elsewhere.

For instance, in the absence of something called angiogenesis, or the creation of new blood vessels, tumor growth is restricted to a maximum size of 1-2 mm in diameter. Omega 6 oils promote angiogenesis, while Omega 3 oils suppress it. The short-chain fatty acid in butter (butyric acid) and also Omega 3 oils cause apoptosis, or natural cell death. Some herbs can cause sudden and wide-spread cell death, as was the case when I caused a cervical polyp to fall off after treating it with Larrea tridentata and pennyroyal - two very powerful herbs. Science knows what causes so much disease and frankly, it should all be put into a cookbook, because that is where the information belongs.

My apologies if this information is disturbing in any way. It's just that prolapse is not the only chronic condition gynecology treats with a blind eye.

Wishing you well,

Christine

alemama

May 24, 2012 - 11:05pm

called radical forgiveness. Talks about cancer and healing- one story had a women take 30 days to make her decision to treat or not- and in those days did some really amazing *work* with forgiveness and prayer. End result- Cancer was almost all gone. Worth a thought?

louiseds

May 27, 2012 - 9:38pm

I am not medically qualified to tell you what to do. No doubt you are in great turmoil at the moment, and I don't want to give you false hope that you might be able to keep your uterus. However, having your uterus removed is very major surgery that will have secondary results directly related to both the surgery procedure and the removal of the organs concerned.

It seems strange to me that on the result of one biopsy your uterus and maybe ovaries have been consigned to history. I would in your position be seeking a second and third opinion to ensure that they do have the right diagnosis. You would not be the first woman to have her uterus removed for reasons of malignancy, who later find out that the pathology results on the removed organs were negative. Getting enough opinions to justify this first positive diagnosis would at least mean that I was sure that it was the right step to have the hysterectomy with no regrets.

I have a friend who had a hysterectomy following the birth of her fourth baby, about 29 years ago, who tells me she has had no prolapse problems and no continence issues. It does happen, but cannot be guaranteed.

Is endometrial cancer fast growing? Some cancers are. Some are not. If it is a slow grower, then you may decide to overhaul your diet and lifestyle, and do some of the other work suggested, knowing that you are not putting your life at risk by putting the surgery off.

I am not telling you to do this. I am asking you to ask more questions of the doctor, and other doctors, and assess for yourself the best course of action in conjunction with them, without letting them bully you into it with fear tactics and one hand in their hip pocket.

Best wishes Croco. We will be with you, whatever you decide to do.

Louise