Completely confused now!

Body: 

Because my bladder prolapse has been getting worse, I met last week with both my doctor and gynecologist, and they wanted me to have CT scans done of my abdomen so they could really see what was going on. Not good news....my uterus has a quite large myoma in it (at least 10 cm) - and other small ones, and my ovaries both have cysts they are concerned about. Interestingly enough, my doctor was fascinated with Christine's concepts and was more than willing to let me manage the prolapse myself, but now, with the news about what is going on in my uterus and ovaries, both doctors are urging me to have the surgery and have the bladder repair done at the same time. Their attitude is that the prolapse is one thing, but they are concerned about the danger of all these growths becoming cancerous down the line if I just leave everything alone. Since I'm now 66, they both feel this is a greater danger than whatever weirdness I may experience down the line post-surgery. They both admit freely that the surgery isn't perfect, but they're saying "if you do a cost-benefit analysis and you factor in your risk of cancer, to us it's a no-brainer". These are smart and nice guys and I have to admit I'm listening to what they are saying.

Comments, anyone?

What is the surgery they are urging you to have? Complete hysterectomy including ovaries, and a cystocele repair as well?

Only you can decide based on the information available to you. Normally fibroids are not pre-cancerous and are not a problem after menopause, but your doctors seem to think that these fibroids are a problem. Hysterectomy is also a problem. The threat of future cancer risk is often laid upon women as an excuse to remove their sexual organs. That never happens to men, who have roughly the same rates of reproductive cancer.

I hope that you can get some answers. Maybe you can get copies of your medical reports and contact the HERS Foundation for their take on the situation. - Surviving

Do you have the resources to get more opinions?

Yes, I do have the resources to get a couple of other opinions, but the prolapse is really driving me crazy and I am scared about the cancer thing. Plus I live in Mexico which complicates matters a bit. I am considering all my options but the other side of the coin is that at least in my case, all my friends who have had hysterectomies are saying "go for it, you'll be so relieved" and maybe it's an odd statistical sample, but none of them seem to have had problems - one is 80 now and had hers literally decades ago. So I'm still as confused as ever!

I'd want a cyst biopsy. You can see what type of cyst it is and then decide what to do. It may be that the cysts will go away on their own, it may be that you need to have them removed. What type they are will help you know what to do.
A 10cm mass is very small actually. And you have probably had it forever! That's about the size of a lemon if they are measuring the diameter. If it's circumference, then it's the size of a large muscadine grape.
Glad your friends are all excited about hysterectomy. They would have no recourse if they were not.
If you are seriously considering surgery and hysterectomy specifically, you might enjoy reading the HERS foundation website. We all know what can happen POP wise with that surgery, but there is so so much more to it.

http://www.hersfoundation.com/

Hi JSS

I am not a medical practitioner. The only articles I could find on the Net about myoma said that they are either 'benign' or 'non-cancerous', and that they shrink at menopause.

Cancer can develop anywhere, given the right conditions. Currently they are not cancerous.

You aren't going to just let them remove your uterus because of something that might happen, are you?

It sounds very much as if they are frightening you, and making the decision for you, rather than encouraging you to make the best decision for yourself, in a calm and informed way, knowing all the facts. Do you think this is ethical?

I suggest that you adopt an anti-inflammatory diet, which includes, among other things, a lot of phytoestrogens which will prevent your own oestrogen from causing inflammation in your body.

Read Women's Bodies Women's Wisdom and Wisdom of Menopause by Dr Christiane Northrup. She has cured many women of conditions like myoma and cystic ovaries, simply by finding out why their bodies have these inflammatory responses. Often the answer lies in the woman's mind, or her heart, or her relationships, or her changing roles as her life progresses. These books will show you that it is not as simple as a doctor finding some proliferating tissue, and cutting it out. If the cause of the problem is not found, you may find yourself with more growths, and having more and more bits of your body removed. This is a goldmine for gyns.

You could ask this gyn some more questions, or you could find yourself another gyn, who has a more conservative approach to treating these conditions, or you could find a good naturopath and see what you can do with the naturopath approach.

*You do not have cancer!*

Don't let anyone tell you that you do, and frighten you into having unnecessary surgery.