Menstrual Cycle and Cancer

I am 33 and was diagnosed with endometrioid ovarian adenocarcinoma and had a 15cm tumour removed in February.

I was diagnosed in November - I hadn’t had a proper period then, or a period at all in December. It returned to normal in January but had a very light one in Feb, last month and now this month where I have barely bled at all.

The surgeon says all the tumour was removed - and it was just the tumour and one ovary (it wasn’t identified so they presume the tumour must have engulfed it). CA125 is back to a normal level.

The cancer is currently unstaged as the oncologist is considering taking me back to theatre to check for any signs of spread (the surgeon says there were no visible signs in Feb) and take biopsies and tissue samples etc if necessary.

Just wondering if there is a connection? The periods had been largely fine - September and October's were perhaps, in hindsight, not quite normal but nothing to be overly concerned about and everything had been fine prior - no causes for concern at all. 

Is it most likely just stress? From what I've read, cancer elsewhere would present as heavy bleeding rather than practically no bleeding at all.

  • Hello and thank you for getting back in touch with us.

    I am sorry to hear about your cancer diagnosis and the surgery you needed to have.

    From what I have seen bleeding during your period can be affected by stress levels in the body, and also by body weight.  It is possible that the bleeding can be heavier but it also could mean less bleeding and shorter menstrual cycles.

    I think the best thing to do is to mention this to your gynaecology team, they are experts and are the team caring for you so will be able to tell you more about why this happened.

    Take care

    Caroline