Endometrial cancer recurrence

Hi. I was 37 yrs old then and was diagnosed with endometrial cancer last March 2018. It was one of the scariest time of my life, I had so much fear of losing life because Im thinking of my 5 yr old daughter. When you are diagnosed with one of the deadliest disease in human life, you will be trapped in a bubble of anxiety and depression. A very strong support group of family and friends is very important. 

I had op, they removed everything from uterus, ovaries, f.tube and cervix to prevent the cancer cells from spreading. It was a stage 1 grade 2A endometrial cancer and after 2 wks, the biopsy came and I was cancer free! It was a good prognosis that I dnt need any chemotherapy or treatments. 

Now Im 39, exactly 2 years ago when I had it.. It came back, now on a more aggressive phase that no one can imagine. I was rushed to the hospital because of severely lower abdominal pain and they found that the cancer came back and spread in peritoneal and 4cm tumor in liver. Treatment plans for 6 cycle of chemotherapy every 3 weeks. The 1st cycle took me six hours because they said it has to be taken slowly. After the treatment, 1st and 2nd day was light nausea and constipation which was bearable. But the 3rd - 5th day was so bad that the pain from my arms, legs and feet felt like I was crushed by a truck. Pain meds didnt help. I was crying the whole time, can't sleep and really in so much pain. 16th day, my hair started to fall. Though I expected this already, it is still very painful to see. I was tired cleaning and picking up my hair everywhere so decided to shaved it off and feels so much better. But I'm still missing my long hair. 

Now I'm  on 2nd cycle, knowing that the side effects will go away in few days gives me hope and relief. I also discussed the pain to my nurse and doctor will write new meds for me. 

I had ups and down with the situation I am in, but it will be a big help if you have family and friends to support you. I don't tell everyone about my sickness because it's very exhausting to talk to everyone and explain my sickness. It's better to leave some in your circle that will only give positive outlook in life. 

Now I am looking forward to be treated. Though my doctor hasn't discussed anything yet. She said we can see the progress after the 4th cycle, though my bloodtests seems to be fine. It indicates that the meds are working well.

Hope everyone is safe during this pandemic times. Please share your experiences to me too. I will be glad to hear your story. Cheers. 

  • I'm so sorry to hear of your trouble. My heart sank when I saw this. 
    my anniversary of hysterectomy is a year tomorrow. I was 38 and was stage 1b grade 1 and had 3 brachytherapy sessions. Fear of recurrence gives me anxiety every day.

    I hope the your next few cycles go smoothly and you have great results from treatment. 
    Best wishes,

    Stacey 

  • Hi Stacey,

    Glad to hear from you. Now that this pandemic is making the situation a challenging one, I learnt to live on a day by day. I don't worry too much for the future because it gives me stress and depression. I focus on getting better and making my immune system stronger to fight for this. It's not easy though, but just keep fighting! Dont worry too much about the recurrence. Thats the last thing you should be thinking of.

    Hugs.

    Liz 

  • Thanks Liz,

    I wish you all the luck. You're doing fab! It must be bonkers having to deal with treatment in a pandemic.

    best wishes,

    stacey

  • Hello Liz

     

    how are you?  Hope you are well

    My mum is in a similar situation to you

     

    would love to hear from you  

     

    sending you tons of love and best wishes xxxx

     

     

  • Hello Hope,

    Im just guessing your name. Thank you for the message. I was so happy to see your message that I want to reply asap. I am very good now thank you. It took me 10 chemotherapy treatments. My last PET scan last December indicates that I am cancer free again! I had my blood extraction today, hopefully everything is good. I will see my oncologist next week for a routine check up. My journey in recovery is another beautiful story. I should write again. Im sending prayers and strength for you and most specially to your mom. 

    Love, Liz

  • Dear Liz

     

    i can't tell you how happy I am to read your post.  I'm so so pleased for you Superwoman ♥️♥️♥️♥️. Wonderful, wonderful news ️ ️xxx

    my mum has recurrent endometrial cancer.  She had a complete hysterectomy about 4 years ago followed by radiotherapy.  It has now come back and has spread to her lymph nodes and para ortic lymph node but not any further.  I think she is therefore now stage 3c ...

    If you don't mind me asking... were your lymph nodes affected? She's being treated at the royal Marsden and is also on a trial   She's had 2 sessions of chemo already ... 4 more to go and has a scan in a few weeks to check progress

     

    im praying so hard the chemo kills off the nasty cells and it's all controlled   She's been told it's incurable but the aim is to control it...

     

    look forward to hearing from you Liz and so good to hear your fan news!

     

    wishing  you nothing but best wishes xxxxxxx

     

     

  • Hellooo,

    Aside that it spread to my liver (which is the biggest tumor) and peritoneal wall, lymph nodes were clear. They actually didn't tell me what stage my cancer was then, but since its a metastasis to other body organs, it's considered a stage 4. Doctors can't even tell what will happen and how my body will react with the treatments. I kept in mind that this is cancer, there's no proven cure. Even the strongest medicines and treatments wont guarantee that you will be healed. 

    But miracles do happen. After almost 10 mos of treatment, and 4 months of recovery, still I'm scared that it will come back. Just have to keep that faith.

    Hugs,

    Liz

  • Thank you Liz

     

    so grateful for your response.  I'm hoping the fact that it's spread to lymph nodes doesn't mean the treatment won't work.  I'm praying hard and keeping positive 

     

    I will endeavour to keep everyone posted.   
     

    lots of love and best wishes xx ♥️♥️♥️♥️

  • Hi Liz and Hope, 

    Hope you are doing well. Your story of recovery is very encouraging to me. I was told I had stage 2 grade 2 endometrial cancer last week by my doctor after surgery. But I am worried because since they initially thought it was only grade 1, no lymph node sampling was performed. Does anyone know at this moment, after the operation and waiting for the radiotherapy to start in January 2022, what  I can do to further confim the cancer has not spread to the lymph nodes? 

     

    Best wishes to you Liz and Hope's mum, 

    Chui Fan