Continued from Part 1.
So I'm no longer in horrific pain, I'll never have a menstrual cycle EVER again, the huge mass in my stomach is nothing to worry about .... what could possibly go wrong?
Well, it started with Dr. S explaining how she actually got the
pathology results a couple days ago but made them run it again. And just like that I knew she was about to say something that would turn my world upside down.
"Don't worry everything is ok, but you had precancerous cells in your uterus."
Huh?
Pre-WHAT???
It was definitely one of those moments when time seems to stand still. It was a mostly sunny day, my
kids were playing outside in the front yard, everything
was as it should be .... until all of a sudden it wasn't.
Dr. S must have read my mind because the next thing she said was how incredibly surprised she was, that she honestly thought she got the wrong person's results. I believe
her exact words were, "Even the pathologist was surprised, and
pathologists don't get surprised."
If both my OBGYN and the pathologist couldn't believe it, then you can only imagine how I was feeling.
Almost as worrisome as having "precancerous
cells" is the fact that I didn't have any of the risk factors or
symptoms. The actual medical term, which I couldn't remember and had to
look it up, is atypical endometrial hyperplasia. And it is
defined as:
".... unusual or excessive cell growth in the
inner glandular lining of the uterus. Most cases of endometrial
hyperplasia result from high levels of estrogen. This may occur in a number of settings, including
obesity and polycystic ovarian syndrome. Endometrial hyperplasia typically presents with abnormally heavy uterine
bleeding and is most common in women who are post-menopausal."
If anything I have low (not high) levels of
estrogen because of all the years of suppression. I'm not overweight and never have been. I did struggle (a lot) with
infertility but it wasn't because of my ovaries. I've never
experienced heavy bleeding, not even as a teenager. And my FSH levels
are normal so I'm definitely not post-menopausal.
My first thought was .... So if I don't have a single risk factor, how did this happen? And that was quickly followed by .... What if we hadn't done the surgery, would I have gotten cancer? Is it possible I have cancer cells in other parts of my body? Is it genetic and do I need to worry about my daughter having the same thing (let alone my mom)?
Dr. S then explained the stages of endometrial hyperplasia. Unfortunately the cells found in my uterus were the most serious and carried the highest risk (up to 35%) of developing into endometrial cancer.
The good news (YES, THERE IS GOOD NEWS!) is that in most cases the treatment is a full hysterectomy. Sure glad I just had one of those!
Not
that I'm taking even a fraction of the credit, but in that moment I knew my
persistence in pushing for surgery had more than paid off.
Even better news was when Dr. S sent the pathology to be re-tested, she made sure they checked
every tiny molecule of surrounding tissue, and there was absolutely no
evidence of precancerous cells anywhere else.
There's part of me that's still processing what all of this means, but for now I'm just going to be thankful.
Thankful for the circumstances that got me here, for being my own
advocate all of those years, for my health going forward, and for Dr. S
who may have just saved my life!
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