Can this NOT be cancer? Really frightened

[Piknik]

Don't want to google as I am at work and can’t get sucked into a deeper panic than i am already in

Wondering if anyone can genuinely tell me that there is a real possibility that this is not the worst case scenario. I am spiralling and looking for hope, but understand that the reassurance I’m looking for may be unrealistic.

Just a call from the GP following a trans-vaginal scan which showed thickening (don’t know how many mm yet but above the threshold)

Symptoms that led to scan were
Bleeding post menopause. I have been in meno for about 4 years but only started HRT about 7 months ago (Evorel Conti) - first week of bleeding was 4.5 months in from starting the HRT. I bled again for a few days last week - so after the six month ‘adjustment’ period. I also has some pain in the left hand side of my pelvis for a few days last week Felt a bit like ovulating but obviously wasn’t….

So referred for scan yesterday, and today a call from GP referring for Hysteroscopy/biopsy next week due to thickening of lining.

I feel like i have ALL the symptoms and can’t seem to pull myself together at all.

Any words of reassurance greatly received.

I think it is very possibly (if not probably) not cancer.

I also started Evorel Conti post-menopause, and whilst I haven't had the symptoms you describe I was warned that they might happen, and am being reviewed on a 'just in case' basis for the first 18 months.

I know it's not easy, but please try not to worry - your GP will be able to talk things through with you, and will have far more personalised information than Dr Google.

I came off HRT for this exact reason. About five/six months after starting, I started randomly bleeding. Had the scan, showed thickness. Had the hysteroscopy (have a GA) and absolutely nothing to worry about.

It is a very common side effect of HRT.

I can’t say for certain, but I recently went to the doctor for half a dozen symptoms that all were associated with ovarian cancer. The doctor said she wanted to check my iron levels and booked a blood test. When the result came back she had actually booked the test that can indicate cancer, so she obviously thought the same as I did (I didn’t mention I was concerned about cancer to her) but fortunately it came back well within normal range. Still no idea what has caused my symptoms, but wanted to reassure you that even if you have every symptom from the textbook it’s not necessarily cancer.

Have they done any blood tests you can check the results of?

I had exactly the same symptoms. Had histoscopy and biopsy. All fine. Found a small fibroid growing but that’s it.

There are so many things it’s likely to be before it’s cancer. I tried many different HRT regimes and every one caused bleeding. It only stopped once I had a Mirena fitted. Try not to worry.

I had thickening that wasn’t cancer, though eventually it became precancerous - I had a hysterectomy for this about three years after it was first investigated. Even then, the risk was only 30% that it would develop.

The docs were prepared to try other things first, such as a Mirena.

So don’t anticipate the worst!

Thank you all. I am at work but keep checking this thread and it’s helping me so much.

I am not brave and stoic by nature and this is honestly the only thing keeping me grounded at the moment.

I am on HRT gel & utrogestan and had post menopausal bleeding. The transvaginal scan didn’t work as my womb lies at an odd angle so had a hysteroscopy and all was fine. I was advised to double the dose of utrogestan and no bleeding since, so it was just an imbalance of the hormones. Try not to worry.

Hi I have been in the same boat and totally understand the anxiety you are feeling but in my case it wasn’t cancer and that is the case for the majority - it is really hard waiting - I am also not stoical! I stopped taking HRT due to bleeding but do miss it.

Because uterine cancer is more prevalent in post-menopausal women, all cases of postmenopausal bleeding are investigated on the assumption they may be cancer until cancer has been ruled out.

The thickness of the endometrium in postmenopausal women is supposed to be thinner than in women who are still menstruating - where the thickness waxes and wanes according to what stage the woman is in her menstrual cycle.

The clinician carrying out the hysteroscopy and biopsies will be looking for fibroids, polyps and areas of the lining that may look suspicious.

Samples will be taken and assessed for changes or pre-cancerous changes to the cellular structure of the endometrium.

The overall prevalence of endometrial cancer in women with postmenopausal bleeding is about 10%. So 90% across all age groups will be found to have a benign reason for their abnormal bleeding. For those aged 70 and older it is around 12%. The younger you are, the less your risk.

"Women should be informed that the risk of endometrial hyperplasia without atypia progressing to endometrial cancer is less than 5% over 20 years and that the majority of cases of endometrial hyperplasia without atypia will regress spontaneously during follow-up. Reversible risk factors such as obesity and the use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) should be identified and addressed if possible." [1]

1. Management of Endometrial Hyperplasia Green-top Guideline No. 67 RCOG/BSGE Joint Guideline | February 2016 https://www.rcog.org.uk/media/knmjbj5c/gtg_67_endometrial_hyperplasia.pdf

Your HRT may have led to your thickened endometrium. You may have low risk endometrial hyperplasia without atypical cells; you may have a fibroid that is disrupting the cellular structure of the endometrium and causing the bleeding; you may have a benign uterine polyp which didn't show up on the ultrasound scan which is bleeding. These can be removed under GA.

At one point my endometrial thickness was measured as 22mm. I was put on progestin to thin it. (I had been fitted with a Mirena coil but it expelled.) I also had three large fibroids and a polyp which was removed. I was graded as endometrial hyperplasia without atypia. Eventually the lining reverted to a normal thickness for my age after a year or so on low dose progestin.

You are far more likely not to have cancer than to have cancer. I hope all goes well.

Speaking of stoic, I can highly recommend "Meditations" by Marcus Aurelius. It might give you some comfort.

Just to add to the other voices, both an friend and I also had these exact symptoms within a year of starting HRT. Both had hysteroscopy and in both cases it was found to be a benign thickening due to to a hormone imbalance and both given Mirena coil, which helped to thin it out again.

I had exactly the same, same HRT and womb thickening, I bled for nearly a year but stupidly didn’t realise it was a problem. I can’t believe I was that stupid. As with everyone that has these symptoms I was put on the 2 week pathway. Mine was polyps with no cancer or precancer. I don’t know the numbers at all but it seems very common. I knew there was a risk of cancer so I tried to ignore thinking about it until I got the results.

I have previously had cancer and was on Tamoxifen. I started post menopausal bleeding and went for a hysteroscopy. There was a thickening of the womb just borderline for being ‘too thick’. Apparently it was connected to the Tamoxifen. They also found a polyp which they removed and sent for biopsy. All was fine.

Both me and my mum have had bleeding (post menopausal) and thickened lining. Neither were cancer. Good luck.

Had same, with thickening, mine wasn't cancer either. Your odds are very much in your favour.

Bled 3 times post menopause. Each time ultrasound showed thickened lining. 3 hysteroscopies, each time a polyp or two removed. Lining had returned to normal at next scan a few months later on each occasion.

All the best.

Thank you all so very much.

I know that nobody can know for sure, and that there is a chance that I am one of the unlucky ones, but for the time being at least, you have helped me swing from believing the odds were stacked against me to understanding that the odds are in my favour.

I came here looking for reassurances to help me cope with the wait, and you have given me that with you positive stories. I am still frightened and cannot even think about the DC without starting to spiral again, but I have been dipping into this thread all evening and using your experiences to help me settle, breathe and not panic.

I am VERY happy to hear more positive stories, but thank you for everything you have already shared with me. I bloody love MN.

I had the same symptoms and they found it was a fibroid, had hysterectomy and all sorted now. My gynae told me it was actually quite common when I told him I had been so worried that it was cancer. My CA125 markers were high too at the time.
I hope you get an answer soon, the waiting is the worst.

@Myoldbones Did you have to have a hysterectomy due to the fibroid? My scan results have just been uploaded to the NHS app and it mentions a small fibroid. I don't know if this makes a poor outcome more or less likely, or it is no different in terms of possible outcome.