Recurrence

Why am I an advocate for educating women about endometrial cancer?

Today I found out a friend of mine has had a recurrence. This is not the news you want to hear one week before your own endometrial cancer surgery. My heart is breaking tonight. No woman should hear she has endometrial cancer. Not once. Not twice. Not three times.

The big three – breast, cervical and ovarian – get all the news play. No one knows about endometrial cancer except those of us who are living with it now. And I am so angry she is going through this again. I am so angry I am going through it. I am so angry that any woman has to go through this.

Endometrial cancer is not the bastard cancer stepchild. It is very very real. Everyone tells me I have such a positive outlook but no one knows how many times I cry in private. If a recurrence can happen to my friend, it can happen to me, to everyone who has this damnable cancer.

I call getting cancer a blessing. And, in an odd way, it is. Whatever it takes, I will get the word out and reach out to women. Cancer is such a scary word. Having cancer scares me. There are no guarantees in this world. From the minute you are born, the warranty on your life begins to expire.

I don’t want cancer to take me out. I always imagined myself dying doing something like climbing Mt. Everest. Taking on cancer is a fight one doesn’t always win. My friend is a fighter. This is her third go round with cancer. She and I will do battle together.

So much more needs to be done. Women need to stand up, educate themselves and demand something be done. Recently, a doctor gave a talk for Girls Night Out at one of our local hospitals about cervical cancer and ovarian cancer. I wanted to go to stand up and ask why he wasn’t talking about endometrial cancer. Unfortunately, I had other commitments.

No more. I am speaking out. I am yelling out about this cancer. Women join me, join your voices, in this fight. Endometrial cancer is the most commonly diagnosed gynecological cancer. Support organizations like Peach Outreach and Womb Cancer Support UK. Talk to your gynecologist.

No one asks to get cancer. You can either bury your head in the sand or you can stand up and be counted and demand money and research and time be devoted to fighting it so another woman doesn’t have to hear this diagnosis.

I applaud the work Washington University School of Medicine and M. D. Anderson Cancer Center are doing. These institutions are doing the cutting edge research into endometrial cancer. We need answers. We need a cure.

Learn the risk factors. Learn the facts. Become accountable to your own body. We only have one body. Recognize the symptoms and seek treatment.

Risk Factors

The following risk factors predispose women to developing endometrial cancer:

Endometrial hyperplasia
Obesity
Never having children
Early onset of menstruation before age 12
Delayed onset of menopause after age 55
Taking tamoxifen
Taking estrogen without progesterone
Radiation therapy to the pelvis
Family history
Lynch syndrome

Symptoms

Abnormal vaginal bleeding, spotting or discharge
Pain or difficulty when urinating
Pain during sexual intercourse
Pain in the pelvic area

If you experience any of these symptoms, tell your doctor immediately.

If you don’t take care of yourself, who will?

Resources

http://peachoutreach.com//
http://wombcancersupportuk.wix.com/home

Join the fight.