Thursday, September 26, 2013

Why all this?

Why all this?  Because no one told me that being overweight could lead to endometrial cancer.  I don't have endometrial cancer, as far as I know, but tomorrow morning I'm going to find out if I do, or if the recurrence of abnormal cell growth in my uterus is still pre-cancerous.  That "pre-" business is sure freaky.  Anyway, why does this happen?  Because excess body fat -- as I understand it -- can cause a hormonal imbalance.  I'm not going to look up the details right now, but either estrogen is produced or something that mimics estrogen.  Anyway, as I'm post-menopausal, that estrogen isn't balanced by progesterone, as it should be.  The first time -- I think it was maybe 9 months to a year ago -- when I had some bleeding, which was completely wrong wrong wrong -- I went through a series of biopsies, ultrasounds, hysteroscopies, D&Cs, and progesterone pills, and it all went away.  Woo hoo!  At the six month check-up, not long ago, I had an ultrasound again -- and the endometrial lining had thickened with extra cells again.  So here we are.

Tomorrow early, I go in for another D&C, biopsy, hysteroscopy.  This time I'm also getting a Merina IUD, which I completely dread.  The reason for that is that it releases progesterone locally and can stay in place for 5 years.  Except that I am fortune-telling that it will be agonizingly crampy, and I'll need to run back and get it removed in no time.  I need to stop doing that and believe that it will be fine, of course, until I hear otherwise from my uterus.

The other options are to take the progesterone orally, which is not good if you have a family history of breast cancer -- and even if you don't -- but I sure do.  Or you can take it orally in a cyclical fashion -- some days on, some days off -- which will stimulate my body to menstruate.  I don't THINK so.

The other option -- and the only option if it turns out to be cancerous -- is to have a hysterectomy.  I've been told, heck, why not, just get it out, who cares.  This is pretty much my feeling too, except, of course, that it's major surgery.  These can be done through laproscopic incisions and the uterus removed vaginally these days -- so no major incisions.  Unless you haven't gone through childbirth, because there's just not a lot of room to move in there without having had those stretching exercises.  So it's probably major incision/risk of infection/long recovery time if I do that.  I'll do it if I need to, but I guess I want something else to happen altogether.

Losing weight could help, although the process will take a long time.  But other health problems can be reduced or eliminated altogether if I lose weight.  I won't need to take blood pressure medicine, or a statin for cholesterol, and I may no longer have a very serious sleep apnea problem when I lose weight.  That might mean that my sleeping would no longer be disordered, and I'd feel more rested, which could help me lose more weight, and might lift some of the depression, because sleepiness and depression are co-related.

So tomorrow morning, I go in and get put to sleep and manhandled and all that.  I come home and recover, and sometime next week I find out the results of the biopsy.

No one told me about this endometrial hyperplasia business.  But I don't know that I could have lost weight and kept it off forever, even if I did know.  This weight business has been a lifelong struggle.  I feel confident that I'm learning to address it now, finally, with the help of this group.  And we'll see what tomorrow brings.

I don't want to scare my friends and loved ones.  We've caught it early, and I truly feel that there is nearly no chance that this will kill me or anything.  I trust my doctor.  I think this uterus just isn't going to hang around much longer to keep bothering me anyway.  Can't get uterine cancer if I don't have a uterine!  It's a very common operation, apparently second only to Caesarians for women.  A ton of women apparently have the operation for the same reason I do.  We all need to learn how to listen to our bodies, so that we can learn the difference between hunger and -- whatever it is that makes us eat.  Quit listening to diet things.  Quit believing what people say to make you feel empty inside.  Love yourself, wouldja?  OK, I'm done for now.

I may not get back here for a day or two, but don't worry about that.  I may be just too foggy to write.  I'll get on FB though, so my friends will know everything's ok.  Love you all.

2 comments:

Not Necessarily Reality said...

I love you and you have my number if you need to talk.

Wincey said...

Thanks, although your name and profile don't give ma any clue who you are ;)