What is uterine cancer?
Uterine cancer is a malignant tumor in the uterus. The disease is curable happy often. That's because uterine cancer usually grows slowly.
This type of cancer usually develops in the mucous membrane on the inside of the uterus (endometrium). Therefore sometimes the disease is called endometrial cancer.
What are the symptoms of uterine cancer?
These symptoms could indicate uterine cancer:
- vaginal bleeding after menopause;
- bleeding between periods if you're not already in the transition.
- in the underlying muscle layer;
- to the cervix;
- to the fallopian tubes.
Who is at greater risk of uterine cancer?
How exactly uterine cancer occurs is not yet clear. However, there are circumstances that give more risk of uterine cancer.
Who has more risk of uterine cancer?
- Women who have one child or no children.
- Women who late in the transition (menopause) come.
- Women who use the drug tamoxifen in the treatment of breast cancer.
- Women who are overweight (obese).
- Women with a hereditary predisposition to colon cancer (Lynch syndrome, formerly known as HNPCC) have an increased risk of tumors in other organs, including the uterus.
How does the doctor determines that you have cervical cancer?
To assess uterine cancer, the doctor will first ask about your symptoms. Then the doctor will examine you. This includes an internal examination. The doctor inserts a speculum into the vagina. So they can view the vagina and the cervix well. Then the doctor inserts one or two fingers into your vagina. The other hand she puts on your stomach. So they can feel how big the womb and how it is. It may also feel that your ovaries are swollen.
An important research to determine uterine cancer, is a vaginal ultrasound. For this, the gynecologist brings a thin, rod-shaped echo-device in the vagina. The abdominal organs can be seen as a display.
When hysteroscopy the gynecologist takes a thin tube through the vagina into your uterus. This allows the physician looks at the uterine wall. They see a suspicious looking spot, then they can immediately take away a piece of tissue for examination.
After these studies clearly that you have cervical cancer? Then follow more studies. For example:
- Blood tests. With a blood test, the doctor can see how your liver, kidneys and other organs work.
- CT scan of your abdomen. The doctor can thus detect any metastases outside the womb.
- MRI scan .
- X-ray of the lungs.
Treatment for uterine cancer
The treatment of uterine cancer usually begins with surgery. The surgeon will remove the uterus. She also gets nearly always the ovaries away. It does so because metastases can sit. For this operation, you get a cut on the abdomen, from the pubic bone to the navel.
Sometimes, the surgeon extracts the uterus via a vaginal surgery. This only happens when you're too sick for abdominal surgery.
If the possibility exists that there are cancer cells left behind after surgery than following radiotherapy (radiation therapy). How great the probability is dependent on the type of cancer cells, the more malignant the cancer cells are and how far the tumor in the uterine wall was ingrown. Irradiate two ways: externally and internally (brachytherapy). Sometimes the doctor gives a combination of these.
Sometimes the doctor knows in advance that uterine cancer is not curable. Then she will discuss with you what treatment you minimize the burden of the disease. This is called palliative treatment. The uterus cancer can thus also be reduced for a longer period of time. With uterine cancer are hormone treatments and chemotherapy palliative treatments.
You get one of these treatments:
- the tumor is too far grown. The surgeon, the tumor can then no longer take away;
- even after surgery and / or radiation have tumor tissue is left behind;
- there are metastases, for example in the bones.
After a treatment of uterine cancer
Treatment for uterine cancer is very heavy, both mentally and physically. It will probably take a long time before you can do just everything.
You can still months are tired or you feel weak. The emotional process of the disease also takes a lot of time and energy.
Young women may come too soon by the treatment in the transition. This occurs if the surgeon has removed, or if the ovaries are irradiated the ovaries. The body then makes certain sex hormones anymore. To supplement the shortage of hormones you get hormone replacement drugs.
If you have a tumor that is sensitive to hormones? Then, a hormone replacement drug may be some residual cancer cells stimulate them to grow properly. The specialist will consult with you whether you should take such medicine.
Some women after surgery difficulty holding urine. It may be that in the operation of the bladder small nerves have been damaged. Therefore you feel that you must urinate. This occurs especially in the operation of Wertheim-Meigs. In this operation, the surgeon has the lymph nodes and the tissue around the uterus away as much as possible.
Most people can again simply cease their urine after a while.
Uterine cancer and sexuality
The treatment of uterine cancer can affect sex. The effects vary from woman to woman. Most likely you will experience sex differently. You will need to discover together with your partner again and experience what is possible and what is comfortable.
By treating your body produces certain sex hormones anymore. This allows you to have less sexual drive. But also because you are extremely tired you need less sex. Probably you have a need for tenderness and security.
You need to decide when and how you want to make love. There are no medical objections to sexual arousal and orgasm. If your uterus is removed, you may have an orgasm in a different sense than before. This is because you no longer feel contractions of the uterus more.
It may also be that you are less moist during sexual arousal. A lubricant can help. Lubricant is available at your pharmacy.
By radiation your vagina can be narrowed. To remedy you can use Vaseline tampons this (a few minutes to sit down). Vaseline tampons can make your own by soaking an ordinary tampon in a jar of Vaseline.
Sexual problems sometimes also related to relationship problems. Your doctor may refer you to a psychologist for this or a relationship therapist.