Eight months before my endometrial cancer (EC) diagnosis, I started bleeding heavily. At the time, I had not had a menstrual period for about four years and was in full menopause at that point.
I did have a little spotting one year before that, which should have been my first sign, but I thought it was just a bit of discharge. I also started to experience pain during sex, which should have been a red flag as well.
I don’t know why I didn’t realize that the spotting the year before was a sign. I think I probably ignored it because I didn’t want to see it as something serious. I really think I was fortunate to have a sign or symptom at all,because not all women have any symptoms, or if they do, they may not recognize them as signs of a disease.
I believe I did recognized signs because I did not have a history of endometriosis or any other complications regarding my reproductive system. Abnormal bleeding is the most common symptom of endometrial pre-cancers and cancer, and this bleeding can happen in between periods or after menopause. There are several other risk factors involved as well, although it’s important to note that those risks don’t cause the disease, and some women who have risk factors never develop the disease.
Learn more about EC signs and symptoms
Life before the signs of EC
Going through menopause was an unending cycle of night sweats, mild hot flashes in which I would be a little warm even if it was cold outside, itchy dry skin and a dry vagina. I would also have my regular cycle for a year and it would stop for a month, giving me a little hope, just to have that hope dashed when it would return the next month.
My cycle continued like this for a few years before it stopped completely. Oh, finally the celebration! I can wear white pants! I can go swimming whenever I want to! No cramps! No bloating!
My gynecologist at the time said I was all normal aside from a bit of vaginal atrophy. It was heaven until that fateful day in October of 2024. My gut told me something was wrong. There’s no way I could just have a period, complete with cramps and bloating, a whole four years after stopping.
My ‘gut feeling’ was right
That never-endingfeeling that nagged at my mind and in my gut was warning me that something was really wrong. It had gotten to the point where I could not not listen to it anymore.
Intuition is something I strongly believe in because mine has always been pretty spot on, even for the smallest of things, like taking a different route when driving somewhere, way before GPS. I don’t always listen to it–who does? But this time, I had to listen. This was a matter of life and death. It wasn’t something I could will away or cure by changing my habits, like eating better or exercising. .
Every time I went to the restroom, there it was, reminding me that something was terribly wrong. All I could do was pray and know that all was well despite any and all appearances to the contrary. I had been trained to do this from a young age, so it was almost automatic. I say almost because nerves and my imagination were trying to get in the way.
Trusting my intuition
Medical appointments are not the easiest to get quickly anywhere, but especially when you are not in the same place where your insurance coverage is, and you’re in the middle of traveling. I was able to get an appointment at a Planned Parenthood three months after my first symptom showed up. They ordered a transvaginal ultrasound at an imaging center, but I had to wait two weeks.
It can be frustrating when you know something is wrong and you can’t make things go any faster. That is when I had to calm my mind and go into automatic knowing mode! At that point, there was nothing else I could physically do, so mentally, what I could do was do away with worry and fear. The doctor at Planned Parenthood did see polyps, and there was concern, but my funds would not allow them to go very far with diagnosis and treatment.
I was finally referred to an excellent gynecologist who performed a biopsy a full six months after that very first appointment at Planned Parenthood. It was then that I received the news that it was indeed stage 1a EC, and that it was slow growing. I wondered at that moment if it wasn’t aggressive because of my diet or my meditation and visualization techniques I had learned over the last 40 yearswho knows?
My best advice to all women is to get your yearly well woman check ups and communicate every little thing you notice–about your cycle sexual discomfort or anything else–to your doctor! Doctors take notes and know what to listen for at appointments. Most of all, listen to your body. Notice every little change. You can even keep a diary or journal to help you keep track of any small things. And listen to that little feeling that won’t go away–your intuition. That feeling will not stop until you finally decide to listen.
