Clear, watery discharge 2 and a half years after treatment

Hi ladies.

I literally just had a wee and noticed a clear watery discharge in the toilet paper.

I was diagnosed in July 2018, finished treatment in November 2018 and 2 weeks ago just had my 6 months follow up. All is good! I have no pelvic pain, no bleeding or any other symptoms. 

Has anyone had anything like this post treatment?

Lots of love x

Ladybug

Hi Ladybug,

I can imagine how worrisome that is. My initial symptoms back in 2018 was a watery discharge. I had adenocarcinoma. Was yours also adenocarcinoma or squamous cell? Also, the checkup 2 weeks ago, was it a scan or a pelvic exam? Did you get a hysterectomy at your initial treatment or just radiation/chemo? If you still have your uterus, then I would definitely get checked. Regardless, I would still get it checked out because this is a new symptom. 

I generally don't trust physical exams all that much. I'd finished radiation in May 2019, got a clear PET in Aug 2019, a normal pelvic exam in Nov 2019 and the doc said we'd just do another pelvic exam in Feb 2020. I told her I would prefer some kind of scan since it would be 6 months since the previous one. The pelvic exam in Feb 2020 was normal but the MRI she ordered showed there was actually a recurrence on the vaginal cuff!!!. The next day they ordered a PET and it showed metastasis to abdominal wall and 3 nodules in the lungs. Good thing I'd asked for a scan. Luckily, the chemo that followed was effective and I'm still ok.

I hope it turns out to be nothing. 

Hi Jjww,

Thanks for your reply.

I had an adenocarcinoma as well and was staged 1b2 with no lymph node involvement. I am based in Australia and the treatments are slightly different here. I have two doctors, my gyno oncologist and my rad oncologist. I emailed them about the discharge and they are not worried. In Australia there is a cut off at 4cm for surgery so I was given 4 rounds of chemo, 20 rads and 3 brachy. I finished treatment in November 2018 and had a clear PET in May 2019. The exam I had was an internal pelvic exam. They have all been good and normal according to the docs but like you, I have asked for a scan since the last PET. It's not standard procedure here so I have been denied a scan, which is frustrating as you can imagine! One of my friends had Melanoma 3 years ago and now there might be a reocurrence to the lungs which was only picked up by scan so I can definitely see the usefulness of having one done now. 

I am thinking of going to my GP and asking to have some sort of scan done so that we can be sure. I really don't like the idea of relying on internal examinations only. I feel great and have no other symptoms but that was also the case when I was diagnosed! Like you I had a watery discharge.

Anyway, I will make sure I get a scan booked and will report back the results. 

Stay safe x

 

Hi Jjww,

Thanks for your reply.

I had an adenocarcinoma as well and was staged 1b2 with no lymph node involvement. I am based in Australia and the treatments are slightly different here. I have two doctors, my gyno oncologist and my rad oncologist. I emailed them about the discharge and they are not worried. In Australia there is a cut off at 4cm for surgery so I was given 4 rounds of chemo, 20 rads and 3 brachy. I finished treatment in November 2018 and had a clear PET in May 2019. The exam I had was an internal pelvic exam. They have all been good and normal according to the docs but like you, I have asked for a scan since the last PET. It's not standard procedure here so I have been denied a scan, which is frustrating as you can imagine! One of my friends had Melanoma 3 years ago and now there might be a reocurrence to the lungs which was only picked up by scan so I can definitely see the usefulness of having one done now. 

I am thinking of going to my GP and asking to have some sort of scan done so that we can be sure. I really don't like the idea of relying on internal examinations only. I feel great and have no other symptoms but that was also the case when I was diagnosed! Like you I had a watery discharge.

Anyway, I will make sure I get a scan booked and will report back the results. 

Stay safe x

 

Based on everything you've said, I'd definitely get a scan. We have very similar stats and timeframes. I was diagnosed in August 2018 with 1b1, it was about 2cm, no lymph nodes involved. I'm in the US so I got a radical hysterectomy within 2 weeks, but they opted not to do chemo/radiation at the time, said no further treatment which later recurred. At my 1st post-surgery checkup in Nov 2018,it was "normal" but 1 month later, I went for a 2nd opinion which found it. Mine grows fast I guess. From then, I went to get treatment at a different cancer center, the best one in US in Houston. Luckily, they don't mess around and my insurance is also very good so they approve anything my dr asks for.

Given that you still have your uterus, and it's adenocarcinoma, it develops in the glands way up in the cervix and that's why one of the symptoms we had initially was the clear discharge. I remember it well, you pee, then a blob of clear discharge falls out. Mine had no smell at all so I wasn't worried but still, I got it checked out coz it was unusual. Plus I had a tiny bit of blood at the tip of my sex toy a couple times so I went to the doc. A pap smear could be totally normal unless they get the tissues all the way up the cervix and even then, depending on the location, maybe not.

When I had my recurrences, especially the 2nd one in 2020, a pelvic exam was totally normal, the dr couldn't feel anything. And since I had a hysterectomy, there was no discharge. But, the MRI and PET that I got clearly showed there was a tumor there. I guess it hadn't yet developed into a palpable tumor you could feel. But I'm pretty sure if I still had a uterus, I would have had other symptoms like a discharge or some bleeding.

So, yeah definitely get a PET scan. You must insist on it. If all else fails, pay for it yourself. Adenocarcinoma can be a bit trickier than squamous cell and needs to be agressively monitored so you can catch it as early as possible, including recurrences. On the other hand, because you had the radiation, the discharge could also just be related to that and not a recurrence. So I'm hoping that's the case.

All the best!

I booked an appointment to see my GP on Monday and will ask for a scan. Fingers crossed it's nothing sinister! Thanks for your reply. I'll post here after I get my scan done. 

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Hi Jjww,

So it’s been a few weeks … I saw my GP and, like my oncologists, he is not worried about the one discharge I had while peeing. If it was happening regularly he said he would investigate but as a one off he is not worried. I asked for a blood test just to see if everything is OK and he also asked for a chest X Ray as I told him I heard some people get a reoccurrence in the lungs. Both came back fine, except for my lymphocytes and neutrofils which are a little bit lower than the normal average.

My GP asked me to repeat the blood test after 15 days which I have done and still the same result. He is not worried but decided to refer me to a hematologist for further tests and to be sure there is nothing else going on.

I wonder if anyone else has had lower than average lymphocytes and neutrofils 2 years after treatment?

Hi everyone,

Just to give you all an update and in case someone else finds themselves in the same situation - I saw the hematologist and she ordered some new bloods with some extras to check on inflammation markers.

It all came back normal and both my neutrophils and lymphocytes are back up again. No inflammation in the body. She said the results were so normal it was boring and that these levels fluctuate specially if the body is fighting a cold or infection.

So there you have it ladies - just because something may not look right, it doesn’t mean the outcome will be bad. The hematologist was talking about a bone marrow biopsy if the results came back with low levels so I was a little anxious. I am so glad it worked out in the end.

Lots of love ladies and stay strong xx
Ladybug

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