My dr has clarified that I do have cancer shown up on my latest smear test despite a clear smear back in April 2014. I have the glandular type which I’m guessing is the adenocarcinoma. Thing is I’ve had irregular bleeding for 3 years so I’m terrified I’ve had cancer for this long. How long does it take for cancer to progress from stage 1 through to 4. I have my hospital appointment on Thursday which seems a lifetime away.
I have a 10 month old son and a 10yr old son who I really want to see grow up.
im really sorry to hear about your diagnosis, it is a huge shock and I know your head is racing. I was diagnosed in June of this year and also have a small baby at home as well as 2 other older children. I was absolutely terrified that I was going to be late stage and told I was terminal. First, take a huge deep breath and know that you will be ok. Do not read anything on google as it is all outdated or wrong as treatment has progressed so much in the least few years that they are still collecting data to do updates.
the length of time that cancer develops and progresses varies amongst people but it is a slow growing cancer in the grand scheme. Your type of cancer is harder for a smear to pick up so I'm sure they will review your last smear. There are many ladies on this site that are adeno and will come along and explain that type better then I can but both types are treated the same.
You will now go through a series of exams and scan to detirmine your stage but pls do not get caught up in this as it is only a number to help detirmine your treatment and all stages can be treated.
Once you do know your treatment plan you can begin to organize what you need to do. So as hard as it might be try to relax and not panic as you are not going to die anytime soon!!!
Thank you so much for your reply. I honestly couldn't find anything about how fast it spreads, just that to go from pre cancer to cancer takes a very long time.
Im eager to know what it is I'm dealing with and to get started on fighting this thing thoroughly.
i admit at the present time I'm all up for them taking out everything and doing chemo and rad. I just want this thing out of me.
How long does it usually take before they can stage you, will the colposcopy give them a good indication of this or am I waiting on the biopsy and then further scans. I'm trying to get my head around how the colposcopy is going to help considering they already know it's cancer.
Apologies for for all the questions. It's my personality to want to know everything.
when you go for your colposcopy they will put a vinager type of solution on your cervix To see how big the area is. It will all depend on that as to what they do next. They will do some kind of biopsy to send off to get tested to detirmine what kind of cc you have.
of the area is small enough they might just do a cone or lletz and send off to see if they get clear margins. Hopefully your cancer will be so small that this will be the treatment. Like I said it all depends on how big and what type it is. They could also offer you more treatment even if they get clear margins depending on if you want your fertility saved. It's kind of hard to say what exactly will happen next as they need more information on your cancer.
Reat assured you will be examined and then they will take all necessary steps to offer you the best outcome. It's so hard to be patient through this initial phase of the journey as you cannot help but think the worst. Focus on one thing at a time and stay positive. Think only about the facts that you do know not what you don't. From diagnosis to start of treatment was 1 month and I believe that's about average. So for the next month you will be all over the place with your emotions. You need to focus on staying level headed and patient. All will fall into place and before you know it you will be on your way to being cancer free.
When do you go for your colposcopy? You will hopefully be able to detirmine more after that. Do try to stay positive and try to sleep when you can. A rested mind is a strong mind.
Sorry to have arrived a bit late to this particular party ;-) I just wanted to add that the colposcopy and the biopsy will tell you whet type of cancer you have, the scans will tell you what stage it has reached. They can usually take a pretty accurate guess of what stage it is at colposcopy but this needs to be confirmed by the scans. Hope this helps :-) Meanwhile, welcome to the forum!
Hi ya, thanks for your reply. I had my treatment biopsy today. They couldn't tell me anything. In fact I'm totally confused now as they said my dr had it wrong and that they can't say if I have cancer. Just that my smear came back high grade CGIN. I will get a call in 7-10 days if the margins are unclear in which case I'll have to have another lletz, if that comes back unclear again then it's MRI, CT etc.
It's all all so confusing. They took a depth of just over 1cm, mentioned something about a team meeting and if I don't hear anything by 4 weeks to give them a ring.
I was told prior to the procedure that the consultant who would do the procedure would atleast give her opinion when doing it but she said nothing at all, just that she'd push through the biopsy so it's done quickly.
well this might be a great finding in your journey, I'm guessing your dr told you cancer but indeed it might have just been high grade severe dysk or carcinoma in situ which is sometimes concidered stage 0.
A lletz procedure is 90-95% effective in treating this.
So, now you wait....
waiting sucks....
try to keep busy and keep your fingers crossed!
Hopefully this was all just a misunderstanding of terms used on your dr's behalf.
hi ya. Yes it's certainly better then them finding invasive cancer. It's half term tomorrow for my eldest so thankfully he will keep my mind of this all. Thank you all for your support and calming words. I will update once I know more.
