Uterine Cancer

Uterine cancer is a cancer that occurs in the uterus or the womb, where a baby grows during pregnancy. This cancer usually occurs after a woman goes through menopause .It is the most common cancer of the female reproductive organs besides ovarian and cervical cancer. It is the fourth most common cancer among women over all, after breast cancer, lung cancer and colorectal cancer. However, it is also the one of the most curable cancers, since it is mostly detected early due to more specific (compared to ovarian and cervical cancers) warning signs and symptoms such as irregular or post menopausal bleeding.Endometrial cancer, a cancer that starts in the endometrium (the mucous membrane lining or the uterus) is the most common kind of uterine cancer. The others are known are sarcomas, the tumor of the outer muscular lining, which are generally more aggressive and spread faster.Just like ovarian cancer, uterine cancerhas no specific known cause, although there are some risk factors that may affect a womans chance of getting the disease. The risk factors are among others: endometrial hyperplasia (an abnormal increase in the number of cells in the lining of the uterus, which is not cancer, but sometimes develops into cancer), obesity, reproductive and menstrual history (risk would increase if a woman never has never had children, had menstrual period before the age of 12, and went through menopause after age 55), history of taking estrogen without progesterone, history of using tamoxifen (a drug used to treat or prevent breast cancer), history of having been treated with radiotherapy to the pelvis, and family health history.Symptoms of uterine cancer are similar to cervical and ovarian cancers. If you experience any abnormal vaginal bleeding that occurs after going through menopause or one or more of the symptoms mentioned below for more than two weeks, consult a doctor immediately, especially if you have gone through menopause. The common symptoms or uterine cancer are among others:

  • Pre-menopausal or peri-menopausal bleeding
  • Abnormal vaginal discharge
  • Pelvic pain or pressure, which usually occur in advanced stages of the cancer.
  • Weight loss

If you experience the symptoms mentioned above, you may be required by your doctor to have a physical exam and blood tests, and also other tests such as: pelvic exam (checking your uterus, vagina and nearby tissues for any lumps or changes in shape or size), ultrasound (using ultrasound device to create picture of uterus and nearby tissues, which can show a tumor in the uterus), and biopsy (removing a tissue to look for cancer cells, in most cases this is the most certain way to diagnose the presence of cancer in the body).If you are indeed diagnosed with uterine cancer, your doctor needs to learn the stage of the cancer you are in to determine the best treatment for you. The stage is based on how far the cancer has spread in the body.  To do this, the doctor may order you to undergo some tests such as a pap test, chest x-ray, CT-scan, and MRI. Surgery is also needed to determine the stage of the cancer. The stages of uterine cancer are:

  • Stage 0: cancer cells are found only on the surface of the endometrium (the mucous membrane lining of the uterus).
  • Stage I: The cancer has spread to the endometrium and may have invaded the myometrium.
  • Stage II: The cancer has spread to the cervix.
  • Stage III: The cancer has spread from to nearby tissues, such as the vagina or a lymph node.
  • Stage IV: The cancer has spread to the bladder or intestine and perhaps even parts of the body distant from the uterus, such as the liver, lungs, or bones.

Uterine cancer treatment options include surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, hormone therapy and/or a combination of methods. As in other types of cancer, the kind of treatment given to a patient depends of the cancers stage, the age and the general health of a patient. To get the best treatment, you need to consult your condition with your doctor.Remember that this cancer is one of the most curable cancers. So, be optimistic, because even though you have been diagnosed with this cancer, you still have a good chance to survive uterine cancer.Read more about symptoms of cervical cancer in our web site .


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