Symptoms?

I just turned 36.  I'm kind of freaking myself out which is why I am here. 

 I had had my period since 11 years old and I always have my period every 23 days; always.  I could set my watch to it, seriously.  Not one day late or early ever except of course when I was pregnant (3 children).  They have always been pretty heavy but only last about 5 days total. 

 About 6 monhts ago my periods started changing; They were super heavy and only lasted about 2 or 3 days.  It would be really heavy flow and then suddenly just stop like someone turned off the faucet.  Nothing; no residue, nothing.  I had a normal pelvic exam in October of 08. 

Let me start by saying that i have been SOOOO TIRED for about 4 months now!  I mean completey almost lethargic tired.  I am normally a work aholic and even tho I try to make myself buckle down and do my stuff at home and work, I just can't.  All I care about is sleeping! 

 Then this month I was 2 1/2 weeks late.  I took 2 pg tests even tho my husband had a visectomy 9 years ago!  I thought, well, I HAVE been tired; maybe this would make sense? Of course they were negative.  But remember how totally and completely regular I am...

 Well, to my relief I started my period.  But for 3 days it was very very faint in color and was barely even there at all.  But then it started!  Very heavy, big clots, very running and peculiarly bright red.  I did notice it but of course thought it was maybe a result of being late.  Well.  That was 3 weeks ago!  I am still bleeding and there seems to be no end in site.  My stomach feels very bloated as well. 

 I went to my gyno yestereday and she did a pelvic exam but my clinic is notorious for not caring about their patients nor hearing them when they are trying to tell you that something is not right.  The pelvic "looked" normal, and she scheduled me for an ultrasound that I can't get into for anohter month.  They did take blood and sent me on my way. 

 After going on line and checking on my symptoms I am finding that early sypmtoms of uterine/cervical cancer are very much like mine.  Very thin bloody periord; bright in color; changes in time/heaviness. 

Am I just really freaking out here?  What I want is to know honest to goodness actual symptoms that actual women had before they found out they had cancer... All I can seem to find are the "clinical" symptoms. 

 Anyone? Thank you!

Hi,

You are asking for symptoms from actual patients, so here's mine.  I was diagnosed with endometrial cancer stage 3, ovarian cancer, stage 1 and cervical cancer stage 1 so it had been there a while. 

My main symptom was heavy bleeding.  First, regular cycle with heavier bleeding meaning the length of the periods was the same and the interval between periods was the same but I was now using the big, long overnight pads from Always brand, one a night.  Before this I used tampons but no more, I had to go to pads.  This came on suddenly, not gradually and went for 2 years while at age 42 I thought this was pre-menopause or something and I ignored it.  Cancer doesn't "run" in my family and I was pretty young.

After one and a half years of this, one day "all hell broke loose".  I woke up with a TIA on my right side.  Luckily the stroke symptoms went away in a few days.  That day was also the same day my super, super, super heavy periods started and I knew this "thing" had to come out.  I started searching for a gyno to do a hysterectomy right away.

Another symptom I had was what a neurologist said was inflammation.  Only 3 times and for only a minute or so, one eye would track off and I couldn't see.  The cancer was responsible for the TIA and the eye thing. 

Anyway, these super periods were ungodly heavy.  The interval between them got shorter by 1 week, from 28 to 21 days, and they lasted days longer, up to 10 or 11 days.  I was bleeding to death but it was taking a few months.  Also in there I did see some clear discharge on a pad or two. 

I had no pain, no bloating, no upset stomach, no cramps, nothing else but the bleeding.  Oh, I did pass a fibroid one day and did have another day when the bleeding got stopped up and I had very painful super cramps that I went to the emergency room with until the bleeding started again with a gush.  

Your gyno can prescribe progesterone to stop the bleeding and can also check your hemoglobin so as to see how anemic you are.  Take it from someone whose hemoglobin got down to 7 something, anemia will make you very tired and weak to the point that you can't walk very far at all, stand for very long at all, think very well, etc. 

My first test was an ultrasound, vaginal and abdominal.  They only saw the "complex mass" on the one ovary and said nothing about the uterus.  I saw the ultrasound report and they didn't see a stage 3 tumor in my uterus.  The pathology report later said that the uterine tumor was 75% through the uterine wall which is deep.  So beware of a doc telling you that your ultrasound is clear.  They can miss some important pathology with those.  But I did have uterine fibroids which may have obscured the ultrasound's view of the tumor. 

I have read that they can also do an endometrial biopsy which is, of course, what I would suggest. 

If I've left anything out and you have more questions please let me know.  Obviously I wish I would have caught this thing when the heavier, but manageable periods started. 

I am now on 6 rounds of carbo/taxol that will be followed by 5 weeks of radiation.

Good luck!