Butterfly

Do you know what the 4th leading cancer for women is?

Do you?

Care to guess?

It's endometrial cancer. Surprised?

You're not alone.

Endometrial cancer is abnormal cells in the endometrium, or the lining of the uterus. This is the lining that thickens each month & shed during a period. 

Each year, more than 40,000 women in the United States are diagnosed with uterine cancer. The average age for diagnosis of uterine cancer is 60. However, the number of younger women with uterine cancer is going up. Of uterine cancers, about:

• 25% are found before women go through menopause
• 5% are found before women are 40 years old

Early Diagnosis is Key

Most uterine cancers develop over a period of years. They may start as less serious problems such as endometrial hyperplasia, which is an overgrowth of cells in the lining of the uterus.

Fortunately, many uterine cancers are found early because of warning signs such as abnormal or postmenopausal bleeding. If uterine cancer is found in the earliest stages, it often can be treated successfully.

From the MD Anderson website

The Cleveland Clinic explains it this way:

The following symptoms might occur with endometrial cancer or other conditions:

• Vaginal bleeding between normal periods in pre-menopausal women
• Vaginal bleeding or spotting in post-menopausal women
• Lower abdominal pain or pelvic cramping
• Extremely long, heavy or frequent vaginal bleeding episodes in women over 40

• An abnormal, watery or blood-tinged discharge from your vagina
• Pelvic pain
• Pain during intercourse

According to the Mayo Clinic, the risk factors are:

• Changes in the balance of female hormones in the body. Your ovaries make two main female hormones — estrogen and progesterone. Fluctuations in the balance of these hormones cause changes in your endometrium.

  A disease or condition that increases the amount of estrogen, but not the level of progesterone, in your body can increase your risk of endometrial cancer. Examples include irregular ovulation patterns, such as can occur in women with polycystic ovary syndrome, obesity and diabetes. Taking hormones after menopause that contain estrogen but not progesterone increases the risk of endometrial cancer.

  A rare type of ovarian tumor that secretes estrogen also can increase the risk of endometrial cancer.

• More years of menstruation. Starting menstruation at an early age — before age 12 — or beginning menopause later increases the risk of endometrial cancer. The more periods you've had, the more exposure your endometrium has had to estrogen.
• Never having been pregnant. Women who have never been pregnant have a higher risk of endometrial cancer than do women who have had at least one pregnancy.
• Older age. As you get older, your risk of endometrial cancer increases. The majority of endometrial cancer occurs in older women who have undergone menopause.
• Obesity. Being obese increases your risk of endometrial cancer. This may occur because excess body fat alters your body's balance of hormones.
• Hormone therapy for breast cancer. Women with breast cancer who take the hormone therapy drug tamoxifen have an increased risk of developing endometrial cancer. If you're taking tamoxifen, discuss this risk with your doctor. For most women, the benefits of tamoxifen outweigh the small risk of endometrial cancer.
• An inherited colon cancer syndrome. Hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC) is a syndrome that increases the risk of colon cancer and other cancers, including endometrial cancer. HNPCC occurs because of a gene mutation passed from parents to children. If a family member has been diagnosed with HNPCC, discuss your risk of the genetic syndrome with your doctor. If you've been diagnosed with HNPCC, ask your doctor what cancer screening tests you should undergo.

Why am I passionate about this cause? My mother is one of the 52,630 women who will be diagnosed this year. She is fortunate-her cancer was stage 1 and well contained. For her, a short course of radiation will be done and she doesn't require chemo. Many other women aren't so lucky. Over 8000 women will die from endometrial cancer this year.

Share this with the women you love. You can save a life.