Bleeding After Menopause

I'm really worried about my Mom. She is 57 years old and started to bleed again three years ago right after she entered menopause. She went to her gyno. which performed a pap test & biopsy and found nothing. Well she started to bleed again last year so she went back which the doctor performed another pap test, biopsy & looked around with a camera. she said all was found was a small fibroid. Now for the third year she has started to bleed again along with a watery discharge and back pain. She just had another pap test last week and is scheduled for a D & C. I'm just worried that this could be something serious but don't understand why nothing has been detected before now. Please help provide some king of info. I'm worried sick about my Mom, I can't sleep, eat or even think straight. And hope there is a chance for a minor problem. Thanks in advance for any help.      

[Machelle Seibel, MD]

Many things can cause this type of problem. Your are correct that sometimes it can be caused by something serious such as cancer. It can also be something minor such as a benign polyp. Fibroids don't usually cause bleeding after menopause.

Your mother's doctor has been evaluating her all along which is good, and the D & C should shed some answers. The doctor might also want to do a hysteroscopy which uses a telescope to look inside the uterus and be sure everything is OK. This can be done in the office and sometimes is done in the operating room. If you do not get an answer after the D & C and the symptoms continue, consider getting a second opinion just to be sure nothing else could be done to find a cause.
Machelle M. Seibel, MD