Just got diagnosed, help

[Silla]

I got diagnosed over a month ago with 1 stage, doctor said I need surgery, but since I don't have insurance he didn't seem to care. He prescribe me Megestrone and told me to fine a job that has insurance so that he can perform the surgery. I don't really trust this doctor, cause timing is a very imporant. It has to be done somehow. I don't know what to do. Am bleeding for a month now, I need your help. Should I do the surgery as soon as possible. What should I know about the surgery, I don't have any idea what to expect. Please need your feed back. Tell me all u know about this surgery. How long does it take to recover. Plus ,do you know any organizations that help people without insurance. desperate for answers. thanks

[kathy o]

GET TO THE DR> now....

[Silla]

Ok, as u said am going to do it today. The flow won't stop either, I just went to the bathroom and the whole taoiled changed to red. guess don't have a choice. thanks

[Teresa210]

More than likely you will come across a doctor that doesn't see much they can do.  You are the one who has to pitch the fit and demand. Emergency Rooms are always open, every single day out of the year, 24 hours a day.  What do you care about the money for right now.  You are not going to need it if you let yourself die sitting idly by.  Claim bankruptcy or something later if you need too, who cares, if you can't claim bankruptcy, what are they going to do other than put it on your credit history.  They can't take blood from a turnip either.  Maybe, just maybe you will find a doctor that will help you and also get you set up for the proper care.  I am sorry, I am just so mad that anyone in these United States feels like you do right now.  I am insured and go through hell with the ins company denying everything at least once just for the purpose of stalling and sometimes I am just to drained to keep fighting them, but I have to.

[Silla]

No catholic hospitals in my area, Kathy.

[Silla]

thanks,T, do u think I dind doctors in ER to treat me today.

[Silla]

How did it work out for u without insurance. U think I can fly to WA. don't know, yet

[Teresa210]

Go to the emergency room.  They cannot turn you away if you cannot pay.  If need be have your nervous breakdown right there.  Go ahead, let it out, scream and rant and rave and make them pay attention.  I can't believe this flippin country just lets this **** go on!!!!!!!  Don't worry about the money.  Most of the time they way overbill so they can afford to haggle later.  Most people don't know that and pay the entire damn bill.  There is so much help for you later, but now it is time to take care of yourself and screw the rest of it.  Go knock some heads together at the ER, you'll be surprised how willing they will be to help when you just let them know you are at the end of your rope and start demanding.

[Silla]

HI Kathy, thanks. I don't have insurance and not enough money for the surgery either. That's taking me behing. don't live in WA state.There are no Catholic hospitals, (just adventist hospital, holly cross) they don't operate without money. Don't have much choise,to make payments for ever? Am confused Kathy.

[Silla]

Hi, thanks for your support, I didn't have a second opinion.I just had a biopsy and lab result. They said Endometial Adenocarcinoma,( 1st stage of CC). He said it has to be removed completely. I can't believe am losing an important part of my body. single, No baby, no man and don't know if I can find husband anymore,after this thing. What can I do. Haven't done anything so far. I cry all day, everyday, been crying for over a month. I know crying is not the answer. But don't know where to go who to talk to, till I found this web (MHI)this mabe be to chat with u get some answers and makes be feel better. Otherwise I can't even tell to anybody, even to my frieds. The doctor put me down. He didn't even recommend me to other organizations for help. My problem now is that my period woudn't stop, am scared to lose all my blood. can't go around without a pad. For example today, am not feeling good, am still bleeding, thought of going to the hospital but being holiday,I thought doctors will not be available, may be they just going to keep me there till after 4th july. I know I need surgery, and timing is runnning out. Please...... what should I do.
Plus, what should I know before surgery,
Thank u all for your support. Linda, same boat, Marie, etc.....

[kathy o]

There are always Drs at the ER, if there is a Catholic hospital in your area and you have no money they will help you!!! I had no insurance either and everything has worked out well for me. What state are you in. If you are in WA state there is so much help available that it made my head spin. Do not delay... I am worried about you!!!
kathy

[NikkiPoo]

You gotta love the "Hippocratic Oath" that doctors swear too but the majority do not follow....

Modern Text used in many Medical Schools

I swear to fulfill, to the best of my ability and judgment, this covenant:
I will respect the hard-won scientific gains of those physicians in whose steps I walk, and gladly share such knowledge as is mine with those who are to follow.
I will apply, for the benefit of the sick, all measures which are required, avoiding those twin traps of overtreatment and therapeutic nihilism.
I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon's knife or the chemist's drug.
I will not be ashamed to say "I know not," nor will I fail to call in my colleagues when the skills of another are needed for a patient's recovery.
I will respect the privacy of my patients, for their problems are not disclosed to me that the world may know. Most especially must I tread with care in matters of life and death. If it is given me to save a life, all thanks. But it may also be within my power to take a life; this awesome responsibility must be faced with great humbleness and awareness of my own frailty. Above all, I must not play at God.
I will remember that I do not treat a fever chart, a cancerous growth, but a sick human being, whose illness may affect the person's family and economic stability. My responsibility includes these related problems, if I am to care adequately for the sick.
I will prevent disease whenever I can, for prevention is preferable to cure.
I will remember that I remain a member of society, with special obligations to all my fellow human beings, those sound of mind and body as well as the infirm.
If I do not violate this oath, may I enjoy life and art, respected while I live and remembered with affection thereafter. May I always act so as to preserve the finest traditions of my calling and may I long experience the joy of healing those who seek my help.

Written in 1964 by Louis Lasagna, Academic Dean of the School of Medicine at Tufts University, and used in many medical schools today.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/doctors/oath_modern.html

[tetley]

Hi Silla,
I was diagnosed with high grade cervical dysplasia (precancerous cells) in September '05. In November I had a colposcopy & at the same time I had a biopsy.

In January of 2006 I had a LEEP procedure to remove the high grade cells.  The procedure started with the colposcopy & then a local anaesthetic was injected into the cervix & the LEEP (the size of a pencil) was inserted into me & the cells were scraped off - took 5 minutes).  To tell you the truth, the biopsy was more uncomfortable than the LEEP - you have nothing to worry about, I was able to drive myself home after the procedure as I was not given a general. Was able to go back to work that day, had mild cramps (like period cramps), but not nearly as bad as ovarian cyst cramps were after my TVU. I just had a check-up in May and the high grade cells are gone & have not grown back. So from the time I was diagnosed to the time the cells were removed, 4 months had gone by.

Please note that if you are going to get a 2nd opinion you should make sure that 6 weeks have passed from your last pap before having another one done. Apparently it takes that long for your cervical cells to grow back properly - I went for a 2nd opinion & had a 2nd pap within 3 weeks of having my first pap & the 2nd pap came back showing only low grade cells (I was told that this was because my cells had not grown back fully). If I had gone with the results from the 2nd opinion pap I would not have had the LEEP done & the cells could have developed into cancer as they were high grade!

Apparently a recurrence can be prevented by quitting smoking & having a well balanced diet rich in folic acid (raw green leafy veggies), vitamin A & beta carotene (orange & yellow fruits & veggies).  Good luck with everything!

[Anna-maria74]

Ah yes that makes much more sense. I couldn't get my head around how it was biopsied but not removed!

Anna x

[Mary 53]

I know that LEEP stands for something...

Aha....Sorry for the "Cutting and Pasting" tonight. It is late, and I could not remember what the letters stood for. I thought this was a good description....

"What is LEEP?
You may not be familiar with this term, as the technique is newer than Laser procedures for treatment of the cervix. LEEP stands for Loop Electrosurgical Excision Procedure. This is a procedure designed to diagnose and/or treat the uterine cervix (neck of the womb) of women with abnormal Pap tests. A number of other names (acronyms) have been used to describe the procedure, including LLEC (Large Loop Excision of the Cervix, Loop Cone Biopsy and in Britain the term is LLETZ (Large Loop Excision of the Transformation Zone). All depict a procedure that uses an electrical energy generator, attached to a fine wire loop that when energized, functions as a precise and rapid surgical tool. This instrument is then directed toward an abnormal area on the cervix and may be used quickly, effectively and painlessly to remove the abnormal tissue. At Sunnybrook Health Science Centre the latest in electrosurgical technology is available through a low voltage computerized generator, Erbie, which automatically selects the amount of energy necessary for an optimal operation."

Obviously this is from Sunnybrook Health Science Centre...I should have copied more so as to give credit where credit is due...

Goodnight...Mary

[in the same boat]

What's the LEEP procedure & what does it stand for? I guess this must be the latest treatment out there. I had dysplasia in 1986 & they lasered off the layer of the entire cervix & it was done in hospital at that time.

[Mary 53]

Hi brthbbs,

Thanks for the clarification. I was going crazy trying to remember what body part that was.

Take care, Mary

[brthbbs]

The uterine fundus is the top of the uterus, the cervix is the opening or the "bottom" of the uterus.

[in the same boat]

I did think you were first talking about ovca but wasn't sure. So dr says your have cervical cancer. Is is stage 1 or cervical dysplasia? I had cervical dysplasia when I was 22 yrs old(I'm 42 yrs now) that was caused by HPV(human papilloma virus). They found it on my post partum checkup after my son was born when my pap smear came up bad. I had to have laser surgery on my cervix to kill the dysplasia because he told me if I waited too long it would turn into cancer. I too waited approx 6 months at that time because I also was young & had no insurance & had to borrow the money from my parents for the surgery. IF it is just dysplasia they can get rid of completely. I had to have follow up pap smears every 3months for about of year & then annually after that. Try not wait on the surgery if you can help it because cervical cancer is very curable in its early stages.

[Mary 53]

sorry...just a correction...Colposcopy. All my nurse girlfriends call it a "copo" for short so I always forget the "L."

Mary

[Mary 53]

Hi Silla,

I am glad that Linda asked her question. I, too, had wondered if you were talking about a cervical issue. And, from the sound of it, you were diagnoses with stage 1 cancer of the cervix? And, this diagnosis was made after lesions were biopsied during a coposcopy? I am assuming here of course, but just trying to figure out the problem. I am just going to make sure that you were not referring to Mild cervical dysplasia. They usually don't give any meds or do surgery for that. And, although they used to "stage" dysplasia's, they now refer to them as "Mild, Moderate, or Severe." The next step from that would be cervical cancer.

I am going to assume that they found at least something on the pap smear, unless due to your symptoms they decided to go right ahead and do the coposcopy. But, it is sometimes hard to convince doctors to do these unless there is a consistent pattern of pap smears that show cervical dysplasia when checked every three months. Many times cervical dysplasia clears up on its own. There is controversy regarding this, though, as in my case when I asked for a coposcopy the very first time I had a bad pap smear...at age 45 (and the year before things were fine). Mine turned out to be severe cervical dysplasia and so I had the LEEP procedure. It was a relatively pain free surgery that I had done in the doctors office. They basically cut away the bad cells. My friend had cervical cancer and she too had something like the LEEP procedure. A hysterectomy was not warranted in that case.

I do hope you can get some help with this. I am impressed that so many people offered ideas...

I found this following information when I was trying to find out what megestrone was. I think it is a progestin...part of the family of synthetic progestegens. Not sure, but it sounds like it. Apparently it is megestrone acetate. I came close to finding more information and the "teaser" line was "Megestrone along with other treatments for...." but, I could not access the website. But, it sounds like you are on something to try to stop the growth of the cells and maybe make them regress.

I wish you the best. Take care and let us know how you are doing. Mary


Here is part of an article or medical abstract I found.
--------------Oh, I do believe that the "uterine fundus" is the cervix...right?

Well, for all the medical science students...here goes:
Rozier JC Jr, Underwood PB Jr.--------
Obstet Gynecol. 1974 Jul;44(1):60-4. Related Articles, Links  


Use of progestational agents in endometrial adenocarcinoma.

PIP: Since 1963 there have been 266 patients with cancer of the uterine fundus at the Medical University of South Carolina. Progestational agents were used to treat 54 but 10 received the drugs for less than 1 month. This report relates to the remaining 44. 34 were treated with Depo-Provera (medroxyprogesterone acetate), 9 with Colprone (megestrone acetate), and 1 with Megace (megestrol acetate). Of the 34 patients treated with Depo-Provera 13 showed regression of the tumor; 3 of the 9 treated with Colprone showed regression. In an additional 11 (25%) of cases growth of the tumors was arrested. 7 of these were later found to have abdominal metastases; however, 3 were free of symptoms for over 43 months. A patient on Depo-Provera with lung metastases had recurrence after 62 months when treatment was reduced to every other week but when Colprone was then given, regression again occurred and has continued for almost 10 years. Another patient not responding to Depo-Provera did respond to Colprone.

[brthbbs]

You should definately have a repeat PAP with another physician, especially since PAP's are not staged the same as ovarian cancer for instance.  You should have had a result like LGSIL or HGSIL.  At any rate, as was said in another post, cervical cancer is slow moving and early disease should first be confirmed with a colposcopy and biopsy and then if the result is still positive would be followed up with a LEEP procedure.  The cervical cancer has to be very advanced to warrant a hysterectomy.
Louana the midwife

[Teresa210]

In the Same Boat gave you some excellent options.  Those organizations will help.  You also need to follow up with the doctor that put you off, told you to get a job and get insurance.  It is true that if you had cancer before getting a job, treatment would be considered pre-existing in most cases, so that won't help you get medical attention which is your FIRST PRIORITY.  Once things slow down, you may want to consider reporting the doctor who told you go get a job to the Medical Board.  What he did by telling you this and not directing you on how to get medical attention is in grave violation of any doctor's oath and the medical boards will not take it lightly.  He should be stopped in his tracks from ever doing this to anyone else.  I hope and pray for the very best resolution for you all around.

[LindaF]

Cervical is very slow-moving, but you don't want to mess around. He can turn you down for treatment (an idiot I might add) but the hospital can't. Get there. The procedure if it's stage one can be as simple as a LEEP but only they can tell you.
Linda

[Silla]

Hi Linda, he said Cervical, thanks. (thanks, in the same boat too, u been so helpful)