Women show common symptoms for rare cancer

Terri Schlotman and Julie Behan are survivors of endometrial cancer, a rare condition with smptoms that can be easily ignored. Yet, it will affect 1,769 more women in Ohio in 2010.

Both women were diagnosed with stage-one endometrial cancer, which affects the inner lining of the uterus and comes in two forms. Type I is a lower-grade cancer, whereas Type II is a higher-grade cancer, which is a more aggressive form that is usually unrelated to estrogen levels.

Schlotman was 51 years old when she was diagnosed Christmas Eve, 2008. Behan was 44 years old at the time of her diagnosis. She saw three doctors and suffered from symptoms for six months before being diagnosed. Neither woman had any family predispositions to the disease.

"I had just a little spotting a few days before I was diagnosed," Schlotman said. "I would never have known — I almost ignored it twice."

Irregular vaginal bleeding and unexplained watery discharge are common symptoms of the cancer, said Dr. W. Edward Richards, a gynecologic oncologist with University of Cincinnati Health.

Endometrial cancer is the most common cancer of the female reproductive system, despite the chances of developing the disease being at approximately 2 percent, according to the American Cancer Society.

The symptoms mght be confused with menopause as well, said Richards, who is also director of the women's center at the UC Barrett Cancer Institute at University Hospital.

"Doctors first thought that it was my bladder or kidney, but everything came up negative," Behan said.

If symptoms occur, most gynecologists will take tissue from the uterus and examine it — an in-office biopsy. If further testing is needed, a dilution and curretage is the next step, which involves opening the cervix and removing a portion of the uterus's lining.

Schlotman made an appointment with her gynecologist. A call came early Christmas Eve morning, and within a few hours she was contacted by Richards and asked to come in that day.

"I thought I should be wrapping presents and shopping," Schlotman said. "I was an absolute nervous wreck, but within 15 minutes of meeting Dr. Richards I knew everything would be OK and he even made  us laugh. Besides saving my life, he actually made it enjoyable.

Within a week of Schlotman's diagnosis, she had surgery.

"It had spread just a little. It was in the beginning stages, so they took out the surrounding tissues and some lymph nodes," Schlotman said.

Women can take certain measures to prevent the onset of endometrial cancer by taking contraceptives.

"The use of oral contraceptives decrease the risk of endometrial cancer by 50 to 80 percent," Richards said. "Every woman has a 2.5 percent lifetime risk of developing uterine cancer."

Both women had different surgeries. Schlotman had a robotic surgery that involved five incisions in her abdoinal wall, which was minimally invasive and performed by Richards. He performs between 30 to 50 endometrial cancer surgeries per year.

"Recovery was a piece of cake, I was up and around in a few days," Schlotman said.

Behan, however, had a complete hysterectomy performed by a different doctor in which her uterus, cerix and ovaries were removed. It served as an opportunity to check for malignancy and the possible spread into her lymph nods and other tissues.

"It took me about two to three months to feel 100 percent," Behan said.

Today, both Schlotman and Behan are cancer free and sharing their stories with other women.

"Know the risks for all cancers, eat healthy, exercise, don't smoke and listen to your body and pursue other answers if you think something is wrong," Behan said.

Behan is a "patient navigator" at the ACS, and works to support families struck by cancer and provide information.

"I am taking this opportunity as a chance to help other women. I start the conversation with women, you can ask me whatever you want in order to help others," Schlotman said. "I had a cgood cancer, I was lucky enough to catch it early and blessed with Dr. Richards, but I still had to go through all of the emotions of a bad cancer with little time for it to register."