If unexplained vaginal bleeding occurs post-menopause, see your doctor right away.
Danni Rocha was past menopause, but she was having vaginal bleeding. One day, since she was running errands near her gynecologist’s office, she decided to stop in. “I joked with them that I thought my period was starting again,” she says. The gynecologist told her she’d been right to come. Danni was sent directly to Newark Beth Israel Medical Center (NBI) for blood work and tests. “My doctors worked fast to find out why I was bleeding,” says Danni, 58, a resident of Elizabeth. “Tests showed I had uterine cancer, and they scheduled me to have surgery a few weeks later. It all happened so fast. “By the grace of God, I’m here today to tell the story.”
Advanced cancer
The news was so unexpected that Danni struggled to make sense of it all. “But they told me I would be in the best hands,” she says, “and after I met Dr. Anderson, I knew they were right.” Surgery is the most common treatment for uterine cancer, says Danni’s surgeon, Patrick Anderson, MD, Director of Gynecologic Oncology at NBI. The surgical team at NBI’s Frederick B. Cohen, MD, Comprehensive Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, where Danni went, uses some of the most advanced techniques available for gynecological surgery. “We’re one of the few hospitals in the state to employ the most current generation of the daVinci Surgical Robotic System, so we always have the latest technology,” says Dr. Anderson. “Plus, we have more than 12 years’ worth of experience in using it for gynecological cancers specifically.”
With the robotic system, patients also have the benefit of shorter recovery time compared to traditional, or “open,” surgery because the incision required is much smaller. “This faster recovery is important when patients need further care, including chemotherapy or radiation therapy,” says Dr. Anderson. After Danni’s hysterectomy (removal of the uterus), chemotherapy was recommended to ensure the cancer was eradicated. To diminish the chance that the cancer would return, a course of radiation was prescribed. “Going through this, I had a lot of emotional ups and downs,” Danni says. “But my faith and my family kept me straight. And I had the best support from everyone at the Cohen Cancer Center at Newark Beth Israel. They always had a smile, and they always checked on me, sometimes just to see how I was feeling.” Danni’s last treatment was in January of 2019, but her trips to NBI continue. Today, she gladly visits as a volunteer for the monthly meetings of NBI’s Cohen Cancer Center survivor support group. “I was blessed through this,” she says. “The confidence that my doctor and everyone gave me was great. I want to share that with others who are going through something similar.”
Uterine cancer: what to know
Uterine cancer most often begins in the endometrium, the tissue that lines a woman’s uterus. “For about eight in 10 women with endometrial or uterine cancer, bleeding is the first symptom,” says Patrick Anderson, MD, Director of Gynecologic Oncology at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center. Endometrial cancer is usually found around the time a woman reaches menopause (stops having her period), which can be a gradual process spanning several years, or even years after menopause. If bleeding occurs at the beginning of menopause, many mistake it for a period, Dr. Anderson says. “But beyond age 52 or 53, bleeding is not normal, no matter how good you feel or what you think the cause is,” he says. “If you have bleeding, see your doctor.” Besides bleeding, symptoms of endometrial cancer include pelvic pain, feeling a mass or unexplained weight change. Uterine sarcomas (tumors), which are much rarer than endometrial cancer, may also have similar symptoms.
Are you at risk?
Besides age, factors that can increase the risk for endometrial cancer are:
• Obesity
• Type 2 diabetes
• Taking certain hormones, plus conditions or drugs that affect hormones
• Taking the drug tamoxifen (for breast cancer)
• Never having been pregnant
• Family history of cancer of the endometrium, colon, breast or ovary The American Cancer Society recommends that women at increased risk for endometrial cancer see their doctor whenever they have abnormal vaginal bleeding.
To learn more about top cancer care at the Frederick B. Cohen MD, Comprehensive Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, call: 844.CANCERNJ.