1. < Gynecologic Cancers
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Endometrial Cancer Stage IIIC1

Posted by mtstack @mtstack, Sep 6, 2025

Spotting in late April.
Referred to gynecologist after abnormal pap showing atypical glandular cells in June
Ultrasound showed endometrial lining thickened to 19.55mm
Collposcopy, scrape of cervix, and endometrial biopsy resulted in endometrial adenocarcinoma FIGO grade 3
Gynecologic consult Aug 4
Complete hysterectomy bilateral salpingo oopherectomy Aug 8
Pathology report: tumor in uterus, 97% invasion of myometrial lining, cancer cells in right sentinel pelvic lymphnode Stage IIIC1
Consult Sep 2: oncologist recommended platinum systemic therapy of six cycles of carboplatin and paclitaxel. Oncologist doesn’t recommend EBRT even though tumor board recommended a referral.

Anyone familiar with this stage and chemo treatment who might be able to share information on side effects. The more I read about chemo, the more I’m afraid to weaken my immune system. Seems like recurrence is likely and wondering about no further treatment?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Gynecologic Cancers Support Group.

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Mentor
Helen, Volunteer Mentor | @naturegirl5 | Oct 1, 2025
In reply to @mtstack "Thank you for your reply. Still researching and thinking about my decision. Worried because it seems..." + (show)
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Thank you for your reply. Still researching and thinking about my decision.
Worried because it seems recurrence seems high whether I have chemo or not.

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@mtstack I agree with @gynosaur42 on meeting with an Integrative Medicine physician. Since you are in the Boston area I'm thinking you have options available to you. You may need a referral so once you locate someone you might ask your oncologist to make the referral for you.

I see an Integrative Medicine physician in oncology at Mayo Clinic. Her speciality is gynecological oncology in integrative medicine. I starting meeting with her, Dr. Stacy D'Andre, at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota after I had a recurrence of endometroid adenocarcinoma and received radiation therapy. Dr. Stacy has been an invaluable member of my team. I meet with her every 6-12 months.

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2 replies
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mtstack | @mtstack | Oct 1, 2025
In reply to @naturegirl5 "@mtstack I agree with @gynosaur42 on meeting with an Integrative Medicine physician. Since you are in..." + (show)
Profile picture for Helen, Volunteer Mentor @naturegirl5

@mtstack I agree with @gynosaur42 on meeting with an Integrative Medicine physician. Since you are in the Boston area I'm thinking you have options available to you. You may need a referral so once you locate someone you might ask your oncologist to make the referral for you.

I see an Integrative Medicine physician in oncology at Mayo Clinic. Her speciality is gynecological oncology in integrative medicine. I starting meeting with her, Dr. Stacy D'Andre, at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota after I had a recurrence of endometroid adenocarcinoma and received radiation therapy. Dr. Stacy has been an invaluable member of my team. I meet with her every 6-12 months.

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@naturegirl thank you for your thoughtful suggestion.

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mtstack | @mtstack | Oct 1, 2025
In reply to @gynosaur42 "Hello, @mtstack , From Vermont, here, so we're nearly neighbors on the Mayo Connect world-wide scale!..." + (show)
Profile picture for gynosaur42 @gynosaur42

Hello, @mtstack ,

From Vermont, here, so we're nearly neighbors on the Mayo Connect world-wide scale! I have received primary healthcare from Sojourns Community Health Clinic in Westminster, VT since 2011. I see a naturopath who is also a PT and midwife. When my first post-menopausal spotting happened and I called her, she got on the phone right away and said, "you need a gynecologist to do an endometrial biopsy, and don't wait." I was shocked to hear my hippie, herbal wise naturopath say that. When a cancer diagnosis ultimately came back and I heard the recommendations for hysterectomy, oophorectomy, salpingotomy and sentinel node biopsy, I met with her again to ask what other options I had. I didn't want surgery and didn't want "what might follow it" post-surgery. She was quite clear. There are ways that integrative oncology (a naturopath trained in oncology) can help you manage symptoms and side effects of treatment and can support the effectiveness of standard treatment. It can help you to design and live a quality life and maximize your chances of preventing recurrence, but to get the cancer out of your body, you need to advocate for aggressive treatment to start.

There is also an integrative oncologist in Middlebury, VT who I've seen and appreciated very much. I am imagining you can find the same near you. A consult with one might be very helpful for you to clarify all of your options and how they might work together.

I wish you well!!!!

@gynosaur42

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@gynosaur42
Hi fellow New Englander!

Thank you very much for taking the time to offer such constructive advice. I have been thinking about naturopathy but hadn't realized that integrative medicine is a naturopath trained in oncology.
I think I was mixing up integrative medicine with functional medicine.
It would be nice to have a person who looked at the entire picture: nutrition, exercise, and even better if they had a positive outlook re besting cancer without chemo or radiation.

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juliea55 | @juliea55 | Oct 2, 2025

You don’t say how old you are and whether you have other health issues that may impact your decision. Even if it’s not a cure, the chemo can buy you valuable time. I had a total of ten rounds of the chemo you described and had virtually no side effects. I did ice religiously to avoid neuropathy (I took a cooler to chemo), but I was able to drive home afterwards (2 hours). I am still enjoying life every day.

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mtstack | @mtstack | Oct 3, 2025
In reply to @naturegirl5 "@mtstack I agree with @gynosaur42 on meeting with an Integrative Medicine physician. Since you are in..." + (show)
Profile picture for Helen, Volunteer Mentor @naturegirl5

@mtstack I agree with @gynosaur42 on meeting with an Integrative Medicine physician. Since you are in the Boston area I'm thinking you have options available to you. You may need a referral so once you locate someone you might ask your oncologist to make the referral for you.

I see an Integrative Medicine physician in oncology at Mayo Clinic. Her speciality is gynecological oncology in integrative medicine. I starting meeting with her, Dr. Stacy D'Andre, at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota after I had a recurrence of endometroid adenocarcinoma and received radiation therapy. Dr. Stacy has been an invaluable member of my team. I meet with her every 6-12 months.

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@naturegirl5
Thank you Helen for sharing your advice regarding seeking out an Integrative Medicine oncologist. I have so many things to consider but right now focused on meeting the med oncologist to discuss chemo. I have read a lot of books and research papers and feel prepared for the meeting. Hoping to forestall what perhaps is inevitable. Two days ago I was happy thinking I was going in to listen but prefer no treatment. Then the next day swung back toward even though I know it would destroy my immune system and possibly increase the chance of recurrence.
This support group has been and is invaluable relative to information shared in a non biased way and the care people in this forum treat each other with. Thank you for being a mentor when you have your own concerns.

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3 replies
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mtstack | @mtstack | Oct 3, 2025
In reply to @juliea55 "You don’t say how old you are and whether you have other health issues that may..." + (show)
Profile picture for juliea55 @juliea55

You don’t say how old you are and whether you have other health issues that may impact your decision. Even if it’s not a cure, the chemo can buy you valuable time. I had a total of ten rounds of the chemo you described and had virtually no side effects. I did ice religiously to avoid neuropathy (I took a cooler to chemo), but I was able to drive home afterwards (2 hours). I am still enjoying life every day.

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@juliea55
Thanks Julie, for replying.
So hard to know what information to post and took me a long while to even post on this site.
I’m 65, in great health, and feel really good eight weeks after surgery, just stunned by the diagnosis I received. Am on no meds or supplements, eat basically a plant based diet but even stricter since my diagnosis as is no sugar, saturated fats, dairy, meat or fish, and amped up fiber, whole grains, etc. I’ve lost 15 lbs since surgery, 125 down to 110, although that was not intentional. I knew I would lose some going entirely whole food plant based, but maybe it’s also stress related. Walking 4-6 miles per day and trying to sleep better.

Had hoped surgery was the answer and crestfallen by staging results and recommendation for further treatment.

I have stopped working my part time job since just before surgery, as I was on my feet 6-8 hrs per day and lifting lots of produce, beyond my lifting restrictions. So I’ve had plenty of time to read books, research papers, studies, watch videos of oncologists and other professors talking about how long chemo really prolongs your life for, and whether if patients knew, if they would embark upon chemo as a treatment.

I know many people have had success with treatment even with recurrences so I haven’t ruled it out, and look forward to discussing treatment with the medical oncologist today. The wait time between diagnosis, consult/surgery, post surgery consult and today’s consult probably has given me too much time to feel sorry for myself. I know going forward I will have to adopt the warrior spirit and positive outlook.

Thank you for bolstering my confidence.

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val64 | @val64 | Oct 3, 2025
In reply to @mtstack "@naturegirl5 Thank you Helen for sharing your advice regarding seeking out an Integrative Medicine oncologist. I..." + (show)
Profile picture for mtstack @mtstack

@naturegirl5
Thank you Helen for sharing your advice regarding seeking out an Integrative Medicine oncologist. I have so many things to consider but right now focused on meeting the med oncologist to discuss chemo. I have read a lot of books and research papers and feel prepared for the meeting. Hoping to forestall what perhaps is inevitable. Two days ago I was happy thinking I was going in to listen but prefer no treatment. Then the next day swung back toward even though I know it would destroy my immune system and possibly increase the chance of recurrence.
This support group has been and is invaluable relative to information shared in a non biased way and the care people in this forum treat each other with. Thank you for being a mentor when you have your own concerns.

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I'm going to push back on two of these statements. Chemo does not "destroy" your immune system. While you're on carbo/taxol, you can go out, and will fend off disease well enough. Some people develop neutropenia (low neutrophils), which can be managed by reducing the dose or taking a neutrophil growth factor (eg Neulasta). And chemo definitely does not increase the risk of recurrence. Chemo is standard of care because clinical trials have shown that it reduces the risk of recurrence.

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aardvark2118 | @aardvark2118 | Oct 3, 2025
In reply to @mtstack "@naturegirl5 Thank you Helen for sharing your advice regarding seeking out an Integrative Medicine oncologist. I..." + (show)
Profile picture for mtstack @mtstack

@naturegirl5
Thank you Helen for sharing your advice regarding seeking out an Integrative Medicine oncologist. I have so many things to consider but right now focused on meeting the med oncologist to discuss chemo. I have read a lot of books and research papers and feel prepared for the meeting. Hoping to forestall what perhaps is inevitable. Two days ago I was happy thinking I was going in to listen but prefer no treatment. Then the next day swung back toward even though I know it would destroy my immune system and possibly increase the chance of recurrence.
This support group has been and is invaluable relative to information shared in a non biased way and the care people in this forum treat each other with. Thank you for being a mentor when you have your own concerns.

Jump to this post

@mtstack hello. I had the same diagnosis and stage as you and had surgery, chemo, EBRT and brachytherapy and am yep years in remission. I was fortunate to have had an “easy” time with all treatments. Don’t let the pictures of chemo in the movies/tv scare you. It isn’t always like that I worked full time through all treatments (6 of chemo ) and missed two days of work. I opted for everything they recommended so I knew I would have no regrets. I wish you all the best

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carol1024 | @carol1024 | Oct 3, 2025
In reply to @mtstack "@naturegirl5 Thank you Helen for sharing your advice regarding seeking out an Integrative Medicine oncologist. I..." + (show)
Profile picture for mtstack @mtstack

@naturegirl5
Thank you Helen for sharing your advice regarding seeking out an Integrative Medicine oncologist. I have so many things to consider but right now focused on meeting the med oncologist to discuss chemo. I have read a lot of books and research papers and feel prepared for the meeting. Hoping to forestall what perhaps is inevitable. Two days ago I was happy thinking I was going in to listen but prefer no treatment. Then the next day swung back toward even though I know it would destroy my immune system and possibly increase the chance of recurrence.
This support group has been and is invaluable relative to information shared in a non biased way and the care people in this forum treat each other with. Thank you for being a mentor when you have your own concerns.

Jump to this post

@mtstack stage 4 endometrial cancer. Had hysterectomy Aug 20th. Just started my 2nd session of chemo. First was 6 treatments from March to June. HER2+ so I have to have Herceptin. I was never sick with the first session. I've only had 1 treatment so far this time. 2nd treatment is Oct 13th. I feel good so far.

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