Endometrial Biopsy: I’m terrified, what can I expect?

I started my journey questioning the frequency of UTIs. I was given the name of an urogynecologist and I saw her. She ordered some imaging scans and tests and the radiologist said one kidney showed mild nephrohydrosis but not that alarming. He did notice my endometrium was too thick for my age measuring 8mm. Normal post menopause should be 4-5 mm. Short time later I bled some …not enough to use a liner or pad. Further scanning and intravaginal scanning showed 11mm. So, I had to decide if we do only biopsy or biopsy with a total hysterectomy. He did find cancer but it was stage 1 grade 1 endometrial adenocarcinoma. Lymph nodes were clean, margins were clean. No histopathological changes. am 72 yrs old and retired 7 years ago. Never got my original question answered, but this led to our discovery of endometrial cancer at a very early stage. No chemo just follow up. Totally unexpected.

I started my journey questioning the frequency of UTIs. I was given the name of an urogynecologist and I saw her. She ordered some imaging scans and tests and the radiologist said one kidney showed mild nephrohydrosis but not that alarming. He did notice my endometrium was too thick for my age measuring 8mm. Normal post menopause should be 4-5 mm. Short time later I bled some …not enough to use a liner or pad. Further scanning and intravaginal scanning showed 11mm. So, I had to decide if we do only biopsy or biopsy with a total hysterectomy. He did find cancer but it was stage 1 grade 1 endometrial adenocarcinoma. Lymph nodes were clean, margins were clean. No histopathological changes. am 72 yrs old and retired 7 years ago. Never got my original question answered, but this led to our discovery of endometrial cancer at a very early stage. No chemo just follow up. Totally unexpected.

Thank you for sharing your fantastic news, @suesam!!!
I am so happy for you! And, I’m so glad you came here, shared your vulnerability so openly, and allowed this group’s members to be alongside you through this. It was lovely for me to see how various members here shared encouragement to advocate for your needs and were such good company as you waited SO long for the good news you have finally received. You have been that for us as well! I love that you plan to double down on investing further in prevention. My hope is that you will never need this resource in the same way again and trust that if you do, you’ll know how welcome you are to the power of this kind of support.

Woohoo!!!

Hello there,
It's been a 4 month wait, one failed biopsy, one biopsy that 'took' , and I finally got the results - I am lucky - no cancer. Whew! But I will be monitored from here on end - and I have an ultrasound already booked in 6 months - to see if the thickness grows. Interesting - apparently the biopsy had cells (not bad ones) that revealed that the gynecologist had cut 'too deep' and they wanted him to check to see if I was okay!!! I am very grateful to be monitored from now on. I learned a lot during all of this. My family doctor of 30 something years retired and picked my current doctor - who specialized in women's issues - to replace him. So he is new to me. He has been gentle, sweet, kind, a good listener and wow - he moves fast. He takes action - which I like. But I did learn that sometimes he will say things that frankly are scary. I had no bleeding and my thickness was 6mm - and they weren't even checking me for cancer - but he said 'it is cancer until proven otherwise' which scared me. He also kept repeating that it should be a 4 or less, scaring me again, and also that the biopsy would really hurt. He was gentle but wasn't able to do the biopsy so I was then referred to a gynecologist. So I am grateful that he took action but he did scare me with his words. When I got to the gynecologist, he said 5mm and under is the norm, and I was only off by one. After taking my complete history and looking at my CT scan and ultrasound, he declared me 'low risk' for endometrial cancer - a far cry from what my family doctor said. He said I could put off the biopsy if I wanted and they'd monitor me, or I could get the biopsy to reassure me - I chose the biopsy. I saw him at the 6 week mark, but along the way, the appt. kept changing from a phone call to an 'in office' appt. - which also scared me, thinking it must be cancer and he's calling me in. But that worry was for nothing, because I found out at my appt. that his wife had just had a baby after a few false attempts, and his schedule had to keep being changed to accommodate the birth, and that he also talked to everyone person to person after a biopsy. So it was a long wait, and even though I kept busy, it hung over me. But it also led me to this forum of beautiful and courageous women who taught me lots. Everyone here taught me the power of listening, of comforting, of showing up and being with each other - you helped me during all the stressful times by sharing your own stories. And you listened to my fears. Interesting - if my family doctor had sent me directly to the gynecologist who declared me low risk, I wouldn't have been so worried. But also interesting - when I went to get my biopsy results, my nurse turned out to be one of my former students, who is having a hysterectomy today. I just messaged her to wish her all the best and I'm thrilled to have connected with her again. So thank you to everyone here. I will continue to read your stories and support you. Thank you so much.

@suesam Wow, this is such good news! Thank you so much for coming back and letting us know the outcome of your biopsy.

It does sound like your "new" doctor who specializes in the care of women is just the kind of caring doctor that all of us wish to see. And then the changing schedule with the gynecologist that you had so worried? Who could have predicted that the changes were related his wife having a baby?

Isn't it curious how much we learn about ourselves and others when we go through these difficult periods of our lives? No one signs up for this but the older I get the more I realize that my years on this earth have earned me my gray hairs. I say this from the wisdom I think I've gained over the years and how so many of my own difficulties have led me to meet people and hav enduring relationships that I would never have had under other circumstances.

It's so kind of you to message the nurse who was your former student. Again, this is an encounter with her you would not have otherwise had.

Please continue to come back and read, listen, and support. Your message may be long but I read every single word carefully. You can see my messages are not exactly short either!

So, what you doing to celebrate your good news? ❤️🎉

Hello there,
It's been a 4 month wait, one failed biopsy, one biopsy that 'took' , and I finally got the results - I am lucky - no cancer. Whew! But I will be monitored from here on end - and I have an ultrasound already booked in 6 months - to see if the thickness grows. Interesting - apparently the biopsy had cells (not bad ones) that revealed that the gynecologist had cut 'too deep' and they wanted him to check to see if I was okay!!! I am very grateful to be monitored from now on. I learned a lot during all of this. My family doctor of 30 something years retired and picked my current doctor - who specialized in women's issues - to replace him. So he is new to me. He has been gentle, sweet, kind, a good listener and wow - he moves fast. He takes action - which I like. But I did learn that sometimes he will say things that frankly are scary. I had no bleeding and my thickness was 6mm - and they weren't even checking me for cancer - but he said 'it is cancer until proven otherwise' which scared me. He also kept repeating that it should be a 4 or less, scaring me again, and also that the biopsy would really hurt. He was gentle but wasn't able to do the biopsy so I was then referred to a gynecologist. So I am grateful that he took action but he did scare me with his words. When I got to the gynecologist, he said 5mm and under is the norm, and I was only off by one. After taking my complete history and looking at my CT scan and ultrasound, he declared me 'low risk' for endometrial cancer - a far cry from what my family doctor said. He said I could put off the biopsy if I wanted and they'd monitor me, or I could get the biopsy to reassure me - I chose the biopsy. I saw him at the 6 week mark, but along the way, the appt. kept changing from a phone call to an 'in office' appt. - which also scared me, thinking it must be cancer and he's calling me in. But that worry was for nothing, because I found out at my appt. that his wife had just had a baby after a few false attempts, and his schedule had to keep being changed to accommodate the birth, and that he also talked to everyone person to person after a biopsy. So it was a long wait, and even though I kept busy, it hung over me. But it also led me to this forum of beautiful and courageous women who taught me lots. Everyone here taught me the power of listening, of comforting, of showing up and being with each other - you helped me during all the stressful times by sharing your own stories. And you listened to my fears. Interesting - if my family doctor had sent me directly to the gynecologist who declared me low risk, I wouldn't have been so worried. But also interesting - when I went to get my biopsy results, my nurse turned out to be one of my former students, who is having a hysterectomy today. I just messaged her to wish her all the best and I'm thrilled to have connected with her again. So thank you to everyone here. I will continue to read your stories and support you. Thank you so much.

Hello there,
It's been a 4 month wait, one failed biopsy, one biopsy that 'took' , and I finally got the results - I am lucky - no cancer. Whew! But I will be monitored from here on end - and I have an ultrasound already booked in 6 months - to see if the thickness grows. Interesting - apparently the biopsy had cells (not bad ones) that revealed that the gynecologist had cut 'too deep' and they wanted him to check to see if I was okay!!! I am very grateful to be monitored from now on. I learned a lot during all of this. My family doctor of 30 something years retired and picked my current doctor - who specialized in women's issues - to replace him. So he is new to me. He has been gentle, sweet, kind, a good listener and wow - he moves fast. He takes action - which I like. But I did learn that sometimes he will say things that frankly are scary. I had no bleeding and my thickness was 6mm - and they weren't even checking me for cancer - but he said 'it is cancer until proven otherwise' which scared me. He also kept repeating that it should be a 4 or less, scaring me again, and also that the biopsy would really hurt. He was gentle but wasn't able to do the biopsy so I was then referred to a gynecologist. So I am grateful that he took action but he did scare me with his words. When I got to the gynecologist, he said 5mm and under is the norm, and I was only off by one. After taking my complete history and looking at my CT scan and ultrasound, he declared me 'low risk' for endometrial cancer - a far cry from what my family doctor said. He said I could put off the biopsy if I wanted and they'd monitor me, or I could get the biopsy to reassure me - I chose the biopsy. I saw him at the 6 week mark, but along the way, the appt. kept changing from a phone call to an 'in office' appt. - which also scared me, thinking it must be cancer and he's calling me in. But that worry was for nothing, because I found out at my appt. that his wife had just had a baby after a few false attempts, and his schedule had to keep being changed to accommodate the birth, and that he also talked to everyone person to person after a biopsy. So it was a long wait, and even though I kept busy, it hung over me. But it also led me to this forum of beautiful and courageous women who taught me lots. Everyone here taught me the power of listening, of comforting, of showing up and being with each other - you helped me during all the stressful times by sharing your own stories. And you listened to my fears. Interesting - if my family doctor had sent me directly to the gynecologist who declared me low risk, I wouldn't have been so worried. But also interesting - when I went to get my biopsy results, my nurse turned out to be one of my former students, who is having a hysterectomy today. I just messaged her to wish her all the best and I'm thrilled to have connected with her again. So thank you to everyone here. I will continue to read your stories and support you. Thank you so much.

carol1024, I wish you the absolte best. I want you to know that my mom, in her sixties at the time, was dx'd with carcinosarcoma in 2013. She had a hysterectomy and local radiation, and went on recurrence free till 2021. In 2021 it appeared in her lung (it has predilection for that), she had surgery and a few rounds of chemo- she is still alive and kicking in 2025. Hang in there and all the best to you.

PS- I am dealing with my own unfortunate issues, undergoing a uterine biopsy for heavy midcycle bleeding, but that's a whole other story... Prayers up and soldiering on. I might be back on here for support at some point myself.