Receiving a diagnosis of any cancer is a nightmare for most patients. After times of uncertainty, you finally know what it is, but for most diagnosed patients, it is just the beginning of more uncertain times. After the diagnosis, you’ll get more and more tests, and, if possible, you’ve to start treatment immediately. Endometrial cancer often called uterine cancer, is the most common form of cancer in de the female reproductive system. Each year about 49,500 people in our country hear this diagnosis.
Approximately 3% of the population in the United States receive this diagnosis at some point in their life. This makes it crucial to detect symptoms of skin cancer as soon as possible because the sooner a diagnosis is made and treatment initiated, the greater the chance of getting better.
What Is Uterine (Endometrial) Cancer?
Endometrial cancer often starts in the lining of the uterus, also called the endometrium. The uterus is a hollow and pear-shaped organ in a female pelvis in which a baby grows when you’re pregnant. Cancer in the lining of the endometrium is the most common form of endometrial cancer, but this isn’t the only place in the endometrium cancer can develop. It can also develop in the outer layer (muscle) of the uterus – also called the myometrium. Cancer of the myometrium is medically called uterine sarcoma and is a much rarer type of uterine cancer.
Types of Endometrial Cancer
We already discussed 2 different types of endometrial cancer, but this has to do with at which location in the uterus the cancer cells are located. Uterine cancer also has different types, which are determined by how the cells behave and what they look like under the microscope. These types are:
- Adenocarcinoma
- Uterine carcinosarcoma or uterine sarcoma
- Squamous cell carcinoma
- Small cell carcinoma
- Transitional carcinoma
- Serous carcinoma
Other much less common types of endometrial adenocarcinomas are clear-cell carcinoma, mucinous adenocarcinoma, undifferentiated carcinoma, dedifferentiated carcinoma, and serous adenocarcinoma. They usually grow and spread faster than the other types. To make it worse: once diagnosed, they often metastasized outside the uterus. Continue reading on the next page and find out when you’re at risk and how you can recognize it.
