{"id":871813,"date":"2026-06-16T19:23:16","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T19:23:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/871813\/"},"modified":"2026-06-16T19:23:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T19:23:16","slug":"how-i-knew-i-had-endometrial-uterine-cancer-survivors-share-symptoms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/871813\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018How I knew I had endometrial (uterine) cancer\u2019: Survivors share symptoms\u202f"},"content":{"rendered":"

Maria Lozano<\/a> was already well into menopause when she started experiencing the most common symptom of endometrial cancer<\/a> (also known as uterine cancer): abnormal vaginal bleeding<\/a>.\u202f<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter 10 years of not having my period, suddenly I was bleeding again,\u201d says Maria, who was 59 at the time of her stage 3<\/a>\u00a0endometrial cancer diagnosis<\/a>. \u201cMy sister told me I needed to see a doctor.\u201d\u202f<\/p>\n

Kirsten Arendes<\/a> had a similar experience, though she was less than a year into menopause.\u202f\u202f<\/p>\n

\u201cI hadn\u2019t had a period for about 10 months,\u201d recalls Kirsten, who was diagnosed with stage 1 endometrial cancer at age 51. \u201cThen I had one super, super heavy period. I assumed it was normal for things to kind of come and go toward the end, though, so I didn\u2019t think anything of it. Then the same thing happened the following month. And the next one.\u201d\u202f<\/p>\n

Abnormal bleeding serves as the body\u2019s early warning system<\/b>\u202f<\/p>\n

Maria and Kirsten\u2019s experiences are not unusual.\u202f\u202f<\/p>\n

\u201cPost-menopausal bleeding can be a signal the body gives us that something is not right,\u201d explains gynecologic oncologist Larissa Meyer, M.D.<\/a>\u202f\u202f\u201cWhile not all postmenopausal bleeding is due to cancer, 90% of women with postmenopausal endometrial cancer report experiencing abnormal vaginal bleeding. So, it certainly warrants an endometrial biopsy<\/a>, which can usually be performed as a simple, in-office procedure.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUnlike ovarian cancer<\/a>, which is often diagnosed in the later stages due to an absence of clear symptoms<\/a>, vaginal bleeding after menopause is a classic sign of endometrial cancer that drives many people to see the doctor,\u201d she adds. \u201cOften, it allows us to diagnose endometrial cancer in its earlier stages when the disease is easier to treat<\/a>.\u201d\u202f<\/p>\n

\u202fAbnormal vaginal bleeding is sometimes hard to notice<\/b>\u202f<\/p>\n

\u202fAbnormal vaginal bleeding is such a common symptom of endometrial cancer that it occurs in much younger women, too.\u202f<\/p>\n

\u202f\u201cIt\u2019s trickier to diagnose in the premenopausal population, though,\u201d notes Meyer. \u201cThat’s because a lot of women have never really menstruated normally<\/a>, so changes associated with the development of cancer may not be as noticeable.\u201d\u202f<\/p>\n

\u202fSome women experience only sporadic bleeding, for example, or have menstrual periods that don\u2019t follow a typical monthly cycle.\u202f\u202f<\/p>\n

\u202f\u201cIf that\u2019s your normal,\u201d Meyer notes, \u201cand nobody ever told you to expect otherwise, you might not even recognize that the bleeding is from cancer \u2014 or have been told about ways to determine if it is, such as an endometrial biopsy.\u201d\u202f<\/p>\n

That was the case for Aimee Williams, who was 43 when she was diagnosed with stage 3 endometrial cancer. \u201cMy periods were always unpredictable,\u201d she recalls. \u201cThey could be anywhere between 12 and 40 days apart, so I never really knew when they were coming. I thought that\u2019s just how my body was, so I dealt with it for 30 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marivic So<\/a>, an ambassador with Patient Relations at UT MD Anderson, had a similar experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne month, I would have heavy bleeding and then the next month, nothing,\u201d says Marivic, who was 32 when she was diagnosed with both ovarian and endometrial cancers at the same time. \u201cSo, I never really thought about it. A couple of years before my cancer diagnosis<\/a>, I was bleeding so much that I had to go to the emergency room and receive a transfusion.”\u202f<\/p>\n

\u202fThe connection between infertility and endometrial cancer<\/b>\u202f<\/p>\n

\u202fEndometriosis, PCOS and several other conditions can cause irregular ovulation, making the conventional method of conception a challenge. That\u2019s why many younger women only discover they have endometrial cancer when they seek help for infertility.\u202f\u202f<\/p>\n

\u201cMy husband and I had been trying to get pregnant for years,\u201d recalls Callie Glaves<\/a>, who was 31 when she was diagnosed with stage 2 endometrial cancer. \u201cMy regular gynecologist had been on my case to see a specialist because I had a history of ovarian cysts<\/a>. I finally said OK in 2016.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

That\u2019s when Callie found out she had cancer.\u202f<\/p>\n

\u202f\u201cWhether it\u2019s not ovulating due to PCOS, obesity or some other cause, the same issues that can lead to infertility often predispose women to endometrial cancer,\u201d Meyer explains.\u202f\u202f<\/p>\n

\u202fOther common symptoms of endometrial cancer<\/b>\u202f<\/p>\n

Not everyone with abnormal vaginal bleeding will be diagnosed with endometrial cancer. Other symptoms of this disease include:\u202f<\/p>\n