RE: Cancer Scare Again/Hyst v. Myo/Candidates & Women's Health

[Guest guest]

Here is how I do the math. A study we did in 1994 found that only 1 out of

1,332 women admitted to the hospital for surgery for presumed fibroids had a

sarcoma. The estimate is that only 20% of women with known fibroids have

surgery for fibroids. Therefore, only 1 out of 6,660 women with a diagnosis

of fibroids will have a sarcoma. And Pat is right to say that the risk

of dying from surgery may be greater than the risk of having a sarcoma.

Also, there is a better way to diagnose sarcoma now, using MRI with

gadolinium and a blood test for LDH isoenzyme 3. Here is the reference:

International Journal of Gynecological Cancer, Volume 12 # 4, Page 354, July

2002

Usefulness of Gd-DTPA contrast-enhanced dynamic MRI and serum determination

of LDH and its isozymes in the differential diagnosis of leiomyosarcoma from

degenerated leiomyoma of the uterus. Author- A. Goto.

Bill , MD

Cancer Scare Again/Hyst v. Myo/Candidates &

Women's Health

THE OLD CANCER SCARE - Again -

Here is part of an old post of mine. You can see the whole thing in the

archives - it's #42198 - just plug the # into the message number box.

I don't remember the exact numbers - or sources - off the top of my head,

but the things I learned include the following:

.. A fibroid is NEVER malignant & they DON'T " become " malignant either.

.. It is possible to mistake a malignant tumor for a fibroid, but that is

EXTREMELY rare.

.. The risk of dying from surgery to remove the things is very rare, BUT

.. The risk of dying from surgery is still GREATER than the risk of it being

cancer. In other words, taking them out just for the sake of finding out is

slightly riskier than just leaving them in.

.. If they've been in there long enough to become a problem, it's probably

not cancer - because if it was cancer and there that long, you'd probably be

in really awful shape by now.

_____________________

And by all means see Dr. Bill 's post #33624 - in the archives of this

group - regarding differentiating sarcoma on MRI -

****** (end of old stuff - begin new)

As for " fast growth " - the idea that it might be related to cancer seems to

be what I call an " Old Doctor's Tale " - it gets a lot of lip service, but it

doesn't pan out when they actually look at the facts and figures --

evidence. Fast growing fibroids seem to be just that - fibroids that are

growing fast - nothing more.

* * * * *

HYST v. MYO:

Docs who do a LOT of myos say it is no bloodier than hyst - or that the

bloodiness can be easily managed - so if your doc says it is bloodier you

might want to think about finding a more experienced/less-bloody doc.

As for age & choices - the older you are the less likely you are to have

time to grow more fibroids to the point where they could be a problem -

seems like being older might give more weight to the myo rather than the

hyst. ---- And - regrowth is only a problem for a small percentage of the

women who have myos.

* * * * *

And, here's an interesting little thing I came across. I have no idea who

this society is & obviously only 3 candidates seem to have answered their

questionnaire (at least so far) - there's not a lot of info, but still you

might want to take a look at it:

The Society for Women's Health Research (SWHR) has launched a new website -

http://www.votewomenshealth.org - that provides voters with the candidates'

positions on medical research and women's health issues.

Pat

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