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Cancer of the womb may also be referred to as womb cancer, or endometrial cancer. Here you will find cancer information, including all the latest cancer news on this cancer to help you increase your personal odds of beating this cancer - the symptoms, the diagnosis and all the latest options on cancer treatments - from cancer drugs and chemotherapy to surgery, radiotherapy and complementary cancer therapies; including all the very latest alternative cancer treatments. In our section on latest cancer news you will find cancer research from all over the world on everything from new drugs to herbal cancer treatments. We will even cover the causes and prevention of womb cancer.
This article has been compiled by Chris Woollams from worldwide research and expert sources*
Read the whole article below or just select the part(s) that you are interested in from the list below and click onto that pieceThe Womb
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The CANCERactive Difference: Intelligent Information. Independent Voice. On this web site you will find more information about more treatment options (Complementary and Alternative, not just Orthodox), and on more possible contributory factors to the development and maintenance of your cancer, than on any other UK cancer web site. Some experts believe that approaching your cancer in this total way can increase an individuals chances of survival by as much as 60 per cent.
The very latest research evidence from all over the world in our news section Cancer Watch supports all this.
We can do this because we are not hide-bound by vested interests, and so we can always put people first. We are not influenced by companies who seek to make financial gains from patients, we have no trustees working for, or sponsored directly or indirectly by such companies, our directors take no remuneration at all. This is our true independence, from which you benefit directly.
But this comes at a price we rely on you, and people like you to support our work. 47,703 people visited our site in March 2007, viewing 11 pages on average. Every month we add 20 new pages to this site. If you feel an independent voice is essential in cancer, please, please help by making a donation. Every little helps.
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The Womb
The womb is the organ of foetal care. It is a muscular organ with a lining called the endometruim. It is this lining that is shed monthly with periods. The vagina leads upwards to the cervix, the lower part of the womb.
 Want to receive the very latest, hot information on this subject? Click here Cancers of the vagina and cervix are covered elsewhere on this web site. This section just covers cancer that originates in the lining of the womb Endometrial, or womb, cancer.
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The cancer and its Causes
This cancer, which affects almost 6500 women in the UK each year is growing rapidly. It is now the fourth most common female cancer after breast, colon, and lung cancers. The incidence amongst women 60-79 years of age has risen by 35 per cent in less than a decade. 90 per cent of all cases occur in women over 50 years of age, and 75 per cent in women who have been through the menopause. However, there is a genetic factor involved in some instances and in this case the cancer can strike at any age.
Early diagnosis is important but also very common, since vaginal bleeding in post-menopausal women is an early sign. Overall 5-year survival rates are 77 per cent but they have improved by just 16 per cent in the last 30 years. If the cancer is diagnosed late, the 5-year survival figure falls to 25 per cent (CRUK icon 1; 2006)
For older women, increased risk has been linked to
And there does seem to be a lot of circumstantial evidence pointing a finger at oestrogen, including the synthetic version. Other risk factors seem to include never having been pregnant, starting periods at a very young age, irregular ovulation and taking synthetic oestrogen in HRT.
Then there is research by O. LAVIE, O. BARNETT-GRINESS, S.A. NAROD, G. RENNERT in a paper entitled The risk of developing uterine sarcoma after tamoxifen use. (International Journal of Gynecological Cancer (OnlineEarly Articles):doi:10.1111/j.1525-1438.2007.01025.). The researchers studied the history of Breast cancer patients, and followed whether they had used Tamoxifen or not. They then compared the 875 women who had used Tamoxifen with those who had not. In conclusion they stated, There were 17 uterine cancers observed among the 875 exposed to tamoxifen compared to 4 uterine cancers among the 621 women who did not use tamoxifen. There were four uterine sarcomas among the tamoxifen users, but none among nonusers. Five of the 875 tamoxifen users died of uterine cancer, compared to no deaths among nonusers. We conclude that in this national breast cancer cohort, tamoxifen use was associated with elevated risks of uterine cancer incidence and mortality. Uterine sarcomas appear to be overrepresented among women who use tamoxifen.
Natural progesterone has proven to be a significant aid with the disease; it balances oestrogen levels in younger women but is virtually non-existent after the menopause.
There are many other ways of balancing or reducing oestrogen levels. For example:
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ensuring adequate melatonin levels cutting oestrogen mimics/xenoestrogens (in household products, toiletries, pesticides).
You might like to read our articleAs Safe as Houses.
Above all, patients are recommended to read our short book Oestrogen the killer in our midst which details various ways of reducing or balancing this dangerous hormone in full.
Endometrial cancer is itself slow growing and takes a number of years to develop.
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Symptoms
The most common symptoms are:
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Diagnosis
A thin tube with a light at the end, called a hysteroscope, may be inserted up the vagina. The doctor may at the same time take some samples of cells (this is called a biopsy). No anaesthetic is needed.
An Ultrasound, (rather as with a pregnancy), can be useful a metal rod connected to a TV screen emits radio waves into the womb area and depending upon their absorption or reflection, a simple picture is formed. This is an external test and is painless.
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Stage and Grade
Stage measures the spread of the cancer; grade measures the aggressivity.
Stage 1 means that the cancer is confirmed to the lining and the muscle wall.
Stage 2 means it has spread to the cervix.
Stage 3 means it has spread into the ovaries or abdomen. It may have spread to adjacent lymph nodes.
Stage 4 Means it has spread to other parts of the body like the bowel, brain, bones or lungs.
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Treatment
Encouragingly, most womb cancers are discovered early and surgery (a hysterectomy to remove the womb, or one that also removes fallopian tubes and ovaries as well) is very effective. Lymph nodes may also be removed at the same time. This is however a major operation but it seems to be successful in most cases.
 Radiotherapy may be used to kill off any remaining cancer cells, but there is a realistic fear of long-term damage from the beam on adjacent organs especially the bladder or bowel. Readers might like to read 20 things you should know about Radiotherapy.
Radiotherapy may also be used to shrink the tumour prior to surgery.
Radiotherapy is commonly internal radiotherapy or brachytherapy, although more normal external radiotherapy is also used. In internal radiotherapy an applicator (a metal rod with radioactivity) is inserted much as a tampon would be.
The text books say that this method gives a high dose of radiotherapy to the local cancer cells, but negligible amounts to the organs further away. However, those same books and leaflets talk about risks to visitors and how children are not even allowed in the same room on occasion!
Ask. And obtain the full details to the point where you are happy that you fully understand the benefits and risks.
In the USA synthetic progestin is often used as Hormone Therapy Treatment. It may have side effects but does help significantly.
We would counsel readers to look into Natural Progesterone Therapy which can be equally effective with less side effects.
Chemotherapy may be used where there is spread. The most common drugs are carboplatin, mitomycin, cisplatin, chloroambucil, vinblastine and methotrexate. For information on your Cancer Drugs and chemotherapy click here.
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Understanding your doctor
 Click here and read our article "What is Cancer" Although we always try to write in easy-to-understand words, you may find that some web sites, information leaflets, Doctors and Nurses use words that are not as easy to understand. For that reason we have compiled a list of all the technical words they commonly use called DOCTORSPEAK, the list turns it all into simple, easy to understand English. You can find this list of words by clicking here.
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Other Ways forward
You might decide that drugs and chemotherapy are not for you. You might want to look into Diet therapies on this site you will find all the details about the famous Gerson Therapy, or Dr Gonzalez in New York, who has clinical trials to support his diet and supplement therapy.
You might simply want to look at diet to support your orthodox treatments we have that too. As  we mentioned above our book,The Tree of life the anti-cancer Diet gives you lots of information, even a shopping trolley of foods to buy! We even have articles on this web site covering which herbs are known to make a difference.
You might want to look for the best supplements to take not merely the everyday antioxidants but natural compounds supported in research as having anti-cancer activity like vitamin D, Fish oils, total vitamin E, curcumin and probiotics.. And buying them is easy. Weve done all the hard work for you. If you are already looking for supplements click on the tab at the top of the page and go to the Natural Selection shop where they have selected the best of the best where you can buy with confidence.
You may want to look at how daily light exercise can help (some research says it cuts mortality by up to 50 per cent). Then there are clinical trials on meditation. You can access our kiddies guide to everything from massage to yoga.
Then there are energy therapies like acupuncture. People with cancer always have an imbalance in their body energy. It is relatively easy to fix and get it working for you again.
Finally you might want to try Hands on Healing, or even pay a visit to John of God. Hes free you just have to get to Brazil. He doesnt cure people, God does. We do know people who went who were very impressed.
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Overall
On this web site you will find more information about more treatment options (Complementary and Alternative, not just Orthodox), and on more possible contributory factors to the development and maintenance of your cancer, than on any other UK cancer web site. Some experts believe that approaching your cancer in this total way can increase an individuals chances of survival by as much as 60 per cent.
This is all supported by the very latest research evidence from all over the world in our news section Cancer Watch.
We can do this because we are not hide-bound by vested interests, and so we can always put people first. We are not influenced by companies who seek to make financial gains from patients, we have no trustees working for, or sponsored directly or indirectly by such companies, our directors take no remuneration at all. This is our true independence, from which you benefit directly.
But this independence comes at a price: We can only rely on you, and people like you, to support our work. 47,703 people visited our site in March 2007, viewing 11 pages on average. Every month we add 20 new pages to this site. The letters and e mails of gratitude and praise tell us we really do make a difference.
If you feel an independent voice is essential in cancer, please, please help by making a donation. Every little helps.
back to the top
The CANCERactive Difference: Intelligent Information. Independent Voice.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
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* Cancer (and its related illnesses) are very serious and very individual diseases. Readers must always consult directly with experts and specialists in the appropriate medical field before taking, or refraining from taking, any specific action.
This web site is intended to provide research-based information on cancer and its possible causes and therapies, so that you can make more informed decisions in consultation with those experts. Although our information comes from expert sources, and is most usually provided by Professors, scientists and Doctors, our easy-to-understand, jargon-free approach necessitates that journalists, not doctors, write the copy. For this reason, whilst the authors, management and staff of CANCERactive, icon, and Health Issues have made every effort to ensure its accuracy, we assume no responsibility for any error, any omission or any consequences of an error or omission. Readers must consult directly with their personal specialists and advisors, and we cannot be held responsible for any action, or inaction, taken by readers as a result of information contained on this web site, or in any of our publications. Any action taken or refrained from by a reader is taken entirely at the readers own instigation and, thus, own risk. |
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