Yahoo Lifestyle 'I Was Diagnosed With Uterine Cancer At 56—This Was the First Symptom I Noticed'
Uterine cancer (also known as endometrial cancer) is the fourth most common cancer women in the U.S. are diagnosed with. It primarily affects post-menopausal women and the average age of diagnosis is 60 years old.
Leslie Stone, an art history teacher living in California, knows first-hand what it’s like to receive that diagnosis. She was diagnosed with uterine cancer when she was 56, in September 2020. Stone’s form of uterine cancer was aggressive and she had to face the very real possibility that she wouldn’t live to see her 60th birthday. Five years later, she is in recovery and doing well. Now, she’s sharing her journey so others can learn from it, including the very first sign that tipped her off to something being wrong.
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The Earliest Symptom and Treatment Journey
Stone says that the very first symptom she experienced was vaginal bleeding. “I had already been through menopause, so I knew it was unusual,” she says. She made an appointment with her gynecologist, who did a medical test that showed Stone had uterine cancer. After being diagnosed, Stone was referred to a gynecologic oncologist to talk about her treatment options.
The gynecologic oncologist recommended that Stone get a hysterectomy, so that’s exactly what she did, a month later in October 2020. “The hysterectomy was a robotic surgery. It was really cool—I don’t even have a scar!” Stone says. Stone and her specialist thought that with the surgery done, she was in the clear. Unfortunately, she experienced vaginal bleeding again three weeks later.
Related: Here's What Actually Cases Endometrial Cancer, According to Oncologists
Since the hysterectomy was not enough to stop the cancer, Stone had to try a different form of treatment: chemotherapy and radiation. “The chemotherapy wasn’t as bad as you hear about—it didn’t make me throw up—but it did make my hair fall out and gave me bad migraines and leg pain,” Stone says.
The migraines in particular were especially brutal. “It was like there were flashing lights in my peripheral vision and then the light would turn into a kidney shape with a flashing outline, similar to a neon sign. It would go across my left eye, getting bigger and bigger until it encompassed my right eye. It also made everyone look distorted, like a Picasso painting,” Stone says, adding that each episode would last about 20 minutes.
Stone’s chemotherapy and radiation took eight months and again, she and her doctor were hopeful that that was enough to treat the cancer. Unfortunately, three weeks after Stone finished radiation, the cancer came back—and it had spread.
Related: Here's What Endometrial Cancer Actually Is—and How To Know if You're at Risk for It
The Treatment That Worked
Since Stone’s cancer had spread, her new diagnosis was secondary peritoneal carcinomatosis. Stone soon began to experience other symptoms, including intense bloating. “I looked like I was seven months pregnant. My stomach was rock hard and I had random stabbing pains everywhere,” she says. Sometimes, the pain was so bad that she couldn’t even stand up and she had to spend the whole day in bed.
Stone’s doctor suggested she try a new immunotherapy drug that was recently approved for use. The drug was called Keytruda, and it works by blocking a protein called PD-1 on T cells, which allows the body to better recognize and attack cancer cells. Keytruda is a drug that’s given intravenously by a medical professional. “Within two weeks of my first treatment, my stomach had shrunk completely back down,” Stone says.
Related: What Role Do Hormones Play in the Development of Endometrial Cancer? Doctors Explain
Stone continued to go for Keytruda treatment every three weeks and as time went on, she felt better and better. After six months, her doctor told her something she could hardly believe: Her latest scans showed her cancer was completely gone. Stone continued receiving Keytruda for four years until it was determined that the cancer was most likely not coming back. If it ever does, she will start taking Keytruda again.
While Stone was getting treated for her cancer, she decided to take a genetic test. Through it, she learned that she had a genetic disorder called Lynch syndrome that increases the risk of certain cancers, including uterine cancer. After learning about her results, Stone urged her family members to get tested as well. That way, if they had Lynch syndrome too, they could take extra precautions surrounding cancer prevention. She encourages others to get genetic testing too as a way to better understand their own health risks.
The Road Trip Of a Lifetime
After initially being diagnosed with uterine cancer, Stone started to think seriously about the end of her life and had to face the fact that it may come sooner than she thought. She updated her will and talked to her doctor about end-of-life decisions. She also planned a 26-day cross-country road trip with her teenage son, Tripp. “It was going to be my last hurrah,” Stone says. “We were going to drive all across the country and I was going to give away my belongings. I already had Post-It notes on everything with people’s names and I was going to load the car up with all this stuff.”
Two days before the trip, Stone received the news from her doctor that her scans showed zero cancer in her body. “All the sudden, it went from a farewell trip to a celebratory trip,” she says. Stone and her son drove 8,500 miles across the U.S., celebrating the fact that she was still alive. They went to Florida, Cape May, Niagara Falls and New York City, seeing friends and family along the way. “Everybody was throwing parties for me along the way,” she says.
Now, Stone is doing well. She sees her doctor every six months for a scan to make sure the cancer hasn’t come back. But it all started with her seeing her doctor after noticing that very first symptom. If something is “off” with your body, take it seriously. It just might save your life.
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Sources
Leslie Stone, art history teacher and uterine cancer survivor
Uterine Cancer Key Facts. National Foundation for Cancer Research
Peritoneal Cancer. StatPearls
Lynch syndrome. Mayo Clinic
