BC Issues / Long Period = Cancer??? - Birth Control Message Board

david08 · 12-15-2008, 09:03 AM

My wife went to see her gynecologist today after having several back to back periods this month. The first thing out of her mouth, was that it could be cancer (I did not understand specifically what kind). Does this sound right? With no other symptoms?

Let me give some additional backgound. About 2 years ago, my wife started birth control (generic of seasonale). Her gynecologist did not explain any known side effects, and prescribed it after a quick exam the same day she went in. For the first couple of months my wife experienced basically all of the known side effects of birth control (I looked most of them up as soon as she started having issues since we hadn't been informed of any)...breast pain, emotional issues, nausia, etc.... after 4-5 months it stabilized and the only symptoms were occasional pain during sex (which there had never been before that), and 0 sex drive.
Last Dec (07), a few months before we got married, she went on birth control. Reading up on it, we knew that it could be a while before she would be able to get pragnent (which was why she went off of it before the wedding, so we could try to concieve after the wedding). I had read that periods may not normalize for 3-6 months....first 3 months no period and then about the time she would have had her period while on BC, she had a period. Then the next month came normall, then a month of no period, then a normal month, then a month of no period again. So she went to see her doctor (not gynecologist ). She found out she had a 1cm cyst. She then had her periods fairly regularly (although still off by a few days...early or late...and somewhat long)....Then about a month ago, she had a heavy period...lasting about 2 weeks....then it stopped....then 2 days later started again. Period has been fairly heavy.
Also, all of the symptoms (dryness, no sex drive, emotional, etc) have remained.

Before bc she had always had very regular periods, usually down to the day.

All of this histoy, the gynecologist was uninterested in today, and actually ignored questions my wife had. She said it may be cancer or may be because of weight (she gained weight while on BC).

Also note, my wife is 22 and has no family history of any related problems.

I'm just blown away the first thing she would think of is cancer, and that she wouldn't atleast ask for some history. I was expecting almost anything else, even that she would have had a miscarriage as there was heavy clotting through some of it.... And I considered it fairly likely that there may have been some kind of hormone imbalnce...

If anyone has any thoughts or ...anything really. Please reply. Also I hope that this wasn't too hard to read / understand.

estria · 12-15-2008, 05:06 PM

Hello David,

Sorry to hear that your wife is going through such a difficult time.

Irregular bleeding could be caused by many things, most of which are NOT cancer. However, it is a good idea to rule this out. An endometrial biopsy will take a sample of the endometrial lining to ensure that there are no abnormal cells, a pap smear with an HPV test will check for abnormal cells in the cervix and the ultrasound will look at the ovaries. A 1 cm ovarian cyst is most likely completely normal as all women grow cysts on their ovaries every month. These functional follicular cysts contain the egg which is later released into the fallopian tube. After the cyst bursts to release the egg, it becomes a corpus luteal cyst which is gradually reabsorbed into the ovary.

An ultrasound will also check to see how thick your wife's endometrial lining is. If it is greater than 1 cm then most likely the doctor will recommend a D & C to clean out the lining. This will often take care of the bleeding problem and no further treatment will be necessary.

Another cause for the bleeding may be the birth control pill itself. I was on the pill for 20 years and I began to have irregular bleeding with clots and this scared the heck out of me. Due to the relatively larger dose of progesterone comparative to estrogen, the pill had caused my endometrial lining to atrophy .. to become so thin that I developed varicose vein like structures that made the lining fragile and it bled (kind of like hemorrhoids in the rectum that also bleed). When I went off the pill, the irregular bleeding stopped and my cycles became normal again. In the process of trying to find out the cause of my irregular bleeding I had an ultrasound which uncovered an 8 cm ovarian cyst. Fortunately it is a simple cyst (filled with fluid) but it is still there one year later so it is unlikely to be a normal functional cyst, although one never knows since my body is still trying to get back to normal after being on the pill for so long.

In your wife's case, she should first check her endometrial lining to ensure that it is not too thick. If it is, she can have a D & C which will probably solve the problem. If it is not the lining then it could be a cervical or vaginal abnormality so this should be checked out. At any rate, she should have a pap smear and an endometrial biopsy, just to rule out cancer. It is rare but can still happen and the sooner it is ruled out, the sooner your wife can concentrate on other things.

I hope things get better soon. Take care and all the best.

Estria

WannaBMomV · 12-16-2008, 10:00 AM

David, sorry to hear what your wife is going through.

I really think you should encourage her to look for another doctor - as the current doc is "uninterested" and "ignoring questions" like you said, I think that's an unacceptable level of service and can't possibly result in the best care for your wife. Even if the doc is competent, sounds like a pretty bad beside manner.

From what you've described, I'm surprised the first thing the doc would suggest is cancer. It seems like there should be all sorts of things to look at first (hormones, endometrial issues, fibroids, etc.)

Good luck getting everything sorted out.