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living with endometrial cancer: ‘i knew that something was not right with my body'
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when andria thompson’s menstrual cycle became irregular, she initially chalked it up to her age. she was in her 40s and was told, like many other women, that these changes are ‘normal.’
then the bleeding became heavier and heavier, alongside the irregularity, acting as an internal red flag to see a health-care provider. she was told she had to wait six months to see a specialist because “it was just my body changing.”
she couldn’t have predicted what was really going on.
“i got worse,” she said during that six-month wait. “it started getting even heavier; the cycles were heavier, it was clotting and it was just really, really painful.”
when her specialist appointment finally came, she went in; they took a biopsy and she was told again that she would have to wait. but her body didn’t have time to wait and she was admitted to the hospital because of her symptoms.
that’s where she got her diagnosis: endometrial cancer.
“at that time, i didn’t know what was wrong. i just knew that i was in a lot of pain, and i knew that something was not right with my body,” she said. “i didn’t know what was happening. i was very confused. i was upset. there’s so many emotions and then i was in a lot of pain on top of that as well.”
thompson had never heard of endometrial cancer before, so her knowledge of what was really going on in her body was non-existent.
“that was scary in itself and then also knowing, okay, so what do i do from here?” she said. “i had no idea what was the next step.”
dealing with uncertainty before and after diagnosis
while thompson was dealing with her symptoms, she maintained normalcy as much as possible. being told that it was just regular changes in her body and not knowing what endometrial cancer was, let alone that it was a potential cause, had her trying to fight through it while she waited for her specialist appointment.
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as an educator, she continued teaching her classes, even while in constant pain.
“i was not well, so i would be in the classroom. i would assign my students work, but i was just not at my best, so that interrupted everything,” she said.
she had to leave teaching and spent close to a year bedridden because of her symptoms.
after her diagnosis, thompson had to research endometrial cancer herself because she was never taught what it was or what it means to get diagnosed with it. even her doctor failed to provide much information about what it could be.
it wasn’t until she met with her oncology doctor that explanations started to make sense of it all.
“the worst thing is not knowing what this disease is and how it affects our bodies,” she said. “i think there needs to be more education, as much as we do the education on breast cancer awareness.”
this week marks the first annual
endometrial cancer awareness week, an awareness campaign launched by gsk canada in the hopes of doing exactly what thompson knows is needed for those diagnosed, living with or who will come to develop endometrial cancer.
it’s one of the most common gynecologic cancers in canada, but when patients like thompson have never heard of it, knowing when to wait for an appointment or push for a second opinion is impossible.
the awareness week comes at a much-needed time, as evidenced by a
gsk survey conducted in 2025that found that 82 per cent of canadian women aged 40 and older are unaware of the symptoms of endometrial cancer, with 84 per cent unaware of the disease’s risk factors.
if thompson knew that her symptoms could be endometrial cancer, she could have advocated for herself at the time.
“i think it wouldn’t have gotten to the place that it got, like if i had something, that someone, that intercept at the moment,” she said.
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thompson went through the regular channels when it came to her endometrial cancer treatment. she did all the conventional options, such as chemotherapy that’s available in canada. unfortunately, her body had other plans and it didn’t respond to those treatments, adding another layer of uncertainty.
“my body was rejecting that,” she said. “i got sick after the first try with that.”
her oncologist recognized a potential new treatment being trialled in the united states that could work for her and her health-care team set her up to try it instead. she fared better with the trial medication.
she also worked on changing her diet as much as possible to help her body heal from the cancer as best she could.
“i try to eat as close to the earth as possible, take away processed foods, heavy meats. i just try to really stick to anything that’s healthy, fruits, vegetables, things like that,” she said.
taking things one day at a time and helping others find hope
thompson’s endometrial cancer diagnosis came out of nowhere. she had no knowledge of the disease or what to do after getting diagnosed because of the lack of general awareness surrounding it.
she had to learn step by step and day by day, leaning on support wherever she could find it and trying to remain hopeful even on the days when the pain was so severe it was hard to bear.
“i’m very strong in my faith,” she said. “i think with any sickness, illness, when you’re at the point where you realize that you are just mortal … at any time you can get bad news, you can get in an accident. so, when you come to that place of knowing that, you know, this is life, you hang on to faith. that’s what i did. i prayed a lot. i’m a firm believer in jesus christ.”
she put her faith in god that she would be healed and she says that, coupled with the work of her oncology team, she’s here today to tell her story in the hopes that others will have more knowledge than she did.
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thompson’s family also became a beacon of hope during the ordeal, with her “three beautiful children” keeping her strong and giving her the strength not to give up.
“i wanted to be here to see them, wanted to be here to see my grandchildren and there’s so much more that i wanted to do,” she said. “now, i became a champion of really trying to let women know the importance of listening to their bodies.”
being an advocate for others, she’s also grateful that there’s finally an awareness week to help close that gap in endometrial cancer knowledge.
“i believe that once we get that information out to women, when you know something, you’re better prepared to handle it if you were diagnosed,” she said. “i really firmly believe that this is so needed.”
she also wants women to be “very mindful of their bodies and the different changes we go through as women” so that they can know when to push for testing.
today, thompson is a published author who works with other women to create inspiring books that women can use to inspire other women in their own lives. she plans to write another about her cancer experience and speaks on podcasts and at engagements to share the importance of early detection and second opinions.
“i’m really grateful where i’m at right now. i do have a group of ladies that i mentor and i’m part of group of women that, right now, we’re doing a publication where i’ve compiled a book that’s going to be released.”
she’s also started the
andria thompson endo-c foundation of hope, an organization dedicated to endometrial cancer awareness and support.
“i’m just doing whatever i can to make sure that i bring awareness, as i believe it’s a second chance at life and doing all that i can to have a fulfilled life and to let people know to never take it for granted. never take life for granted.”
she continued, “stand firm on your faith. never lose hope … get a second, third opinion if you have to and on days when you feel like you cannot make it, just really, really dive into those people that are closest to you.”
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the first annual endometrial cancer awareness week runs during gynecological cancer awareness month in september, from sept. 14 to sept. 20.
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