Symptoms and Complications
Endometrial cancer in its early stages has one predominant symptom: abnormal uterine bleeding. Bleeding is abnormal in a premenopausal woman if it occurs at unusual times. In a postmenopausal woman, any uterine bleeding is abnormal. One-third of postmenopausal women who see their doctor about abnormal uterine bleeding have endometrial cancer.
At the same time, it's this symptom that allows the cancer to be detected early enough to get effective treatment. The Pap smear test, designed to find cancer in the cervix, occasionally catches cancers located in the uterus, but it often misses them, too. In other words, a woman with a recent normal Pap test should still tell her doctor immediately if she develops abnormal uterine bleeding.
9 out of 10 uterine cancers cause bleeding. There are usually no other symptoms or warning signs in early endometrial cancer. More advanced uterine cancers can cause pelvic pain, weight loss, bloating, and swelling of the abdomen (lower stomach area).