What is Ovarian Cancer
Ovarian cancer is a malignant ovarian neoplasm (an abnormal growth located on the ovaries). It is the fifth leading cause of cancer death in women, the leading cause of death from ...
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I am sort of in a daze today, cant really focus on anything other than what the oncologist might say this afternoon. Guess I will start from the beginning:
I am 31 years old. A mother of 4 beautiful children. About to celebrate my 12th wedding anniversary to the most wonderful man. And I am quite scared. Last Tuesday went to lunch with my husband Jared and two of my beautiful children. When we left I felt terrible. When we got home I vomited violently. I felt some what better but not 100%, we were thinking maybe food poisoning however Jared had eaten some of my lunch and he was fine. When i got home from work my abdomen felt like it was on fire! I slept most of the night in the fetal position. The next morning Wednesday the 7th of October I could barely walk, my right and lower parts of my abdomen were in so much pain. I had diarrhea most of the day and that subsided. I went to work still feeling pretty badly. By 4:30 i knew i needed to get to the ER. I felt maybe i was having an appendicitis. I got to the ER around 8 pm and of course the Dr on call felt the same way and sent me for a CT scan. Appendix looked great however I had a large cyst on my left ovary, and fluid in my pelvic cavity. I went in for an ultra sound and its came back that the large cyst was leaking fluid and possibly blood into my abdomen. They sent me home with instructions to have a follow up within two to three weeks. Monday the 12th I was still hurting pretty good, experienced constipation for the first time in my life and i hope I NEVER have to go through that again. I had talked to my PCM the Friday before and she seemed to be to busy to really discuss anything and thought I should be seen in 4-5 weeks. So i made the decision to find a new Dr. I met with her on the 13th and the minute she walked through the door I liked her. She asked my family history and was quite agitated that my original PCM wasn't concerned, given my family history. She brought up the dreaded C word. I lost my mother 4 years ago to that terrible disease and i hope to never hear it again. She ordered the CA 125 blood test, and got me an appointment for today with the GYN/ONC. I hate that there is even a remote possibility that my family will be put through this. Anyone have some words of advice or even support I don't even know what i should be asking. Thank you in advance and I am so relieved I found this support group. Kendra Posted on 10/14/09, 11:10 am |
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I'm in the UK so can't figure out if you have seen the onc yet or not. I'm really pleased you found a better doctor. It is so important that we have someone we can get on with and who can relate to us when going through these things.. It's a major first step to dealing with this and you have achieved that. It's very encouraging that she is setting things up for you so fast.
Cancer is a possibility, even though it is very remote, even with your symptoms the odds are hugely in favour of this being something benign. If two very close relations had ovarian cancer then you would be at a slightly higher risk than others.. Though OC is extremely rare, it should not be ruled out and can not be confirmed, without a biopsy of the cyst. This is a scary and difficult situation for you to be in, but be reassured that this new doctor is doing everything as it should be done. You've had a scan, a CA125 and I imagine the next step will be surgery. Things will probably happen quite quickly now and you will feel overwhelmed at times. Most of us have been there and I can promise that even for those of us where the pathology comes back positive for OC things get better and easier to cope with. I will be hoping loads for you that this isn't OC and that soon you will pain free and walking on air with a huge smile of relief on your face. Please stay with us and let us know how the appointment went.. You just have to take it one step at a time for now and try not to get ahead of yourself.. you will find the questions to ask and get the answers you need.. though probably not as quickly as you would like.. Be very patient and kind to yourself.. treat yourself to better things than worrying about what you don't know and can't change for now. Wishing you all the best.. Inka xxx 
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Hi Kendra,
I am so sorry you have to go through this, just the worrying of what is in the future is scary. But please don't get ahead of your self. Like Inka said, things go very fast and your mind will be in a whirl wind but it is important to focus on your self and your family. Do things to keep you happy, laugh at anything remotely funny and try to get as much rest as you can. Let the Dr. handle the worries of getting things in order for tests and what not, any time you see your Dr. make sure you have a list of all those questions that are in your mind. That way you don't have to worry aout remembering and you can move on to something else. I really hope everything turns out very good for you. I know the hardest part is the waiting game, and the world of uncertainty. But rest asured before you know it you will have answers. Let us know how you are doing, everyone on here is very supportive and have so much knowledge and understanding of everything on this subject. I wish you the best of luck!!!! Lots ok hugs! ~Renee
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Well nothing really new, waiting on test results. This dr. i saw today wasnt to full of answers. he kind of hedged around things. Which of course made my anxiety worse. He did check the cyst today and said it looked "ok" whatever that means. I am calling my new PCM to ask for the results of the CA 125. The dr today said if i was still in pain next week he wanted to see me again, but if not then follow up in four weeks. i dont know whether or not to take that as a good thing.
I do want to tell you that reading your replies made me feel so good. As wonderful as my husbnad is and i love him dearly it feels like i am supporting him rather than the other way around. So thank you so much for your kind words. They meant more than you can know. I will post again tomrrow if i get anymore answers. Thank you again!! Kendra
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I think the reason the doctor sounded vague is because he can not know whether this is cancer or not without pathology tests on a sample of the cyst.. and not because he knows something more. He doesn't know what this is for sure so can't tell you.
I'm wonering why he said to leave it for four weeks if you are not in pain.. probably because a cyst will sometimes clear up on it's own, and we can hope it does. The CA125 result will give a clearer indication of what might be going on, but it isn't always a reliable indicator on it's own as in some women it isn't sensitive to OC. Clearly, though, if it does begin to clear up and the CA125 is normal then that would be the best result. These are things you might want to get clear with your doctor . I also found myself being concerned about everyone's reactions to what I was going through, so much so that I didn't even tell anyone I had a recurrence, until all the test were done and it was conclusive. It was very difficult, especially as my mother had died from lung cancer just thee months before.. This is a place where we can express all that we feel and find women who understand and share those feelings.. Take heart and do whatever it takes to lift your spirit and keep you strong.. Hug to you.. Inka xxx
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Dear Kendra,
I am glad that you have gotten to a different doctor and that things are moving along more swiftly now. Your story sounds somewhat like mine, at least as far as initially having a doctor that was slow and unconcerned. Like you I found a different doctor; for me, events moved quickly to surgery, which I had 8 days ago. A large ovarian cyst was removed, which thankfully was benign. I hope a similar outcome happens for you. As for advice, I would say that surgery to remove your cyst is probably the best option you could be given. As Inka said, until they remove the cyst and look at it microscopically, no sure diagnosis can be given. Ultrasound gives some clues (in general, the less dense the mass, the better) as does the CA-125 blood test (although in your age range, a high level may not indicate cancer so it is not that conclusive either), but tissue examination is the only sure way to know. No surgery is fun but for me I was in and out of the hospital in 3 days and everything went fine, I am recuperating and feeling better every day. I wish you luck and peace while you deal with this. Catherine
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Just a second thought, if the doc says things look ok and surgery is not needed, I would trust that for now. My gyno/oncologist, who is the head of a women's cancer center, told me when he first saw me that the cyst seemed benign, and he was right. I guess these doctors develop a pretty good sense of how to judge these things because they see a lot of them. I would guess because of your age that they might go slow with a surgical option, compared to someone like myself who is past menopause and in the age range where cancer is more common. So anyway, try to stay calm and trust the doctor but keep listening to your own body too.
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Well everything I went through is happening again. I am waiting for a call back from my Dr.
Saturday night the vomiting and diarrhea started again and I woke up with the intense pain, its still there just not as bad as yesterday. I am hoping they will look harder for answers. Its the unknown that is making me nervous. I am trying to stay busy. I hate waiting for return phone calls. Something just isnt right. Thank you all for your responses. It helps knowing I can get support here! If i learn more I will let you all know. Thanks again! Kendra
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My Mother, was just diagnosed and We thought it was just the flu, constantly running to the bathroom, having massive pain, and just couldnt really get outta bed.
Dont Work yourself up, who knows what this turns out to be. You Shall be strong whatever the out come, I can tell by the way you write that you are just onfused, but once a definate answer comes you can set your mind at whatever the task at hand is. Hope you have found out more GOOD news since this was posted, sorry about the late reply, but i just joined... Laura
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Hi
It sounds like the last doctor you`ve seen seems to be on top of things. I guess the bottom line is to be patient, take all the tests he advices and then follow the results of his plan. I`ve had ovca since March '08 and was initially devastated. However, I`ve learned that there are lots of special women on this site who`ve gone through the same things and continue to give their support. I`m wishing you the very best! xxLinda
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