Ovaries to be or not to be

Thank you for all the advice. I know I will be having my right removed due to a large complex mass and my left is still questionable.
But after reading the risks of breast cancer and the reduction thereof, I am strongly considering the removal of the left. Since breast cancer runs in my family.
God Bless

This is always a contoversial subject. There tends to be a lot of studies showing benefits one way or another, so it gets kind of confusing.

A couple of you are pretty young and if you don't have a family history of ovarian, breast cancer or have another medical condition like endo you might want to think about keeping them ( this is just my opinion). Talk with your doctors and weigh the risks against the benefits. Make a pro and cons list and see what is more important to you on that list.

I'm 52 ( I will be 53 in a few months) and I did not keep my ovaries. I was having huge issues with hormonal imbalance that was making me bleed heavily non-stop for months. To be honest they weren't working too well anyway. I'm on 0.05 estridiol ( a middling dose) and I feel more like I did 6 years ago.

Best wishes on you decision


Take Care

I think oncologists (breast or GYN) have the best information concerning whether removing the ovaries for cancer makes sense for your situation. Also about HRT and breast cancer.

I know about the studies and it all depends on the risk of breast cancer. Since breast cancer is so common, you may think your family is high risk and it isn't. On the other hand if you fit a BRCA profile than that is a different story.

You may want to consult a breast oncologist or even a gyn oncologist before your surgery.

I went to one he wanted my ovaries out. I had a mom with ovarian, and she had 2 sisters with breast, a father with pancreatic and a grandmother with ovarian. This fits a BRCA profile but she tested BRCA negative. However, that does not mean that she was not BRCA positive because the tests have errors so they treated me as if I was postitve.

That would be the best advice I have.

Connie

Hello,
After exhausting myself reading up on the subject prior to my TAH, RSO, I wanted to keep my ovaries unless they were causing a life threatening situation.
Please read up on HRT, and study what your ovaries give you. I did beg my doc going in to keep mine, but endo got one and I was lucky that my surgeon could save the other.

Good Luck

I'm having surgery in a few days and recently decided to have the doctor take my one remaining ovary (the other one was removed due to endometriosis a few years ago). Initially, I wanted to keep the ovary but now I think it's best to have it removed. The endometriosis I have is pretty aggressive and I don't want to have another surgery down the road when it starts acting up again! Also, my hormones are pretty wacky right now, so I figure why keep the darn thing if it isn't working right. I know it's a difficult decision. You have to weigh all the pros and cons and decide what will be best for you. Best wishes to you whatever you decide

Thanks so much for all the posts. I also have endo. I have a family history of ovarian,uteran, and breast cancer. Immediate famiy history of ovarian, cervical,and uteran cancer. I am supposed to behaving surgery within the next few weeks. I am still waiting to hear back from the dr office about preo-op and surgery date. I am going to have them removed. If they will let me. Last week I told the dr if he thought they looked bad to remove them. Will they let me change my mind now ? I hope so, its my body right?

With an immediate family history of ovarian, I may get them out even at your age (just my parinoid opinion). Your risk even if you don't have a gene is 5% and ovarian is so hard to spot.

My sister is 38 and is thinking of a profolactic hysterectomy because of our family history and her doctor said go for it.

My friend had her's out at your age and has been on hormones and is fine. She got them out because her mother had ovarian cancer.

Still not an easy decision. Go for the mental health factor. If you would feel better with them out, it just may be worth it for the reassurance you will not get the 2 cancers in your family.

Maybe your doctor can help you or maybe you can see a gync. oncologist before your surgery to help you make the decision.

All the best, Connie

I am having my Hysterectomy on April 9th, well next week! Initially I was going to keep my Ovaries because I am 33 even though every month I have cysts that rupture and are very painful for me. My Surgery thinks because of my age I should keep them. I have been researching and researching for over a month and I made an appointment with and specialist to get his opinion. He told me that Breast cancer is much easier to detect with yearly or ever 6-month mammograms and biopsies. Ovarian cancer is different he said, most women by the time they are diagnosed with Ovarian cancer it is usually in the later stages. Most woman statically speaking he said have a life span of about 15months after being diagnosed. Now my mother died 3 years ago in July of Breast cancer at age 48, she battled it 4 years and it spread throughout her entire body, even her brain. My Grandfather died of lung cancer. My grandmothers sisters both had cervical and ovarian cancer in their 30’s. I have struggled with this decision since I knew I was going to have my surgery, and with better treatment and earlier testing for breast cancer I have decided to have my ovaries removed. Dh and I have talked about it and I had even thought about waiting a few years and going back and having them out, but what if I wait to long? What if my insurance changes and I can’t. What if they miss something and it’s to late? I have had Liver problems, my Gallbladder removed, Heart issues and I have had 4 Laparoscopys. I almost dies in childbirth and ended up in ICU for 10 days while my son ended up in the PICU for 12, I had to have 7 units of blood and my family was called back to the hospital and told I would NOT make it, but I did. I have 3 teenagers, who at this moment are on Spring break and driving me nuts, and I would like to pull my hair out, lol. But I want to be there to see my Grandchildren and enjoy life after they go off and lead theirs. So I went to my GP doc today and told him, he is not my surgeon so he doesn’t have a biased opinion. He agreed with me. Told me he would help me go through every HRT if need be, even the natural ones too! I bet my OBGYN has told every woman under the age of 45 to keep her ovaries. How many have then ended up with ovarian cancer later? Don’t get me wrong I am terrified of this, but I would rather lose some ovaries then get cancer. I mean my luck pretty much ***** in the health department, so the answer is OUT with the Ovaries.