I'm pretty scared

Thats the spirit like my granny says dont count your chickens before they hatch. I will be praying for you too so please let me know how it goes.

Jan listed the risk factors for ovarian cancer. These do not mean you will have ovarian cancer. Some of us did not have the risk factors and got it. I am reading these days that these risk factors put you at a slightly higher risk for ovarian cancer than the general population and that about 10% of ovarian cancer patients have the risk factors. There is so much more going on here that they are trying to learn.

Calling it a complex cyst means they are not able to determine fully what the characteristics of the cyst is as it is seen on the CT scan.

When do you see your doctor next? Make a list of the questions you have for him. Take someone with you to the appointment to help you remember what the Dr. says.

I wish I could tell you that this is or is not ovarian cancer. Unfortunately, removal is the only way to know for sure. The waiting is the hardest part. In the meantime, our emotions are all over the place and wondering. I know you want to prepare mentally for this, there really is no way to be fully prepared for the diagnosis of cancer.

s
Jane

I would like to support JMBERG's suggestion that you have a gyn/onc involved in your care - at least for a consult, especially since you are fearful about cancer. First of all, they really are specialists in this area and, when the surgeon sees inside, the oncologist is especially trained to detect cancers and excise them if possible. My early diagnosis was a beginning stage of emdometrial cancer, and, having opted to see a gyn/onc I was very encouraged by the thoroughness of the strategy for care and the "we'll get that bugger" attitude. Minimally, I'd talk with your gyn about a consult. I will say that when I told the gyn I originally saw that I wanted a consult, he sort of washed his hands of me (hmmpf!)
It doesn't really help to say "try not to worry" - or at least for me. What I did was try to think positive thoughts and distract myself by preparing for surgery and recovery. My prayers are with you for a good outcome.

I have my pre-op today 9/12. I looked on my health ins. web site for a gyn-onc. and there isn't one with in 40 miles of were I live. So I will just have to wait and see after surgery and then we will go from there.

	Quote:
Originally Posted by gma3xs He also says the differential diagnosis includes endomerioma, hemorrhagic cyst with mural clot, or even a cystic adnexel malignancy. He says it is difficult to define ovarian tissue around this lesion but this is probably related to the ovary. At the bottom of the page he states his impression is there is a dominant, complex cystic lesion in the left adnexa. I had the CA-125 blood test done and it came back at 31.4 which my Gyn says it should be below 20. I'm 46 years old and have 3 children, breast cancer runs in my family (my mother and sister) but ovarian cancer doesn't that I know of. Should I be worried about ovarian cancer? gma3xs

Hi, gma3xs. {hugs} This is scary stuff to deal with, isn't it? I wish you all the best in your upcoming oophorectomy.

I'm 44 and have a large ovarian cyst and slightly elevated CA-125, too. My cyst is 6cm in diameter and most probably an endometrioma, as its size has not changed in the past two months. It *is* septated, however, and my CA-125 is slightly elevated -- it was 38 in July and went up to 58 in September. I am scheduled to have a total hysterectomy & BSO on October 13th.

Here is how my gynecologist explained the CA-125 test to me -- she said it is important to view it as a "marker" test, and not a definitive test. As someone else mentioned, some women with ovarian cancer have a really high CA-125, and others have a very low CA-125. Many women have an elevated CA-125 and do NOT have ovarian cancer. The way I understand it is many different kinds of pelvic inflammation can cause an elevated CA-125 (0-30 being considered "normal"), including having an ovarian cyst of any kind, or having endometriosis.

What my doctor is not real happy about is the fact that my CA-125 went up in two months. She says it DOESN'T mean I have cancer, but it DOES mean we should take the cyst seriously. In her words, "We need a diagnosis, we need to take it out and know what we're dealing with."

My mother also had breast cancer, but when I asked the gynecologist about the breast cancer-ovarian cancer link, she said it was more of a concern if your relative had breast cancer at a young (pre-menopause) age. My mom got her breast cancer at age 74.

I just lost my mom in May (from complications related to her lung cancer) and I so wish I had her around to go to for advice. I'm glad I found this forum.

I will be thinking of you and praying for you on the 19th!

Hi tamsin,

I'm so sorry to hear about your mother. It's very hard to loose a loved one. My mother died at the age of 48 of breast cancer. She was pregnant with me when she was having radiation. I was 3 years old and don't remember her. My sister had breast cancer in her 40's and had a masectomy and chemo then when we thought everything was fine it came back in her bones and she had chemo again and radiation. She is in her 60's now and is cancer free. I will be praying for you on the 13th of October.

Thank you for your prayers
gma3xs

Hi gma3xs, I know EXACTLY how you feel. I had a complex tumor that had grown to 27.5cm when they took it out. The only way to tell if it was cancerous was to take it out and test it. I had to sign authorities for them to go ahead and perform the extra cancer staging surgery if it was. My CA125 was 17. My pathology report said "... very high chance of malignancy" I was petrified. Waiting 3 weeks to go into hospital was the longest 3 weeks in my life!

Turns out that for me they did have to go ahead and do the extra surgery. When I woke up in recovery they told me they had found cancer - my heart sank - but then I found out that was it! all fixed! there was no further treatment required!

I pray that your cysts are benign - but I just want you to know that even if they are not - it can still all turn out perfectly OK! The whole ordeal has even turned out to be a bonus for me - no cancer now, no more Aunty Flo (I didn't even know what a hysterectomy was til about 2 months ago), and the fat they take out of your tummy because of the cancer surgery has left me with a flat tummy!

I wish you all the very best for a great outcome

Hi omni,
WOW 27 cm that's pretty big. I feel like i'm 4months pregnant and mine is only 5cm unless it has gotten bigger since the sono. It's been almost a month since they found it. What is the extra cancer staging surgery?
I'm glad you didn't have to have any chemo
Are they going to keep an eye on you just to make sure it doesn't come back or are you completly done?
Thank you for your prayers and I will pray for you to stay cancer free.

gma3xs

Hi Gma3xs,

For me the extra surgery included taking some lymph nodes and the omentum (which is apparently the fatty part) and taking tissue/samples from various other places - as well as TAH/BSO. It probably would have involved more if they found it to have spread - I signed to agree to let them take some of my bowel if had spread - but mercifully it had not.

I forgot to strongly agree with the other ladies who said that your surgery is best performed by an onc/gyn if there is the slightest chance of cancer. Please, please! do this for yourself if you can - you will be in the very best care you can have this way.

When I found out I had to wait 3 weeks for surgery - I tried to shortcut by going to a gynocologist as a private patient - she saw the scan reports of 'highly likely malignant' and said she wouldn't touch me with a 10 foot pole and explained the importance of a onc/gyn doing the surgery. After she explained to me the difference between a onc/gyn and a gyn - I wasn't going to let anyone but a onc/gyn operate on me! At least do yourself a favor and ask whoever you are seeing about this issue.

Yep my tumor grew huge in the last few weeks - weighed 4kg the day they took it out. I was beyond the size of 9 months pregnant - think I would have exploded if they left me any longer

I have to go see the oncologist for my 6 weekly checkup (I'm only 4 now) and I guess he will tell me about regular checkups then. Since my op I have been scheduled for a mammogram (because of the ovarian/breast cancer link). They won't give me anymore HRT unless I go - and I NEED my HRT. I know I also have to have 'vault' smears regularly. (I think that is the word for pap smears when you don't have a cervix anymore?). The oncologist did tell me there was no way to promise I wouldn't get another ovarian tumor - even with no more ovaries! - but the likelyhood was far less now they have been removed.

Take care and remember - every cloud has a silver lining

omni,
Thanks for the info. I don't have a gyn/onc close to were I live, I looked on my Med. Ins. web site and the closest one in around 40 miles or so away. My surgery is on monday so I hoping my doctor can do the same as if he were an gyn/onc.
gma3xs