ovaries and ovarian cancer question

Good evening everyone!

I was on the phone with my neice yesterday and she was telling me something about one of her friends that has already had a hysterectomy. Her friend it seems is going back in now to have her ovaries removed. My neice who is sometimes not very clear on things told me this woman is 45 and that being at the age they needed to be removed because of a chance of ovarian cancer. I am not sure if this person has a family history or they found precancer cells or what. But I have never heard of such a thing until this.
I have my preop visit next Wed and was wondering if this is something I should even bother asking the Dr or is it just listening and taking to heart PreOp Jitters? I told the DH about this story and he thought I should be asking questions and researching before the surgery. If this is at all true he doesn't want me to have to go through "another" surgery in about 7 years or so.

Thanks ladies

Hi Tina,
Good idea to always ask any question prior to surgery. Make sure you do the same with your doctor. Sometimes ovaries are left for all the right reasons but then one or both may begin to have painful re-occuring cysts or one of many other conditions that requires their removal later. So, perhaps there was part of the story left out ??

To remove healthy, vital working body parts to PREVENT surgery later or to prevent illness later, is usually not good advice. The time to talk about all of that is now, so it's a great question. Alot depends on your medical history of your ovaries, your age and your family health history. In my case, my aunt passed at 54 with ovarian cancer. I was 55 when I had surgery. I was having an abdominal surgery due to my uterus size so yes, we took the ovaries. Mine were functioning enough for regular periods...but my doctor was serious about taking them due to my family history. Once on the table the ovaries revealed endo and they were pretty enlarged. The lab reports revealed they had been at war for quiet awhile.

I'm sorry you and your doctor have not talked about this yet. Most likely, he's leaving them if he hasn't mentioned it and if you've had no problems with them. If he leaves this up to you, then it's unfair because you still have to go through the decission process of what to do. Hormone treatment for another 10 years, etc?

My decision was easy. My incision allowed easy removal, my age and family history all pointed to removal and I'm very happy on a low dose of estrogen.

Take your list of question with you and your hubby too if possible. Both of you need to hear what the doctor has to say. Best wishes.
Maralyn

Hello, Tina!

Because you are in your 30's, most would believe it wise that you retain your ovaries, if they are healthy.

For women age 45 and older, the former school of thought used to be that removing healthy ovaries at the time of a hyst, in order to prevent ovarian cancer in the future, wasn't a bad idea. Recently, from articles I have read on various ob/gyn websites it seems that the trend has changed and that many if not most doctors believe that retaining healthy ovaries, in any age patient, is advisable. Prophylactic oophorectomy for women with no family history nor genetic indicator for ovarian cancer seems to me to to be heading the way of the dinosaur.

Many s and Best Wishes,

Thank you Maralyn and Carmen,

I have talked to my Dr she is with me wanting to keep my ovaries unless when she gets in there, there may be endo rampant That is one thing we did discuss on my last visit.
(sheesh my neice and her non complete stories)
God bless her I know she just tried to help.(we aren't that far apart in age only by about 7 years lol )
I was a late baby and my brother is 18 years older than I.

I am just being jittery and cautious I guess. This isn't my first surgery. And you would think I wouldn't be so nervous about it. I think some of the reality of not being able to have another child might be some of my problem(been very down for awhile now)......we only have the one and not for the lack of trying, our son will be 15 in July. And what makes me so Nuts is that I have known for almost 4 years that I needed this surgery. I guess in the back of my mind if "We" were going to be blessed again that it would have happened in the last 4 years since I did have to wait.
The last few days my DH has been kicking himself for having me to have to wait so long for this surgery(since I went ahead with the D & C in late Oct) He just wished I had it sooner. It isn't his fault and I don't blame him. Finances and no insurance was the deterant and the last emergency surgery on my gallbladder didn't help the wait.
I thank you again and I am just thankful that you and all the other hystersisters are here just to listen.
God Bless.

Tina
aka
DESSERTLADY

The good news is that you still have time to ask questions about this and get your doctor's point of view about this subject. Opinions on keeping the ovaries seem to be changing. I am 48, had a TAH but kept my ovaries, no family history of cancer, and I've never had a problem. If they need to go at a later date, I will deal with it then, but that still would not be as extensive a surgery as I came through in the fall. Ask your doc what his or her ideas about this are, then make the decision that seems best to you. I was glad to keep my own hormones pumping for a few years more!