Cancer increase from removal of ovaries?

I am having a TAH & BOS (both ovaries removed?) due to 1 very large fibroid & 1 smaller one. I have a tipped & enlarged uterus making pap smears difficult. I was advised to remove the uterus but the ovaries were optional. My mom died at 48 due to breast cancer & I was told that there was a hormonal link & they had removed her ovaries...this was 30 years ago though. I talked to my doc & he also said that the possibility of ovarian cancer increases for women with a family history of breast cancer. SO my question is is it overreactive for me to get the ovaries removed? My doctor seemed to agree to remove them but recently read on this site that there could be an increase in breast cancer due to removal of the ovaries I am confused & my date is only 2 weeks away! Isn't it hard to detect ovarian cancer & if I remove the uterus won't it be that much a harder to diagnose ovarian cancer? I am very scared & want to make sure tat I am making the right choices. What about HRT? Should I try to go without or start out with a low dose & slowly wean off of it? Sorry so many questions !!!
I have had to get on xanax from anxiety. I think I am driving my doctor nuts!!!
Thanks for listening Any1 have ideas?

God bless
Jane readit2me

Just sending you some S. Wish I could be of more help but as I haven't had my surgery yet....I can only offer opinions and support.
If you have an increased risk then it might be best for you to seriously consider removing your ovaries. Make a list of all the questions you are asking here and then talk with your doc about them. Maybe cite what you have read and see what his opinion is. It is okay to revisit the same topic with your doc multiple times....I know I have and plan to again.

hey sister,
Is there a reason you have to have your surgery in two weeks?
It sounds like you have lots of questions you need answered in order to feel the most comfortable you can be with your decision.
I think you should get the answers you need from the 'professionals' before you have surgery. While you'll get lots of support from this website, you'll also gets lots of opinions which could lead to confusion.
I pushed for my surgery in a short time span because I was losing my health insurance. But I've been dealing with my diagnosed condition of fibroids and dsyplasia for about two years and was putting surgery off as long as possible. Aside from a couplel of set backs, I wish I would have had it sooner!
Take care,
Gloria

Readittome--
Your risk of getting ovarian cancer is only very slightly increased because your mother got breast cancer before menopause. Women with a strong family history of ovarian cancer (ie, 2 or more first degree relatives--sisters, mothers) do have an increased risk of ovarian cancer. Women with their OWN history of breast cancer (ie, they themselves got breast cancer) also have a higher risk. Women whose mothers had breast cancer may have a slightly increased risk, but not by much.

Here's a little background: about 10% of ovarian cancer appears to be the heritable form, and it's linked with a particular mutation of the BRAC1 and II genes, which are also linked with breast cancer. (If you do have those mutations, you're much more likely to get ovarian cancer and breast cancer, but these are the forms of cancer that are more responsive to treatment and have higher survival rates).

It is possible to get a screening for those mutations--in other words, if you have a strong family history of breast or ovarian cancer, they can check to see if you have the BRCA I and II mutations, so you can make a clearer decision about removal of your ovaries.

There are no data that suggest ovarian removal directly INCREASES breast cancer risk, so you don't need to worry about that. Women with a strong family history of breast cancer, however, may have increased breast cancer risk if they take HRT (hormone replacement therapy), so if you did have your ovaries removed, you might be at a slightly increased risk of breast cancer if you decided to take HRT. It's not the removal of the ovaries that increases cancer risk for women with a family history of breast cancer; it's the HRT that often follows ovary removal. But the increased risk is small.

If you're really really worried about ovarian cancer, removal of the ovaries might make sense. Otherwise, studies do show that keeping your ovaries increases longevity, because your ovaries continue to produce testosterone (and tiny amounts of estrogen) well past menopause, and those are somewhat protective against other things (cardiovascular problems, osteoporosis, etc).

If you have already had breast cancer, you can't take HRT, and if you have a strong family history of breast cancer, you probably wouldn't want to take HRT. So that might be one reason to consider keeping your ovaries.

Does all this make sense? Removal of the uterus doesn't make it harder to detect ovarian cancer; it probably makes it easier. Why? If your fibroids are enlarging your uterus a lot, it's hard to check the ovaries to make sure they're not enlarging. Without an enlarged uterus in the way, keeping track of the ovaries is easier. If you left your ovaries, and then later decided to go back and remove them, it's a much simpler operation usually, so that decision isn't irrevocable.

If it were me, I would only have my ovaries removed if the doctors strongly urged removal. If removal were optional, I would keep them, knowing that I could always go back and have them removed later if necessary. But this would be my personal decision, since I know that the increased risk of breast cancer from HRT would bother me more, and I would be unwilling to deal with ovary removal without HRT (although plenty of women do that; I just wouldn't be willing to go through ovary removal without hormone replacement of some sort). But your decision needs to be based on what risks you are willing to take. Just remember: all these increased risks are small! Your quality of life is what really matters. Good luck, and I wish you the best through this stressful time.

Good luck!

Thanks all for the replies! I have done lots of research & talked to my doc. I have put this off way too long! The fibroid is so large it is tipping my uterus so that I cannot have a pap without practicall y turning me upside down! I have a torn sphincter that I went for many tests & ended up not being able to do anything about. Wasted lots of time. Sooooo.... I am having the ovaries out--but not the cervix. I think I am ok about it. Doc ws impressed that I had so many questions & was prepared- thanks to this site !!!!