Cervical cancer, having hysterectomy, but leaving ovaries

I have heard that taking your cervix and uterus out that your ovaries don't work very well after surgery. Has anyone had these issues?I have cervical cancer that is why I am having a hysterectomy. I will speak to my doctor today and have plenty of questions, but I'm 40 in good health, but if I'm going to have to go in later to have them removed because they won't work properly....what is the point of leaving them? I know the benefits, but I have 3 and 5 year old and I'd like to just get everything that is needed and have only one surgery....Am I asking too much?

I am 50 and had a radical hysterectomy on 2/9 due to cervical cancer. Due to the fact that I should be going through menopause they took everything out including lymph nodes and surrounding margins to insure the cancer did not spread. My doc said there was no sense leaving the ovaries at my age and taking the chance of having ovarian cancer. My cancer was a stage 1B. The cancer ended up to be smaller than they thought and they got it all so no radiation or chemo is needed. Wish you the best of luck and good luck with your ovary decision.

Thank you SO much for your response! I'm so glad you didn't have to have radiation and they were able to get all the cancer out. I guess that is my concern that, I'm not that far out from menopause and I've heard that when you have cervical cancer, you have a high percentage of getting ovarian cancer as well. Are you glad at this point that you had everything taken out?

I am glad I have had everything out because now I don't have to worry about ovarian cancer. So far I haven't had any menopausal problems and my gyn oncologist said I would have experienced it by now if I was going to have problems. I do get warm at night but no sweating like I did during peri menopausal and no hot flashes. Good luck!

Thanks, again, for your help. At least I'm a little more prepared to ask my doctor the questions that I thought, already that I need to ask. I was thinking that it would be easier to just get it ALL out. Always to good to hear from someone who has been through it!

I haven't heard of a connection between cervical and ovarian cancer. Did your GYN oncologist say that? I'd ask the GYN onc if you read about it elsewhere. My ovaries were removed for endometrial ca and even though I was menopausal, I still had a lot of symptoms. It's a personal decision but I'd discuss the pros and cons with the GYN onc after you research your concerns. Not all the info you find online is totally accurate for your situation. Personally I wish I could have kept my ovaries, but it was best they be removed. Good luck with the decision right for you.

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Originally Posted by NNHightower I have heard that taking your cervix and uterus out that your ovaries don't work very well after surgery. Has anyone had these issues?

I had my cervix and uterus removed and kept my ovaries. Sometimes the ovaries "go to sleep" for a while post op due to trauma of surgery and disrupted blood supply. During this time we may be super emotional and weepy and/or have hot flashes, etc. this goes away when the ovaries wake up, usually a few days to a month. Mine started working again at about 3-4 weeks post op and now they are back to normal. I have PMS symptoms each month but (of course) no period.

with your decision.

I'm 44 and just had a hysterectomy 3 weeks ago due to cervical cancer. There is no connection between cervical & ovarian cancer - cervical is almost always caused by the HPV virus while ovarian and breast cancer are closely related and dependent on hormones. I've heard some women with ovarian cancer ask why didn't they have their ovaries removed years before when they had a hyster for other reasons, but this is a very tiny percentage that end up with ovarian cancer. It's always best to keep your ovaries when possible - without them, your risk of heart disease among other things, increases 7x. Even after menopause the ovaries still make a small amount of hormone, some contributing to testosterone helping you maintain a bit of sex drive, some that protects your vagina from atrophy, etc. I've read some studies saying that on average, women go into natural menopause about a year sooner than they would have if they hadn't had a hysterectomy. I kept my healthy ovaries but my surgeon removed my Fallopian tubes because new research is indicating that ovarian cancer may actually start in the tubes.

Best of luck to you. Make you sure keep asking your questions and feel comfortable with the answers your doctor gives you.

PS: I think I experienced some mild hot flashes beginning about 3 days after the surgery, but I haven't had anymore lately, and my mood has been pretty good & steady for the most part. Hormones or not though, I think most people might feel a bit down at some point during recovery from any major surgery.