Abdominal Wall Mass

I haven't posted for a while - sorry!

I had a full hysterectomy in October 2010 for Uterine cancer. Never really given a stage - but didn't have to have chemo or radiation - so I am guessing 1X.

In the past 6 - 8 months I have felt a mass in my pelvic/abdomen area. I have seen several doctors - no one really paid attention when I complained of it. When I sneeze or cough it hurts like crazy - unless I brace myself for the sneeze.

The mass is now very large and interferes with my sitting - it is super uncomfortable and heavy.

I went to my family Dr today and he is sending me for an abdominal wall ultrasound next week. He said he doesn't think there is anything to worry about -- but you know how the cancer head takes over.

Has anyone ever had any issues sounding like mine?

I have been dealing with occasional spotting - which they say is NOT cancer recurrence. I have had ultrasonds and a colposcopy which shows no cancer recurrence - but no one mentions the "mass".

When I lie down you can see how deformed my pelvic region is - one side is very swollen and hard.

Thanks

Jan

Comments

  • lkchapman
    lkchapman Member Posts: 106
    Hernia
    Hi Jan,
    Has anyone ever mention the possibility of a hernia? It isn't uncommon after abdominal surgery to develop one. I hope you find out soon. It must be very unsettling to have your concerns dismissed by your doctors.

    Laura in Texas
  • janh_in_ontario
    janh_in_ontario Member Posts: 151 Member
    lkchapman said:

    Hernia
    Hi Jan,
    Has anyone ever mention the possibility of a hernia? It isn't uncommon after abdominal surgery to develop one. I hope you find out soon. It must be very unsettling to have your concerns dismissed by your doctors.

    Laura in Texas

    Hernia
    My family doctor said he didn't think it was a hernia. Not sure what it is - but he didn't think it was anything to worry about - and I think by that he meant cancer.

    Jan
  • daisy366
    daisy366 Member Posts: 1,458 Member

    Hernia
    My family doctor said he didn't think it was a hernia. Not sure what it is - but he didn't think it was anything to worry about - and I think by that he meant cancer.

    Jan

    jan
    Since your surgery was over a year ago, why don't they do a CT scan to help rule out things? I wonder if it was THEM, if they would be so dismissive.

    I hope you get some resolution of this soon. Mary Ann
  • janh_in_ontario
    janh_in_ontario Member Posts: 151 Member
    daisy366 said:

    jan
    Since your surgery was over a year ago, why don't they do a CT scan to help rule out things? I wonder if it was THEM, if they would be so dismissive.

    I hope you get some resolution of this soon. Mary Ann

    Canada... "free healthcare is not so free"
    I have never had a CT scan - to get one would be almost a last resort for most doctors here. And the wait would be weeks if not months - and I live in Toronto! Our "free" healthcare is not so "free". I have an ultrasound next week - we'll see what that uncovers.

    Thanks
    jan
  • daisy366
    daisy366 Member Posts: 1,458 Member

    Canada... "free healthcare is not so free"
    I have never had a CT scan - to get one would be almost a last resort for most doctors here. And the wait would be weeks if not months - and I live in Toronto! Our "free" healthcare is not so "free". I have an ultrasound next week - we'll see what that uncovers.

    Thanks
    jan

    Jan
    Yes, even though many of us gripe about the US healthcare system, we really have it a lot better than many other countries. In the US scans are done routinely during surveillance and are taken for granted. Thanks for reminding me how good I have it here.

    Hugs to you. Mary Ann
  • light42day
    light42day Member Posts: 62 Member
    daisy366 said:

    Jan
    Yes, even though many of us gripe about the US healthcare system, we really have it a lot better than many other countries. In the US scans are done routinely during surveillance and are taken for granted. Thanks for reminding me how good I have it here.

    Hugs to you. Mary Ann

    Abdominal wall mass
    I hope your ultasound shows that this mass is nothing. I also pray that it will be totally healed and you can stay NED and be well!
  • janh_in_ontario
    janh_in_ontario Member Posts: 151 Member

    Abdominal wall mass
    I hope your ultasound shows that this mass is nothing. I also pray that it will be totally healed and you can stay NED and be well!

    Thank You
    Thanks for your prayers. My Dad is my prayer warrior and he knows nothing of my cancer journey so I can't call on him!
    The Dr says it is nothing to worry about - I have to hope he knows what he is talking about.
    Hugs
    Jan
  • Kaleena
    Kaleena Member Posts: 2,088 Member

    Thank You
    Thanks for your prayers. My Dad is my prayer warrior and he knows nothing of my cancer journey so I can't call on him!
    The Dr says it is nothing to worry about - I have to hope he knows what he is talking about.
    Hugs
    Jan

    Hernia
    Dear Jan:

    After my hysterectomy, I ended up with a very huge venial(??) hernia. It prevented me from sitting up and I had to sit up with a twist. It did hurt at times when I sneezed or cough and I would hold my stomach many times if I had to sneeze or cough. No one wanted to take care of it but after five years after my hysterectomy I needed to have another surgery, I had them fix the hernia too. I ended up have two surgeries at the same time but it was so large that my gyn/onc had the intestinal team come in and repair it.

    The doctors said not to worry about it unless it starts to bother you. But it did bother me. It was hard finding clothes to fit right and it kept on getting bigger. I looked lopsided! I was so glad to finally get it fixed!

    I hope you find out what it is. My best to you.
  • janh_in_ontario
    janh_in_ontario Member Posts: 151 Member
    Kaleena said:

    Hernia
    Dear Jan:

    After my hysterectomy, I ended up with a very huge venial(??) hernia. It prevented me from sitting up and I had to sit up with a twist. It did hurt at times when I sneezed or cough and I would hold my stomach many times if I had to sneeze or cough. No one wanted to take care of it but after five years after my hysterectomy I needed to have another surgery, I had them fix the hernia too. I ended up have two surgeries at the same time but it was so large that my gyn/onc had the intestinal team come in and repair it.

    The doctors said not to worry about it unless it starts to bother you. But it did bother me. It was hard finding clothes to fit right and it kept on getting bigger. I looked lopsided! I was so glad to finally get it fixed!

    I hope you find out what it is. My best to you.

    Hernia
    I thought it was a hernia too - but the Dr said it wasnt - but I am very overweight so I don't think anyone can really tell anything without a scan of some kind. The ultrasound is Wednesday - we'll see what that says and go from there.
    Thanks for telling me your experience - it sounds just like mine!
    jan