Anyone out there had their ovaries taken out

cabbott said:

Surgery vs. medicine, a few thoughts...
Estrogen is produced by the ovaries in large quantity. Your body fat also produces estrogen, but in smaller quantities. That's why removing the ovaries reduces the estrogen alot but not all the way. The aromatase inhibitors work to reduce the estrogen your body fat produces, but that won't help if your ovaries are still functioning.

Tamoxifen was touted as a huge step forward in cancer control because taking it when you are premenapausal was JUST as effective as having surgery to remove your ovaries. That said, tamoxifen can promote uterine cancer and some women are not genetically responsive to tamoxifen. But most women can take it and get great results. There is a genetic test to determine how likely you are to get great results. Tamoxifen works very differently from aromatase inhibitors. Tamoxifen fills the spaces where estrogen would go to fuel cell growth. Tamoxifen is like watered down gasoline. You put watered down gasoline in a car engine and the engine stops. You put tamoxifen into the cell receptors and cell growth stops. That works to cut your cancer reoccurance rate in half. This is much better than just diet and exercise. And the uterine cancer is usually more likely if you are over 65, has symptoms like bleeding before it gets nasty, and is removable with hysterectomy.

Yes, there are risks, but you need to know that removing your ovaries has risks too. The surgery is not so bad, but the hot flashes are intense. Sudden loss of estrogen is hard on bones (you may be able to take a bone builder like fosamax to counteract this), and you shouldn't take hormones or herbal remedies for the flashes since your cancer is hormone controlled.

Taking tamoxifen for 3 years followed by aromatase inhibors for 5 is a researched plan of action with great results. In 3 years your ovaries will be closer to shutting down naturally. You can take a blood test to determine if they are stopped or on the way. Then your entrance into menapause is a little easier and just perhaps the surgery can be avoided. That's just one plan to consider. If you have extremely aggressive cancer, you may prefer surgery and then hitting the cancer hard with the aromatase inhibitors. That is 50% more effective than Tamoxifen, but know what that means.

If your chance of no reoccurance is 90%, then your chance of reoccurance is 10%. Take tamoxifen and if you are responsive, your chance of reoccurance is now 5% and your chance of no reoccurance is 95%. Take the surgery and aromatase inhibitors and your chance of no reoccurance is 97.5%. You never get to 100% sure. Is it worth the surgery? Is it worth the side effects. You have to decide. On the other hand, if your cancer is aggressive and your chance of no reoccurance is 50%, then Tamoxifen gets you to 75% and the surgery and aromatase inhibitor gets you to about 87%. Those odds are much better so the decision may be weighted on the side of more aggressive surgery and drug treatment.

Exercise and diet in your teens does seem to have a positive effect on cancer development in your 40's. The effect after you have been diagnosed is not so great. You will live much better and have less heart attacks, great mobility, and a better chance of weathering what the doctors throw at you if you eat right and exercise (which may help you live longer...), but the research isn't showing that those two things halt cancer development once it has taken root. This hasn't stopped me from eating right and exercising daily. Of the two, exercise is showing more positive effects.

Laproscopic surgery to remove ovaries is day surgery in many areas. Oopherectomy lowers your risk of ovarian cancer significantly (though not totally to zero). Some women are genetically likely to get both breast and ovarian cancer. They should definately consider getting their ovaries out as soon as they have finished having children to lower their risk of cancer. There is a genetic test for this. Only about 10% of women with breast cancer have a known genetic cause. If there is a lot of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, or early prostrate cancer in your family tree, you may be at risk.

A second opinion from the best oncologist you can travel to (preferably one attached to a university teaching hospital with a great breast clinic) is a great way to make the best plan for you. Good luck!

PS Gynocologists are often the ones that diagnose ovaraian cancer. They take out ovaries as part of their speciality. So they are often pro-surgery when it comes to cancer control. Years ago taking out ovaries (and many other glands) was the only way to give breast cancer patients a few more years. Then came the tamoxifen and a change in treatment plans. Gyn's are not breast cancer specialists. If they have been out of med school for ten or more years, they may have strong leanings toward surgery that are not necessarily gold standard treatment for breast cancer. Again, consider getting a breast oncologist to review what ups your odds the best and how necessary various treatments are.

Thank you, Cabbott.
There
Thank you, Cabbott.

There are pro's on taking out the ovaries, but there are also some cons. Cabbott mentioned the bone loss associated with them out. But there are also higher risks of stroke and heart disease related with taking them out.

It's not so simple.

Each one of us need to consider our own histories and genetics before taking them out.