Information please

Juliamber
Juliamber Member Posts: 5
edited March 2014 in Ovarian Cancer #1
Hi. I am still not sure if I have ovarian cancer or not. About a month ago I had a ultrasound and then an internal ultrasound. They found a very suspicion growth with a ledge. They want to wait two more months to see if it is growing or not. There is pain, gas, bloatedness and I am having a real problem with bowel movements. I was getting checked out because my brother has colon cancer and my sis has lung cancer, my cousin has colon cancer and my uncle died from colon cancer. This ovarian thing startled me. I have a very sore back and my leg hurts whenever I cough. I have to stand up and shake my leg out. Does any of this sound familiar to anyone?

My one sis is quite upset that I didn't insist on a biopsy because of our family history with cancers. Any advice would be so welcome at this time. I have had my uterus removed because of such heavy bleeding. There were four diseases on it but my ob/gyn never told me which diseases. I am now very concerned.

Comments

  • mopar
    mopar Member Posts: 1,972 Member
    I don't blame you for being concerned, I would be too. With the extensive family history and your symptoms, I would request a colonoscopy (a painless test) that can at least put your mind at ease in the meantime. As for the ovarian suspicion, I would request a CA125 blood test, and maybe also a test for blood clots (your leg symptoms might suggest this). I have heard of this type of situation with some ovarian patients. You might want to do a search on this sight for 'DVT' (deep vein thrombosis). I don't understand that connection between that and ovarian cancer, but you might get more information that way, although it may or may not be related. Is the doctor you saw an oncologist? It might be wise to seek one out - they are more knowledgeable and thorough in this area. Are you in Michigan? If so, I can recommend a super doctor - mine.

    Please keep in touch. My prayers are with you.

    Monika
  • vickster
    vickster Member Posts: 2
    with your family history you need to get further examinations. As the person stated get the CA125 blood test and a complete physical including a colonoscopy and a pelvic examination. Do not wait any longer. Over 50% of woman are in advanced stages when diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Do not wait any longer!!!!
  • Juliamber
    Juliamber Member Posts: 5
    mopar said:

    I don't blame you for being concerned, I would be too. With the extensive family history and your symptoms, I would request a colonoscopy (a painless test) that can at least put your mind at ease in the meantime. As for the ovarian suspicion, I would request a CA125 blood test, and maybe also a test for blood clots (your leg symptoms might suggest this). I have heard of this type of situation with some ovarian patients. You might want to do a search on this sight for 'DVT' (deep vein thrombosis). I don't understand that connection between that and ovarian cancer, but you might get more information that way, although it may or may not be related. Is the doctor you saw an oncologist? It might be wise to seek one out - they are more knowledgeable and thorough in this area. Are you in Michigan? If so, I can recommend a super doctor - mine.

    Please keep in touch. My prayers are with you.

    Monika

    I am in Canada actually. The doc is just a regular doc. He has passed everything over to my ob/gyn. I am getting a colonoscopy this month.

    I am not sure but think I can't get an oncologist until my doc recommends one. It was hard enough to get an ob/gyn without a recommendation, which I got from my regular doc.

    Thank you both for the answers anyway. We have so many different kinds of cancer in our family. Liver, brain, colon, lung...actually, everything but breast cancer almost. Of course, we are a large family so it is expected I guess.
  • groundeffect
    groundeffect Member Posts: 639 Member
    You should be checked for Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) in your leg immediately. It is caused by blood clots that can break loose and hit your lung (if you're lucky), or your brain and can cause a stroke!

    Blood clots can be caused by cancer in the lower body causing hypercoagulation (super-clotting) by the body trying to heal. Your feeling of needing to shake your leg out could definitely be from DVT.

    My uterine and ovarian cancers were found after I was admitted to the hospital with a pulmonary (lung) embolism. I had been looking for months about why I was feeling so lousy and bleeding so much. My ob/gyn put it together right away when I had the embolism and did a biopsy.

    A color doppler ultrasound would be better than a regular ultrasound, because it could show "hot" spots caused by increased blood flow to tumors. I asked a technician about them while I was having a standard ultrasound, and she said it's a simple matter of throwing a switch to get color doppler ultrasound - the rest of the procedure is the same. I went to a lecture about ovarian cancer in which the doctor described this as a very good tool for detecting possible ovarian cancer.

    A biopsy for ovarian cancer is an unlikely proposition - it's usually too late for a biopsy when the cancer is found. A CA-125 test is usually one of the first steps, but they are not accurate for diagnosis because so many factors can affect the reading.

    A cat scan is not necessarily a good diagnostic tool, either. I had uterine fibroids that showed on both the ultrasound and cat scan, but my doctors didn't suspect either cancer. I foolishly didn't talk to them about my leg problem, thinking it was just something I was going to have to put up with!

    My brother was diagnosed with prostate cancer shortly I found out about mine. Upon investigating our family's history, I found that there have been a number of breast and colon cancers, and have read that breast, colon, ovarian, and prostate cancer can all be linked to a BRCA genetic defect.

    Please don't wait to have your leg trouble investigated! I shudder to think what would have happened to me if a clot had gone to my brain - simple blood thinners can help with blood clots, and if you have them, can keep you alive to look for other trouble.
  • Isabel76
    Isabel76 Member Posts: 13
    Hi Juliamber,

    I agree with everyone else here who says you should get a CA125 test. Don't wait for this. I had a "mass" on my right ovary which doctors were not sure if it was cancer but even though my CA125 test was a bit high (as large ovarian cysts can make this happen) they said it "most likely was not" cancer. However, it was. And by waiting, it spread to stage 3.

    I am cured now, but if I had had it checked sooner maybe I wouldn't have had to go through chemo.

    Also, I wanted to tell you that the leg problem could be caused by the growth pressing on one of the arteries in your leg, as this is what mine did apprently and caused funny sensations in my leg. So that is a possibility too. Once I had the mass removed though this problem disappeared.

    I wish you all the luck and I send you best wishes.
  • groundeffect
    groundeffect Member Posts: 639 Member
    Isabel76 said:

    Hi Juliamber,

    I agree with everyone else here who says you should get a CA125 test. Don't wait for this. I had a "mass" on my right ovary which doctors were not sure if it was cancer but even though my CA125 test was a bit high (as large ovarian cysts can make this happen) they said it "most likely was not" cancer. However, it was. And by waiting, it spread to stage 3.

    I am cured now, but if I had had it checked sooner maybe I wouldn't have had to go through chemo.

    Also, I wanted to tell you that the leg problem could be caused by the growth pressing on one of the arteries in your leg, as this is what mine did apprently and caused funny sensations in my leg. So that is a possibility too. Once I had the mass removed though this problem disappeared.

    I wish you all the luck and I send you best wishes.

    Isabel76 is right about possible pressure on the artery leading to your leg. I had a sensation of numbness when I had a problem with a fallopian tube years ago. It went away when the problem went away.

    The deep vein thrombosis I had caused my leg to swell a bit, and I had a sensation of numbness, but nothing that drove me to the doctor for those reasons until family members suggested.

    Tealribbon (a member of this group) originally went to the hospital with DVT, also.
  • Juliamber
    Juliamber Member Posts: 5
    Isabel76 said:

    Hi Juliamber,

    I agree with everyone else here who says you should get a CA125 test. Don't wait for this. I had a "mass" on my right ovary which doctors were not sure if it was cancer but even though my CA125 test was a bit high (as large ovarian cysts can make this happen) they said it "most likely was not" cancer. However, it was. And by waiting, it spread to stage 3.

    I am cured now, but if I had had it checked sooner maybe I wouldn't have had to go through chemo.

    Also, I wanted to tell you that the leg problem could be caused by the growth pressing on one of the arteries in your leg, as this is what mine did apprently and caused funny sensations in my leg. So that is a possibility too. Once I had the mass removed though this problem disappeared.

    I wish you all the luck and I send you best wishes.

    Once again, I want to thank everyone here for their suggestions. I phoned my doc today and insisted on the colonoscopy. The bowel specialist is going to call me this week.

    I can't see an oncologist unless my doc deems it necessary. I have heard from here and from reading the past posts that a colonoscopy will tell them alot.