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For OVCA survivors: Which ovary had cancer?

LaundryQueen
LaundryQueen CSN Member Posts: 676
in Ovarian Cancer #1
I don't know why I even care about this but I would appreciate hearing from OVCA survivors whether the cancer was one-sided or worse on one side than the other. Mine was left ovary & it seems like I notice the left side seems to predominate when women tell their stories. Or maybe I just notice it when someone says they had a left-sided mass.

Thank you in advance.

LQ
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Comments

  • EnglishGal
    EnglishGal CSN Member Posts: 101
    #2
    Good question
    My ovarian mass originated in the left ovary - I, too, have found out when speaking to other ovarian cancer survivors (I go to two support groups) that theirs have originated there also. A very interesting scenario!

    Carol Ann
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  • Unknown
    Unknown
    #3
    This comment has been removed by the Moderator
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  • mopar
    mopar CSN Member Posts: 1,972 Member
    #4
    LQ
    Right side for me, LQ. Recurrance was also on the right side. Ironically, from the time I was about 16 and eventually diagnosed at 18 with endometriosis, and for all the years following until DX in 2000, my right side always hurt the most during my cycles. Strange.
    Monika
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  • Tethys41
    Tethys41 CSN Member Posts: 1,383 Member
    #5
    No doubt
    Mine originated in the right ovary. My left ovary was removed 10 years earlier. Interestingly, however, the lymph nodes on the left were more involved than on the right. Also, the pathology report doesn't mention much involvment in the ovary itself, although it does mention active endometriosis there. I really believe the concept that this disease originates in the fallopian tube. During the initial ultrasound that indicated there were problems, the technician said it looked as if I had fallopian tube tissue "everywhere."
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  • cfont11
    cfont11 CSN Member Posts: 115
    #6
    Mine was on the right, a
    Mine was on the right, a large tumor. The cancer spread to the abdomen and left ovary but the mass was on the right.
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  • mom2greatkids
    mom2greatkids CSN Member Posts: 528
    #7
    cfont11 said:

    Mine was on the right, a
    Mine was on the right, a large tumor. The cancer spread to the abdomen and left ovary but the mass was on the right.

    Mine was in the right ovary,
    Mine was in the right ovary, and tube beside it. The left ovary had no cancer.
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  • poopergirl14052
    poopergirl14052 CSN Member Posts: 1,183 Member
    #8
    mom2greatkids said:

    Mine was in the right ovary,
    Mine was in the right ovary, and tube beside it. The left ovary had no cancer.

    both
    but left ovary had no normal tissue..val
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  • carolenk
    carolenk CSN Member Posts: 907 Member
    #9
    poopergirl14052 said:

    both
    but left ovary had no normal tissue..val

    Both: Left worse than right
    The disease was much worse on the left side but both ovaries were involved.

    Carolen
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  • carolenk
    carolenk CSN Member Posts: 907 Member
    #10
    poopergirl14052 said:

    both
    but left ovary had no normal tissue..val

    oops!
    double post--sorry.
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  • Hissy_Fitz
    Hissy_Fitz CSN Member Posts: 1,834 Member
    #11
    carolenk said:

    oops!
    double post--sorry.

    Mine was the left ovary. It
    Mine was the left ovary. It was totally obscured by a softball-size tumor.
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  • kikz
    kikz CSN Member Posts: 1,345 Member
    #12
    Hissy_Fitz said:

    Mine was the left ovary. It
    Mine was the left ovary. It was totally obscured by a softball-size tumor.

    Left ovary
    My left ovary was completely engulfed but the right was involved as well. Someone told me years ago that when you have a c section your appendix is removed. I always wondered if I still had an appendix since I had a c section with my son. When my surgeon came to see me after my debulking surgery, I asked and he said with a little smile, I took it.

    Karen
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  • Susan777
    Susan777 CSN Member Posts: 97 Member
    #13
    Both
    Both ovaries for me. They gave me a picture....quite disgusting. Not something i would post on Facebook! One was 19cm the other 17cm....i looked pregnant!
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  • Tethys41
    Tethys41 CSN Member Posts: 1,383 Member
    #14
    kikz said:

    Left ovary
    My left ovary was completely engulfed but the right was involved as well. Someone told me years ago that when you have a c section your appendix is removed. I always wondered if I still had an appendix since I had a c section with my son. When my surgeon came to see me after my debulking surgery, I asked and he said with a little smile, I took it.

    Karen

    Appendix
    Someone told me that they always take the appendix during debuling surgery. I wonder if that is true. I know they took mine, but it was cancerous.
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  • LaundryQueen
    LaundryQueen CSN Member Posts: 676
    #15
    Susan777 said:

    Both
    Both ovaries for me. They gave me a picture....quite disgusting. Not something i would post on Facebook! One was 19cm the other 17cm....i looked pregnant!

    Say "cheese!"
    Ugh! The surgeon took a photo of my tumors, too. He said he did that because he didn't think I'd believe that I really had cancer otherwise.
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  • Susan777
    Susan777 CSN Member Posts: 97 Member
    #16
    LaundryQueen said:

    Say "cheese!"
    Ugh! The surgeon took a photo of my tumors, too. He said he did that because he didn't think I'd believe that I really had cancer otherwise.

    Laundry
    Did you look at the pictures? I have mine tucked away in a file with my CAT scan results and pathology report.
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  • LaundryQueen
    LaundryQueen CSN Member Posts: 676
    #17
    Susan777 said:

    Laundry
    Did you look at the pictures? I have mine tucked away in a file with my CAT scan results and pathology report.

    Susan: Oh yeah, I HAD to
    Susan: Oh yeah, I HAD to look at the picture of the cancer--it really creeps me out. It made me feel like I was betrayed by my own body. I'll never figure this out so I just gave up on looking for an explanation.

    I had a chiropractor check my energy field. He told me "when I asked your body if it has cancer, the answer was yes--that's very unusual. I usually get a 'no' answer from people who know they have cancer because their immune system doesn't recognize the cancer at all."

    That was interesting.

    LQ
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  • Tethys41
    Tethys41 CSN Member Posts: 1,383 Member
    #18
    LaundryQueen said:

    Susan: Oh yeah, I HAD to
    Susan: Oh yeah, I HAD to look at the picture of the cancer--it really creeps me out. It made me feel like I was betrayed by my own body. I'll never figure this out so I just gave up on looking for an explanation.

    I had a chiropractor check my energy field. He told me "when I asked your body if it has cancer, the answer was yes--that's very unusual. I usually get a 'no' answer from people who know they have cancer because their immune system doesn't recognize the cancer at all."

    That was interesting.

    LQ

    Ick
    What color was it? I always picture it as black.
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  • LaundryQueen
    LaundryQueen CSN Member Posts: 676
    #19
    Tethys41 said:

    Ick
    What color was it? I always picture it as black.

    The omentum was red & the tumors were white. If they were black, the tumors would be necrotic--I think the left ovary was necrotic/black (the tumor grew so fast that it cut off it's own blood supply!).

    Yuck!

    LQ
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  • dreamer007
    dreamer007 CSN Member Posts: 61
    #20
    which ovary had cancer
    I know the left side was worse, but i believe both of them had tumors...i would have to
    check with my onc doc, to be certain

    while i was in the ER, going thru all that testing and stuff, the left side got HOT...
    it was one of the most excruciting things i have had to endure... i could not help
    crying... that got me "a hit of morphine", which helped out later, when i went thru
    the ultrasound

    i seem to recall hearing the words "tennis ball size tumors"
    thank heavens i dont get "the willies" when i see a tennis ball, now...LOL
    ( i love tennis )

    i am certainly glad i never saw the tumors, or photos of them... i have a photographic
    memory and it would have stuck in there forever

    hope everyone is doing well!!!


    dreamer007
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  • VickiReed
    VickiReed CSN Member Posts: 66
    #21
    Tethys41 said:

    Appendix
    Someone told me that they always take the appendix during debuling surgery. I wonder if that is true. I know they took mine, but it was cancerous.

    Debulking Surgery
    I asked my gyn oncol. if he was going to take mine out during surgery and he said no.
    Vicki
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