Symptoms possibly indicative of ovarian cancer?

Tsehay

Hello all,

I'm sorry I'm sure you get a lot of posts like this but I'm rather concerned.

Since the beginning of March I have lost around 6kg (13lbs). I have progressively been getting other symptoms including:

• Early satiety
• A feeling of constant fullness and heaviness in my abdomen
• Constipation (which is alleviated with increased intake of vegetables) & flatulence even after having a bowel movement
• Bloating which comes and goes (probably related to the gas)
• Occasionally frequent urination which sometimes smells like protein
• Sharp lower left abdominal & pelvic pains
• Period which came a week early and lasted 2 weeks. A week later I got my period again which lasted for about a week and was much heavier than normal (bright red and lots of clots) 
• Leg cramps when I was going to sleep a few nights ago. I occasionally get pains in both my legs. The right foot is also painful sometimes and there is an area which is slightly swollen and appears bruised (I didn't injure myself).
• Knee pain and lower left back pain (mostly on exertion)
• I get short of breath at times but that might be due to the heavy feeling in my abdomen as well as my anxiety. 

I was formally diagnosed with PCOS & IBS 2 years ago, I'm not sexually active (nor have I ever been), and have a history of breast cancer on my father's side of the family. I'm not currently taking any medications.

My blood results all appear normal, except my HbA1c which was low. All inflammatory markers are normal. My CA-125 was also within the normal range, however I've read that it's not always reliable, particularly in the early stages.

The gastroenterologist completely brushed me off saying that I'm too young (20 years old) to have ovarian cancer and said that my IBS is causing all these symptoms. But I've had IBS for a long time and I've never experienced these symptoms. Besides, IBS doesn't explain the weight loss or the abnormal bleeding, and the pain associated with my IBS is normally confined to my central abdomen. He has ordered a test to rule out IBD and I'm waiting for those results. 

I had an ultrasound this morning - the radiologist said that everything is fine and that there is no fluid in my abdomen. However, the left ovary was obscured by gas and she couldn't see it properly. She also said that I didn't have enough urine (I drank almost a whole bottle beforehand).

Could anybody who has been diagnosed with ovarian cancer please tell me whether this is something to be worried about? I know it's more common in women who are older than 50 years old but most of the symptoms I looked up coincide with ovarian cancer and I read that people who have a family history of breast cancer (besides ovarian) are at an increased risk.

Thank you for taking the time to read this

Tethys41

Persistence

Hi Tsehay,

Sorry you're having so much discomfort.  It's really hard to say what exactly is going on with you.  Based on your bloodwork and other tests, it doesn't appear you have cancer, but appearences can be deceiving.  Based on some of your symptoms, however, it appears your hormones are out of balance (PCOS is a sign of too much testosterone, which also probably means you estrogens are not correctly balanced), you'r not digesting properly (protein smell in the urine, gas), you lack electrolyes (leg cramps), and you may have some autoimmune issues that are being triggered by foods (Knee pain, bowel discomfort, IBS).  These signs are your body telling you that things are out of whack and if you don't get things in balance, you might be courting cancer in your future.  Ovarian cancer is common among women who have PCOS.  If I was in your shoes I would seek out a good funcitonal medicine doctor or naturopath to do some testing and working on getting your body back in balance.  That is what I ended up having to do after my diagnosis, and I feel so much better than I did for years before.  You might just be getting a wake up call to do thiw before something more serious comes about.  As far as further pursuing the possibility of ovarian cancer right now, the only additional thing you could do is request a CT scan.  

Good luck, feel better.

Tsehay

Tethys41 said:

Persistence

Hi Tsehay,

Sorry you're having so much discomfort.  It's really hard to say what exactly is going on with you.  Based on your bloodwork and other tests, it doesn't appear you have cancer, but appearences can be deceiving.  Based on some of your symptoms, however, it appears your hormones are out of balance (PCOS is a sign of too much testosterone, which also probably means you estrogens are not correctly balanced), you'r not digesting properly (protein smell in the urine, gas), you lack electrolyes (leg cramps), and you may have some autoimmune issues that are being triggered by foods (Knee pain, bowel discomfort, IBS).  These signs are your body telling you that things are out of whack and if you don't get things in balance, you might be courting cancer in your future.  Ovarian cancer is common among women who have PCOS.  If I was in your shoes I would seek out a good funcitonal medicine doctor or naturopath to do some testing and working on getting your body back in balance.  That is what I ended up having to do after my diagnosis, and I feel so much better than I did for years before.  You might just be getting a wake up call to do thiw before something more serious comes about.  As far as further pursuing the possibility of ovarian cancer right now, the only additional thing you could do is request a CT scan.  

Good luck, feel better.

Thank you for your prompt

Thank you for your prompt reply.

I agree with you about the hormonal imbalance. It's just strange that I'm having abnormal periods again after so many years of it being quite regular. I've also been getting a lot of painful cystic acne lately (as you said testosteone is high due to PCOS leading to increased sebum production), which normally only happens a week before my period. In fact, I'm worried it might turn up again since another four pimples sprouted up over the weekend. 

Given my age and being a student it's difficult to be taken seriously as the symptoms are immediately dismissed as being due to stress and IBS, so at this point I can only monitor my weight and keep track of my symptoms. I am unaware of any holistic doctors where I live, so I suppose for now I can only try following a diet which is anti-inflammatory and which is ideal for both IBS and PCOS. 

Many thanks for your advice and kind wishes