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Mrobertson
Mrobertson Member Posts: 2
in Ovarian Cancer #1
Hi everyone. Ive been looking on the net trying to find a place to chat with others that had ovarian tumors. I couldnt find anything that was not cancer related. I did come across this place and read some stories and posts here. Everyone seems so nice and supportive.

My name is Melissa, and im 30 years old. About 6 years ago I was having pains in my stomach and went to the ER and found out that I had Germ cell tumors that were 8cm and 6cm, after the runaround from several doctors I ended up having surgery to remove them.

2 years later (at the exact same time of the year as the first) I started having those pains again. Went to ER (different one than the first). This time they said they were Adnexal mass, and another doctor called them Dermoid cyst. Once again I had to have surgery to get 2 removed. The one on my left ovary had completely taken over my ovary so I also had my ovary removed.


Its been 4 years since I have had surgery. For several months now I have had some pains there, but not nearly as extreme as the past. Last Sat night the extreme pain came back. I went to the ER about it on sunday, but all they did was bloodwork, and urine. Said that I had no infections and my bloodwork came back ok. Gave me pain killers, and told me to call OB in the morning. I have an appointment on tuesday to get checked out. The symptoms are a lot of the same lower abdomen pain, back pain, only now, im having a few new symptoms. I cant eat more than a few bites before I feel full. Theres also a sharp pain almost at my ribs on my right side. I dont know what to think and its been driving me nuts. I have been couch bound for the past week and going crazy. The wait is the worst. Sorry for ranting on, but for those of you who made it this far, Thank you for reading :)

Comments

  • Alnik
    Alnik Member Posts: 56
    #2
    Hello
    Hi just read your post. Its so important to do what your doing (going to the doctor) Only you know what your body is feeling and its hard to really know what is going on. My advice is ask alot of questions and if you dont feel you get the answers you want you can always get another opinion. Stay in touch on this site and keep us posted. Good Luck with everything Hope all goes well!!!!!!!!!!
  • lovesanimals
    lovesanimals Member Posts: 1,366 Member
    #3
    Alnik said:

    Hello
    Hi just read your post. Its so important to do what your doing (going to the doctor) Only you know what your body is feeling and its hard to really know what is going on. My advice is ask alot of questions and if you dont feel you get the answers you want you can always get another opinion. Stay in touch on this site and keep us posted. Good Luck with everything Hope all goes well!!!!!!!!!!

    Hi
    Thanks for sharing your story with us. Given your history and new persistent symptoms, I think you should get more testing done beyond just blood and urine, possibly starting with an abdominal ultrasound. Hopefully, what is going on is not serious but you don't want to make the mistake (not that you are) of ignoring what your body is trying to tell you, through the symptoms you are experiencing. Please keep us posted and let us know if we cann help.

    Kelly
  • mopar
    mopar Member Posts: 1,972 Member
    #4
    WELCOME
    So sorry to hear you're having pain. But please let us know how your appointment goes. I would hope that your doctor will order some additional tests. Unfortunately, signs and symptoms are usually too vague to be conclusive - only diagnostic work can zero in on the problem.

    Sending prayers and (((HUGS)) that all will be well. And that whatever it is can be easily resolved.

    Monika
  • Mrobertson
    Mrobertson Member Posts: 2
    #5
    mopar said:

    WELCOME
    So sorry to hear you're having pain. But please let us know how your appointment goes. I would hope that your doctor will order some additional tests. Unfortunately, signs and symptoms are usually too vague to be conclusive - only diagnostic work can zero in on the problem.

    Sending prayers and (((HUGS)) that all will be well. And that whatever it is can be easily resolved.

    Monika

    Thank you for all the kind
    Thank you for all the kind welcomes :) I went to the doctor today, and they did a pap and sent it off to the lab, and a routine pelvic exam. Said that nothing "felt" abnormal from that. Working on getting records from past surgerys before he goes any further with testing. Still more of the waiting game :( How did you all get diagnosed? What tests were run? Im a mess here, because after talking to a family member from my fathers side of the family (my fathers side of the family and I dont speak at all) I found out today that 13 years ago I lost my grandmother to ovarian cancer, and not sure if its genetic etc. Im just one hot mess tonight :(
  • Ruffy7
    Ruffy7 Member Posts: 126
    #6
    Mrobertson said:

    Thank you for all the kind
    Thank you for all the kind welcomes :) I went to the doctor today, and they did a pap and sent it off to the lab, and a routine pelvic exam. Said that nothing "felt" abnormal from that. Working on getting records from past surgerys before he goes any further with testing. Still more of the waiting game :( How did you all get diagnosed? What tests were run? Im a mess here, because after talking to a family member from my fathers side of the family (my fathers side of the family and I dont speak at all) I found out today that 13 years ago I lost my grandmother to ovarian cancer, and not sure if its genetic etc. Im just one hot mess tonight :(

    Hi, hopefully it is nothing
    Hi, hopefully it is nothing serious. I would keep going to the drs. until you are satisfied with what they find. Even going to a 2nd or 3rd dr if you aren't feeling better. I do not/did not have ovarian cancer (mine was appendix cancer) but did have a scare in early spring this year when I started bleeding after menopause. Dr. did an ultrasound that found a mass on the right ovary. Had a D&C, hysteroscopy, and oophorectomy (sp?). It turned out to be a hemorraghaic (grrr, can't spell tonight :)corpus luteal cyst, so I was relieved. You should still get everything checked out, mine had red flags because of menopause and past history of appendix cancer. I'd be concerned since this keeps coming back for you. Good luck..

    Oh, by the way, once the ultrasound found the mass, the only way to know for sure what it was, was to do surgery and then have pathology look at it to determine what it was.
  • MJensen
    MJensen Member Posts: 93
    #7
    Mrobertson said:

    Thank you for all the kind
    Thank you for all the kind welcomes :) I went to the doctor today, and they did a pap and sent it off to the lab, and a routine pelvic exam. Said that nothing "felt" abnormal from that. Working on getting records from past surgerys before he goes any further with testing. Still more of the waiting game :( How did you all get diagnosed? What tests were run? Im a mess here, because after talking to a family member from my fathers side of the family (my fathers side of the family and I dont speak at all) I found out today that 13 years ago I lost my grandmother to ovarian cancer, and not sure if its genetic etc. Im just one hot mess tonight :(

    Diagnosis
    Hi,
    Sorry to hear you are still having to wait for more testing. My personal experience is I felt poorly for quite awhile and kept seeing my Internist and my GI DR. Both kept saying IBS and Hiatal Hernia after a colonoscopy. I had a Hiatal Hernia surgery but my symptoms returned. I had two weeks of constant testing recommended by my GI DR and PA. Everything came back normal but I was finally getting very upset with no answers. I called my GI Dr back and the nurse told me if I was that anxious I should go to the ER. That is what I finally did because I couldn't keep waiting. I went thru everything I had been through with the GI DR and she knew I was anxious. She immediatly ordered a CT scan. I never even considered cancer and the DR expected to find Chrohns disease or divirticulitis. When she came back to me she told me it was cancer and called the ONC/GYN surgeon. I don't know if an ultra sound would have given me the same answers but you could ask. An Ultrasound is less evasive as there isn't any radiation involved. I wish I had been more persistent a year prior and hadn't accepted an IBS diagnosis. You have to be your own advocate. You can ask your DR about an ultrasound, CT scan and possibly a CA125 marker test. DRs don't rely on a CA125 test as a good diagnosis because of false positives and there are many other reasons your CA125 marker can become elevated. Once I was diagnosed with OVC they have run this marker test on me on a semi regular basis. I hope this helps in some way. Hopefully you can explain your fears to your DR and they can rule out cancer and find the cause for your pain.. I would definitely ask for the ultrasound or CT scan because you will get results within 24 hrs usually. I know the waiting is very tough but try to relax, stay strong and definitely continue to be your own advocate! Please keep us posted and know we are here for you. Wishing you some definitive results and hopefully it won't be cancer but something that can be easily corrected. Sending you positive thoughts! Sincerely, Michele
  • ptharp
    ptharp Member Posts: 190
    #8
    MJensen said:

    Diagnosis
    Hi,
    Sorry to hear you are still having to wait for more testing. My personal experience is I felt poorly for quite awhile and kept seeing my Internist and my GI DR. Both kept saying IBS and Hiatal Hernia after a colonoscopy. I had a Hiatal Hernia surgery but my symptoms returned. I had two weeks of constant testing recommended by my GI DR and PA. Everything came back normal but I was finally getting very upset with no answers. I called my GI Dr back and the nurse told me if I was that anxious I should go to the ER. That is what I finally did because I couldn't keep waiting. I went thru everything I had been through with the GI DR and she knew I was anxious. She immediatly ordered a CT scan. I never even considered cancer and the DR expected to find Chrohns disease or divirticulitis. When she came back to me she told me it was cancer and called the ONC/GYN surgeon. I don't know if an ultra sound would have given me the same answers but you could ask. An Ultrasound is less evasive as there isn't any radiation involved. I wish I had been more persistent a year prior and hadn't accepted an IBS diagnosis. You have to be your own advocate. You can ask your DR about an ultrasound, CT scan and possibly a CA125 marker test. DRs don't rely on a CA125 test as a good diagnosis because of false positives and there are many other reasons your CA125 marker can become elevated. Once I was diagnosed with OVC they have run this marker test on me on a semi regular basis. I hope this helps in some way. Hopefully you can explain your fears to your DR and they can rule out cancer and find the cause for your pain.. I would definitely ask for the ultrasound or CT scan because you will get results within 24 hrs usually. I know the waiting is very tough but try to relax, stay strong and definitely continue to be your own advocate! Please keep us posted and know we are here for you. Wishing you some definitive results and hopefully it won't be cancer but something that can be easily corrected. Sending you positive thoughts! Sincerely, Michele

    Hi. Back in September I went
    Hi. Back in September I went to the Gym to workout. That night I woke up and had bad pain on right side which is where the tumor was found. I thought it was my appendex. I went to the ER. They did a cat scan and found a mass. I was refered to my GYN. She did an internal ultrasound of the mass and a CA-125. My CA-125 was elevated so because of that and the mass she referred me to a GYN/Oncologist. He looked at my scans and sceduled a total hysterectomy. When I woke up they told me I had cancer. Don't mess around. If it is cancer the longer you wait allows the cancer to go to the next stage. Good luck to you.

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