ABOUT YOUR SYMPTOMS?

NYCGYRL
NYCGYRL Member Posts: 4
edited March 2014 in Ovarian Cancer #1
Hello ladies, I just have a couple of questions. When you went to the doctor because of your symptoms (not knowing it was ovarian cancer), was your symptoms the reason for the test to see if it was something? How many of the symptoms did you have and which ones did you have. My reason for asking is a year ago (12/03), I was having abdominal pain and pressure, blotting, lower backpain, weight gain, pain in my right side and bleeding. I went to the doctor and he said he thought it may be cancer, because I also had a large cyst on my right ovary, but he also wanted me to wait to see, because a few years earlier I had two Pulmonary Embolis episodes. Now I am still going through the pain and now I am sick all the time and I have a lot more blotting. I appreciate any information and I pray that you are all doing well.

Comments

  • pshnyc
    pshnyc Member Posts: 45
    #2
    I would not wait & see. I would go to another doctor - you should see a gynecologic oncolcogist (they specialize in gyne cancers and are trained to listen to your symptoms and run the appropriate tests). I had an ovarian cyst that turned out to be cancer but because my doctor insisted on immediate surgery, my cancer was found early.

    I'm curious why your doctor would say he thought the cyst was cancerous but that you should wait & see - this does not sound right. Find another doctor and take care of this immediately. It could be nothing, but if it is cancer, the sooner they find it the better your prognosis will be.

    I assume by your user name that you are in New York City - me, too. There are lots of wonderful docs here.

    Good luck.
    Pamela
  • NYCGYRL
    NYCGYRL Member Posts: 4
    #3
    pshnyc said:

    I would not wait & see. I would go to another doctor - you should see a gynecologic oncolcogist (they specialize in gyne cancers and are trained to listen to your symptoms and run the appropriate tests). I had an ovarian cyst that turned out to be cancer but because my doctor insisted on immediate surgery, my cancer was found early.

    I'm curious why your doctor would say he thought the cyst was cancerous but that you should wait & see - this does not sound right. Find another doctor and take care of this immediately. It could be nothing, but if it is cancer, the sooner they find it the better your prognosis will be.

    I assume by your user name that you are in New York City - me, too. There are lots of wonderful docs here.

    Good luck.
    Pamela

    It was confusing to me as well, but he explained to me that if he did any type of pelvic surgery to me it would result in another Pulmonary Embolism and it was not worth the risk if he was wrong. Now it seems that my symptoms, (what ever they are)are getting worse. I made an appointment to see my gyn and I will ask her to refer me to a gyn oncologist if she can't tell me anything. I am so scared and I am not trying to panic, but it is frustratiing when your body does not feel right. I pray that what ever it is that I am ok. I appreciate your help.
  • groundeffect
    groundeffect Member Posts: 639 Member
    #4
    Hi Gyrl, I was having my symptoms tracked down systematically when I went to the ER with a pulmonary embolism. With all my other problems - excessive blood loss, weight gain, etc., I was not asking my doctors about the swollen leg that I had - BIG MISTAKE!

    I wonder if you're taking warfarin or any other blood thinners now?

    You really need to get to someone who will get to the bottom of your misery. You need to have a color doppler ultrasound to see if there's any indication of a tumor (a regular vaginal ultrasound probably won't show it). A color doppler shows blood flow to a tumor, if there is one.

    I was given a Greenfield filter prior to my hysterectomy because there was no time to get me properly anticoagulated. A Greenfield filter is a vena caval filter designed to catch clots from the legs. It's not a guarantee against P.E.s, but I'm not surprised your doctor doesn't want to go into that possibility - ask about it, unless you've already discussed it.

    Last and not least - do you know that deep vein thrombosis, which is probably causing your pulmonary emboli, is a symptom of lower body cancer? I feel that if I had pushed the swelling I had in my legs, I might have been diagnosed sooner, and would not have had the P.E. that took me to the emergency room.

    I had Stage 1b uterine cancer and 1c ovarian. My ob/gyn came to the hospital and did a mini-biopsy on my uterus while I was in the hospital. All of the tests I had prior did not show the ovarian, only uterine fibroids.

    I recently went to a seminar in which color dopper ultrasound was discussed, and I can see how more valuable they are as a diagnostic tool than a regular vaginal ultrasound (which I had).

    Good luck, and keep looking until you find out what's causing your problems!
  • nycgirl
    nycgirl Member Posts: 18
    #5
    groundeffect said:

    Hi Gyrl, I was having my symptoms tracked down systematically when I went to the ER with a pulmonary embolism. With all my other problems - excessive blood loss, weight gain, etc., I was not asking my doctors about the swollen leg that I had - BIG MISTAKE!

    I wonder if you're taking warfarin or any other blood thinners now?

    You really need to get to someone who will get to the bottom of your misery. You need to have a color doppler ultrasound to see if there's any indication of a tumor (a regular vaginal ultrasound probably won't show it). A color doppler shows blood flow to a tumor, if there is one.

    I was given a Greenfield filter prior to my hysterectomy because there was no time to get me properly anticoagulated. A Greenfield filter is a vena caval filter designed to catch clots from the legs. It's not a guarantee against P.E.s, but I'm not surprised your doctor doesn't want to go into that possibility - ask about it, unless you've already discussed it.

    Last and not least - do you know that deep vein thrombosis, which is probably causing your pulmonary emboli, is a symptom of lower body cancer? I feel that if I had pushed the swelling I had in my legs, I might have been diagnosed sooner, and would not have had the P.E. that took me to the emergency room.

    I had Stage 1b uterine cancer and 1c ovarian. My ob/gyn came to the hospital and did a mini-biopsy on my uterus while I was in the hospital. All of the tests I had prior did not show the ovarian, only uterine fibroids.

    I recently went to a seminar in which color dopper ultrasound was discussed, and I can see how more valuable they are as a diagnostic tool than a regular vaginal ultrasound (which I had).

    Good luck, and keep looking until you find out what's causing your problems!

    I used to be on coumadin and I hemorraged and had to have emergency surgery (D&C). So I was taken off and now I am not on anything. Funny thing is my PE happen five years ago and I did n't have any "female" problems. Now that my PE problems are better I am having this problem. They wanted to give me a Greenfield filter, but by the time I had my PE they could not tell if it came from my legs or not. Right now I am not taking anything. Thanks for your advice, when I go to the doctor on the 25 I am asking for the color doppler ultrasound.

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