Has anyone had their ovaries removed?

Hi Karen - Yes, I had the surgery done in 1997. This was long before I had breast cancer; it was done as a preventative precaution because both my mother and my oldest daughter had ovarian cancer. I had to have 4(!) 'second opinions' before my insurance would pay for it. All 4 gyn/oncs said the same thing: get them out immediately because it was a matter of WHEN I'd get ovarian cancer, not IF.

My surgery was not done with a lap procedure; rather, a long incision from just below the bellybutton to my pubic bone. The reason for this is because the surgeon wanted to take a good, careful look around inside to make sure I was free of any signs of cancer in the area.

Because of the long incision, recovery was a little slower and more difficult than I expected. I remember that going up and down stairs was a problem for the first 2 weeks (my bedroom was upstairs . . . . so I slept on the couch downstairs for that period). I also remember that because of pain meds (DO take them) and very sore abdomenal muscles, constipation was a
problem. Stool softeners help this tremendously.

I'm sure that having your ovaries removed via a lap procedure will eliminate a lot of the discomfort I mentioned above. Expect, though, to go through a period of some intense hot flashes if you haven't gone through menopause yet. There may be some products available to help with this . . . . .ask your oncologist before surgery so that you can be prepared when you get home to start on things that may help.

Good luck to you! Let us know when you are having the procedure done . . . . and how you are doing.

-shelley

karenack said:

Thanks to both of you for sharing your experiences. I'm not sure if they will do it laproscopically or not. I remember when I had my hysterectomy in '02 they did it laprascopically and it still took me several weeks before I could try to resume some of my activities. Kathy, I am lucky to have the greatest husband in the world. We have only been married two years and I don't know what I would have done if he hadn't been there to help me!! I will have the surgery mid to late February, as soon as I am finished with rads. Shelley, the chemo has caused my ovaries to stop functioning, so I am getting those wonderful hot flashes already. Lots of fun! Happy New Year Kathy and Shelley!

I did not have my ovaries removed, but that was going to be the next step if chemo did not send me into chemopause - which it did. I have just been reading about the survival advantage of having your ovaries removed for women who are pre-menopausal.

Hope it all goes well.

Hugs.

Lesley

You posted 5 days ago, so I hope you're still reading the replies to your question. I had my ovaries out 4 years ago via laporoscopy. Tests showed I had growths on both ovaries and because my sister had had ovarian cancer, they had to come out. They discovered the ovarian tumors (thankfully they turned out to be benign) two weeks before my breast cancer was diagnosed, so I ended up having the bilateral oopherectomy at the same time that I had a re-excision for the breast cancer. The surgery wasn't a problem at all and my recovery was quick too. I had a couple of days where it wasn't easy getting out of bed, but three days after surgery I went out to dinner! If you have a choice, I'd definitely go with a laporoscopy because it's so minimally invasive. Good luck and I hope you have an easy time of it as I did.