Borderline Cancer

[Jo33]

I have just had a large ovarian cyst (30 x 25cm) removed along with my left ovary and fallopian tube. My consultant said that he didn't think it looked cancerous . They sent it away and my ovary for tests. I went to see him for the results and was told that it was borderline and they couln't tell me if it was more benign or mallignant. It has had to be sent to somewhere else for further investigation.
Has anyone else been told of borderline cancer? I don't know what to make of it.
My consultant has told me I will have to have a hysterectomy but when depends on what they find and I may need chemo.
I am going back next week for the results but I am really worried, I don't understand why the tests don't show what it is.

Jo33

[westajul]

I can't stress enough how important having a ca-125,cea and ct scans done every three months. Also have gyn. oncologist perform your hysterectomy. I also had a borderline tumor and I went to MD Anderson for a second opinion and they agreed with my doctor that I needed to have ct-scans, ca-125 and cea tests performed every three months even though they didn't think it would ever come back but it did. Thankfully because I was being monitored so closely the recurrence was caught early. I don't want to scare you because you may never have a recurrence. I think it is safe to assume that the women who also had borderline tumor but never had a recurrence are not active on this message board, so you won't hear from them. So don't let our stories alarm you. Julie

[melenzbee83]

grrr! once again people should not say borderline is not cancer or that it may not turn to cancer i am living proof!

stats vary according to stage and if there are noninvasive implants or invasive implants as well. only 4% normally turn invasive and thats within 7-10 years even less! If borderline is diagnosed at stage 3 or 4 there is then a 30% chance it may turn invasive!

[melenzbee83]

mine was also staged correctly each time by two different hospitals. personally i know plently of women whos borderline reoccurs the rate is quite high for stage 3 and 4 victims with implants as it has already started spreading, completely different to stage 1 or 2 borderline. Stage one borderline has nearly a 100% survival rate and low reoccurance but that is not the same for later stages of borderline. you must remember having additonal implants to the original tumour is an important factor.

[gls2824]

It's always important to know what kind of borderline tumor you had, not just the stage.

For example, a borderline Atypical Proliferating Serous Tumor (APST) behaves relatively benignly.  In contrast, a borderline Micropapillary Serous Tumor (MPST) is usually designated as a micropapillary carcinoma because they can be associated with invasive peritoneal implants and behave more like low-grade cancers than other borderlines.  My gunoc explained that he would treat a micropapillary tumor much differently than another type of borderline tumor.  I really think you should ask what kind you have.

This is a complex field and doing as much research as you can is beneficial.  And always ask your doctor.  For most borderlines, 3 to 6 months follow-ups are sufficient.  Not all borderlines are alike.

[Cyndi1952]

Thanks for the info.  I don't know why I didn't ask for the pathology report already, but I haven't!  I'll do that when I see my gyn-onc this month.  All these different types of tumors, which behave so differently, are very confusing.  I want clear-cut answers about what kind I had and the specific prognosis for that type of tumor.  I'm normally the sort of person who wants to learn as much as I can about things that impact my life, but in the case of cancer, I've had my head in the sand a bit.  Very uncharacteristic!  I've just started to ask these important questions, since joining this forum.  I have a lot to learn!