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Is it Cancer?
I have never done one of these before so bear with me....
This past March I went to see my gp for severe nausea and abdominal / chest pain. Several test were done and it was found that I had H. Pylori and Gall bladder disease. I was treated with triple therapy for the H. Pylori and my Gall bladder was removed. The majority of my symptoms improved for the most part, or so I thought. within a few months I developed constant diarrea, extreme chest pains, especially on my right side, indigestion, blotted, my stomach expands to the point my clothes hurt after I eat, headaches, nausea, vomiting and extreme fatigue to the point I can fall asleep at anytime doing anything, and memory problems...it seems at times I cant remember how to do things I do everyday. I went back to my gp, they did an EKG, some test to measure how much air I was taking in and out ( which I failed) a chest x-ray and blood work. I was put on Lexapro for depression (which IF i am depressed it is only because I constantly feel so bad) Blood work showed I have H. Pylori again.....back to the triple therapy but this time I was refurred to a gastronologist (spelling??) My gp was concerned becuase if the repeat H. Pylori and the fact that my chest xray showed that I smoked when I had quiet numerous months before the x-ray, but my gp didnt believe me. A few days later ( 2 weeks ago) I saw the Gasto. Dr my gp referred me to, he has ordered that I have an endoscopy and colonoscopy done next week, he also ordered a abdominal and transvaginal ultrasound, which I had done several days ago....the gastro dr called me and said that he was very worried about an extremely large cyst that was found durning the transvaginal ultrasound and they refused to get off the phone with me until I gave them the name of my gyno. and insisted that I see him ASAP and that they were sending the test results over asap. sooooo now I am really worried....I have done some online research and found that alot of my symptoms that we thought were gastro related are also tied in the ovarian cancer... has anyone experianced anything like this? I feel worse every day, no medications seem to help for more than a day or two, I am now to the point I can hardly sleep at night.. Is this cancer? I see my Gyno in 4 days and still scheduled for the endoscopy and colonoscopy in 10 days...but would love some feedback or insight on what might be going on inside me so I can prepair myself. Cancer runs in my family, so I have already decided that there is a good chance...but ovarian cancer??? Please help.
This past March I went to see my gp for severe nausea and abdominal / chest pain. Several test were done and it was found that I had H. Pylori and Gall bladder disease. I was treated with triple therapy for the H. Pylori and my Gall bladder was removed. The majority of my symptoms improved for the most part, or so I thought. within a few months I developed constant diarrea, extreme chest pains, especially on my right side, indigestion, blotted, my stomach expands to the point my clothes hurt after I eat, headaches, nausea, vomiting and extreme fatigue to the point I can fall asleep at anytime doing anything, and memory problems...it seems at times I cant remember how to do things I do everyday. I went back to my gp, they did an EKG, some test to measure how much air I was taking in and out ( which I failed) a chest x-ray and blood work. I was put on Lexapro for depression (which IF i am depressed it is only because I constantly feel so bad) Blood work showed I have H. Pylori again.....back to the triple therapy but this time I was refurred to a gastronologist (spelling??) My gp was concerned becuase if the repeat H. Pylori and the fact that my chest xray showed that I smoked when I had quiet numerous months before the x-ray, but my gp didnt believe me. A few days later ( 2 weeks ago) I saw the Gasto. Dr my gp referred me to, he has ordered that I have an endoscopy and colonoscopy done next week, he also ordered a abdominal and transvaginal ultrasound, which I had done several days ago....the gastro dr called me and said that he was very worried about an extremely large cyst that was found durning the transvaginal ultrasound and they refused to get off the phone with me until I gave them the name of my gyno. and insisted that I see him ASAP and that they were sending the test results over asap. sooooo now I am really worried....I have done some online research and found that alot of my symptoms that we thought were gastro related are also tied in the ovarian cancer... has anyone experianced anything like this? I feel worse every day, no medications seem to help for more than a day or two, I am now to the point I can hardly sleep at night.. Is this cancer? I see my Gyno in 4 days and still scheduled for the endoscopy and colonoscopy in 10 days...but would love some feedback or insight on what might be going on inside me so I can prepair myself. Cancer runs in my family, so I have already decided that there is a good chance...but ovarian cancer??? Please help.
I don't know what Nabothian is, but I had a ruptured cyst that sent me to the emergency room and they also found free fluid and a complex cyst on my left ovary.
When I went to the GYN he said the cyst went away by itself (they often do) but he found a mass/tumor on my left ovary and sent me to an MRI - which led me to the doctors calling me a few hours after and saying scary "we don't want to sit on this" and "surgery ASAP" sorts of things. They removed it and it was benign (whew!) and all is well.
Hopefully if what you have really is a cyst and not a mass/tumor then it will go away by itself (or with this Provara). I do know that every time they looked they said I had a bunch of cysts. They said going on birth control might help me have fewer cysts but that if I wasn't having symptoms it wasn't a big deal and I could ignore them.
So the short answer is yes. I do think it's normal to not worry about small cysts and to let them go away themselves, but to check / follow up to make sure they are actually going away.
When I went to the GYN he said the cyst went away by itself (they often do) but he found a mass/tumor on my left ovary and sent me to an MRI - which led me to the doctors calling me a few hours after and saying scary "we don't want to sit on this" and "surgery ASAP" sorts of things. They removed it and it was benign (whew!) and all is well.
Hopefully if what you have really is a cyst and not a mass/tumor then it will go away by itself (or with this Provara). I do know that every time they looked they said I had a bunch of cysts. They said going on birth control might help me have fewer cysts but that if I wasn't having symptoms it wasn't a big deal and I could ignore them.
So the short answer is yes. I do think it's normal to not worry about small cysts and to let them go away themselves, but to check / follow up to make sure they are actually going away.
I had my Dr appointment Saturday, my doctor said he feels my cyst is probably a normal "functioning" cyst that has gone astray...but he wants to make sure he is correct so he put me on 10mg Provara twice a day, he said if it was nothing to worry about that this medication will help to speed it along in going away, then they will do an additional U/S on the 22nd to check to make sure it is gone...is this a normal step? He also said my Nabothian Cyst were about as important as a pimple so he wasnt going to bother with those although I had several. Is this normal procedure?
I called my doctor and asked for a copy of the report.. this is what is says...I am not really sure what any of it means!
Uterus measuring 10.4 x 8.1 x 5.1 cm. There are nabothian type cyst joinified, the largest measuring 8 x 12 mm. right ovary is unremarkable. There is a complex cyst left ovary 2.7 x 3.5 cm. Endomitrail thickness = 12 to 13 mm. There is minimal amount of free fluid in the cul-de-sac, nonspecific.
Impression: Complex left ovarian cyst. Follow-up recommended. Minimal free fluid , nonspecific.
Any insight on what this means?????
Cricket
Uterus measuring 10.4 x 8.1 x 5.1 cm. There are nabothian type cyst joinified, the largest measuring 8 x 12 mm. right ovary is unremarkable. There is a complex cyst left ovary 2.7 x 3.5 cm. Endomitrail thickness = 12 to 13 mm. There is minimal amount of free fluid in the cul-de-sac, nonspecific.
Impression: Complex left ovarian cyst. Follow-up recommended. Minimal free fluid , nonspecific.
Any insight on what this means?????
Cricket
you have every right to have a copy of the report, and if the nurse would not give you the information you were asking for, then you should have asked to speak with your doctor.
Hopefully you do not have OvCa....it is really considered a rare disease....but either way, one lesson to learn is to be your own advocate when it comes to your medical health. You know your body best and you have a right to know what is going on inside of your body.
Hang in there....keep us posted.
Pam
Hopefully you do not have OvCa....it is really considered a rare disease....but either way, one lesson to learn is to be your own advocate when it comes to your medical health. You know your body best and you have a right to know what is going on inside of your body.
Hang in there....keep us posted.
Pam
Thanks to Pam and Gail for your replies. It's nice to have somewhere to vent my worries. I try not to talk about this at home, my husbands dad died of cancer 10 years ago and they were VERY close so even today it is still hard for him, so I try my hardest not to say or do anything that will make him worry about me.
To answer your questions, I am 34 years old and Pre-menopausal. I have no idea what kind of cyst it is. My Doctor would not discuss any specifics with me when they called, she just kept saying "Dr Mytha wants you in to see your gyno ASAP, and that it was impairative that I see my gyno and, she asked that "you do have a gyno dont you" Oh gosh.. you do have one dont you" you need to get this checked out now, this week, you need to call and get an appointment now.. its very very large and he is very concerned..." and then she just started listing off doctors names,, she had me so frazzled I couldnt remember the name of my doctor..when I finally heard her say my doctors name, she said ok... I am sending this to him right now, I want you to call as I send these and get in with him. she wouldnt give me a size, she just kept saying very very large.
Thinking back on my transvaginal ultrasound, the lady that was doing the test kept asking if I was in any pain or had any other symptoms...All my doctors have been focusing on gastro issues that it never even dawned on me that it could be symptoms of something else. So now, I dont know what is going on...counting down the days to see my gyno, and hopefully get some form of answer or at least a direction to head in...I have no idea if I have 2 issues going on or just one...I do know my grandmother had a hysterectomy, but know one knows why. Female issues run strong in my family. I think I am prepared for whatever they find, just having a solid answer would be nice.
Thanks for all your support, I will keep you posted!!! :-)
To answer your questions, I am 34 years old and Pre-menopausal. I have no idea what kind of cyst it is. My Doctor would not discuss any specifics with me when they called, she just kept saying "Dr Mytha wants you in to see your gyno ASAP, and that it was impairative that I see my gyno and, she asked that "you do have a gyno dont you" Oh gosh.. you do have one dont you" you need to get this checked out now, this week, you need to call and get an appointment now.. its very very large and he is very concerned..." and then she just started listing off doctors names,, she had me so frazzled I couldnt remember the name of my doctor..when I finally heard her say my doctors name, she said ok... I am sending this to him right now, I want you to call as I send these and get in with him. she wouldnt give me a size, she just kept saying very very large.
Thinking back on my transvaginal ultrasound, the lady that was doing the test kept asking if I was in any pain or had any other symptoms...All my doctors have been focusing on gastro issues that it never even dawned on me that it could be symptoms of something else. So now, I dont know what is going on...counting down the days to see my gyno, and hopefully get some form of answer or at least a direction to head in...I have no idea if I have 2 issues going on or just one...I do know my grandmother had a hysterectomy, but know one knows why. Female issues run strong in my family. I think I am prepared for whatever they find, just having a solid answer would be nice.
Thanks for all your support, I will keep you posted!!! :-)
COMMUNITY LEADER
Pam gave you some good advice. I understand it's hard not to worry, especially when the word "cancer" enters the picture. Until you get more information from the GYN and the colonoscopy/endoscopy, you are left to wonder and worry about what could be going on. You said you had your gallbladder removed. A very common side effect of that is diarrhea that is sometime uncontrollable. Your body is having to deal with extra bile the gallbladder is no longer there to store, so some pretty nasty gastro issues can happen. When you have diarrhea and vomiting, you aren't getting all the nutrients you need, and that could cause the constant sleepiness. I don't know that much about h. Pylori, but that would have to contribute to an overall feeling of being unwell.
Many times, ovarian issues are miscontrued for gastro issues. Many women here could tell you about being sent for endless tests with their Gastros before GYN issues were ever considered. So, it's actually a good thing that you have already been referred to a GYN. As Pam said, there is no test for ovarian cancer, so it cannot be diagnosed until surgery when a surgeon takes a sample for biopsy. But, even cysts that are benign will cause the same symptoms of bloating, fatigue, and bathroom issues. Did the Gastro tell you how large the cyst is other than saying "very large"? Chances are, it will have to be removed if it is more than 5 cm. However, anywhere from 90%-93% of ovarian cysts are benign. Those are pretty good odds.
I know this is a lot of information to take in. But here's one more thing that's quite important. If you and your GYN decide surgery is necessary to remove the cyst, please ask to be referred to a GYN Oncologist. This is only because a GYN Oncologist has 2 to 3 more years experience in dealing with surgeries of the female reproductive system. And, on the offchance it does happen to be cancer, they are trained in how to remove the actual tumor, as well as debulk the areas around it to ensure as much cancer as possible is removed.
Best wishes to you. Come back any time you need to ask a question or need a place just to vent. We'll walk this road with you.
Gail
Many times, ovarian issues are miscontrued for gastro issues. Many women here could tell you about being sent for endless tests with their Gastros before GYN issues were ever considered. So, it's actually a good thing that you have already been referred to a GYN. As Pam said, there is no test for ovarian cancer, so it cannot be diagnosed until surgery when a surgeon takes a sample for biopsy. But, even cysts that are benign will cause the same symptoms of bloating, fatigue, and bathroom issues. Did the Gastro tell you how large the cyst is other than saying "very large"? Chances are, it will have to be removed if it is more than 5 cm. However, anywhere from 90%-93% of ovarian cysts are benign. Those are pretty good odds.
I know this is a lot of information to take in. But here's one more thing that's quite important. If you and your GYN decide surgery is necessary to remove the cyst, please ask to be referred to a GYN Oncologist. This is only because a GYN Oncologist has 2 to 3 more years experience in dealing with surgeries of the female reproductive system. And, on the offchance it does happen to be cancer, they are trained in how to remove the actual tumor, as well as debulk the areas around it to ensure as much cancer as possible is removed.
Best wishes to you. Come back any time you need to ask a question or need a place just to vent. We'll walk this road with you.
Gail
First things first, they cannot diagnosis OvCa without a biopsy of the cyst/mass/tumor. Are you post or pre-menopausal? Is it a simple cyst, or complex cyst?
I know that it is easy for me to say, but, try to relax and not panic until we know that there is something to panic about.
The GYN should be able to provide you with more info.
Best of luck, let us know how it goes,
Pam
I know that it is easy for me to say, but, try to relax and not panic until we know that there is something to panic about.
The GYN should be able to provide you with more info.
Best of luck, let us know how it goes,
Pam
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