Lower back and abdominal pain

[mahnee23]

I have a question about some symptoms I have been having.  I will try to be as brief as possible while being as thorough as I can.  

The symptom that is bothering me most are lower back pain and lower abdominal pain.  It is like bad menstrual cramps but all month long.  Sometimes these cramps seem to go into my hips and legs.  There have also been changes in bowel habits.  I am overweight so I cannot tell if there is any swelling in my stomach area but sometimes it just feels like there is "something" there when I bend over - if that makes any sense.  

I did have pre-cancerous cells on my cervix 15 or so yrs ago.  That was frozen and then a cone biopsy was done and all was fine.  

Now please don't flame me - but I have not had a pap for 13 yrs.  I know that I have to do it sooner or later, but I prefer later and if these symptoms are not worrisome. then I would prefer to wait another month or two.  :)  

I have had melanoma and cancer runs pretty stong in our family.  Mostly breast cancer and melanoma.  

Any advice you can offer I would really appreciate.  I am a little concerned and I am hoping someone will tell me that I am over reacting.  :)  Thanks again.  

[marie3B]

Don't wait any longer. Schedule a thorough Gyne work up.  Don't fear the docs, fear the horrible diseases the docs try to save us from.  I wish you good luck.  Marie

[MaMeesh]

Your symtoms sound exactly like mine. The pain was so bad it even hurt in my upper thighs & legs. I had a terrible time with my period for years. The pain would start a week or more before and last until a week after my period, only leaving me a few days out of the month that I wasn't hurting.

I suffered for 5-6 years like that because I just didn't want to go to a doctor and was a little afraid of a vaginal ultrasound. Then, about March of last year, the pain didn't go away, even for a week, so I had a CA125 done and a vaginal ultrasound. My CA125 was at 325 or so and I had tumors over 3" in diameter on my ovaries. Before I could find a doctor to operate (I had no insurance and no money) my CA125 was over 2000. I finally had surgery on June 9, 2008 and was told it was Stage 3 ovarian cancer and started chemo soon after. I even had interperitoneal chemo (directly in the belly via a medi-port).

I think I'm lucky because I have a wonderful doctor and hospital, but with all the cancer in my family, I should not have waited so long. I finished 6 cycles of chemo in Nov 08 and last week my CA125 was at 35 (up from 13 in Nov 08) and it scares me a little. I'll see him again in 8 weeks to see if it's in remission or if it's growing again. But, my point is don't wait . . . have that test and vaginal ultrasound done. I feel like if I had done that earlier, it may not have gotten so bad. I'm not trying to alarm anyone, but I lost my mother & sister to breast cancer and I of all people should not have waited so long.

Good luck!