borderline mucinous tumor or appendiceal cancer?

[NoisyMia]

Hi all,

I had surgery April to remove a 13cm mass, plus my right ovary and tube.  What my oncologist told me after I woke up from surgery was, "Everything looks benign, we're just waiting on the final pathology report."  Then she called me a week later to tell me it was a borderline tumor and that I would need to come in every six months for screening and exams.

So that's all well and good, but I tend to google obsessively, and I read that this particular type of borderline tumor is sometimes actually a growth that has metastasized from the appendix.  So should I be concerned that she didn't mention anything about staging after the surgery?  I mean, she would have noticed if something was really awry, right?  Would it be a good idea to re-operate to stage this kind of tumor?

Thank you for reading about my concerns.  I am new to ovarian cancer, but not new to chronic health issues, so I can't tell if I'm overreacting.

NM

[NoisyMia]

Hi Mitzi,
Sorry for responding so late.  I am sometimes technologically challenged and couldn't figure out how to get back to this site without just googling my own question.
I am actually doing really well post-operatively, minus my typical fibromyalgia symptoms.
My tumor was mucinous.  I am just concerned that the tumor could be a symptom of pseudomyxoma peritonei, not sure if you've heard of that, I'm not sure I know how to pronounce it; I just came across it in my obsessive googling.  Basically the cells come from your appendix but they end up filling the abdominal cavity with mucin and tumors.  They say it's very slow-growing, but also that it's a poorly understood condition otherwise, and I'm just wondering if monitoring every six months like my gyn-onc ordered is often enough, and if more blood tests should be done to test for other cancer markers besides just CA-125.  I couldn't tell from my doctor's responses if she has even heard of this condition.  Feeling a bit overwhelmed.
Thanks for reading and sorry for rambling on,
NM

[Mitzi60]

Oh, yeah.  My surgery was Jan. of this year.  How are you doing post op?

[Mitzi60]

I too tend to google everything, and sometimes just keep coming up with more questions than answers. What type of Borderline do you have? there are several. I have the mucinous.  Had complete hysterectomy w omentum and appendix removed (I'm already menopausal, so probably that's why everything was removed) for a 14 cm mass to left ovary. Staged at 1a. Can't get any better than that.
  
The appendix looked fine, but the path report showed a "1.6 carcinoma, Negative for "mucinous neoplasm or carcinoma." If it was over 2 cm it would have been cancer.  However it's called a carcinoid tumor, which means cancer--weird.

So, the surgery was the cure-all, nothing else needs to be done, they tell me.  If you have the serous borderline, that could be an entirely different thing as far as the appendix goes, I don't really know.

My surgeon was a gyn/onc which everything I read is the only way to go.

Hoping everything goes well with you Mia.....hang in there!!