20cm ovarian cyst

[bloated94]

I was just told I have a 20cm ovarian cyst. Doctor wants me to get blood test then remove cyst. She said it will need to be a large incision. Don't really care about that but am worried that it's cancer. I am 44 and have had 2 kids. Also no family history. I do have regular periods but they are very heavy usually on the 2nd day. Enlarged uterus and abdominal pressure. Doctor said it is not filled with fluid. Do these tend to be cancer? Symptoms seem so vague.

[Anotheroperation]

I forgot to mention that I did give consent to take all of the cyst had been cancerous which it wasn’t. The did a frozen section of the removed cyst and it was benign.

[Anotheroperation]

I’m sorry to hear about your suffering. I’m an active 71 and 3 weeks ago I had a cyst and ovary removed and the Fallopian tubes. The doctor wanted to do a complete hysterectomy and both ovaries. After reading the above response I did a lot more research about the value of keeping an ovary for hormones and keeping the uterus so that the other organs would stay in place and not prolapse. I still have pain from the laparoscopic robotic surgery but it is getting better. There was a lot of bruising and that is almost gone. Good luck with your surgery and your decisions. It’s your body and not the doctor’s.

[Raggletaggle]

I have a 21 cm cyst that is going to be removed along with a complete hysterectomy in July. The cyst is growing rapidly - 4 cms a week. Had a CT scan last week and 99% certainty that it is benign.
I also have a heart condition that they want to check before surgery.
Very nervous about surgery but can’t wait to get it over with now as I feel about 9 mths pregnant!

[old_before_my_time]

Raggletaggle - I developed an ovarian cyst but it was only 9.5cm so a bit smaller than yours but still warranted surgery. I was almost 50 years old. I was told I needed a "complete hysterectomy" (hysterectomy plus oophorectomy / removal of ovaries / castration). I trusted that my ob/gyn would do what was necessary and not remove organs unnecessarily. Boy was I wrong! After all the ramifications of losing my organs became apparent (which happened "hard and fast"), I went into research mode.

It's been 12 years since the unnecessary removal of my organs and I have learned more than I ever cared to know about 1) the gross overuse of female organ removal (~10% are truly necessary), and 2) how vital the uterus, ovaries and tubes are to our daily and long-term health and well-being.

The after effects of the loss of my organs have been a permanently life-shattering nightmare. I have connected with hundreds of women since my surgery who report most of the same debilitating symptoms. Taking estrogen can ease some of the symptoms but, unfortunately, cannot even come close to providing us with our bodies own ovarian hormones. The ovaries do not shut down out menopause. They continue producing hormones our whole lives, just less estrogen and increasing amounts of androgens to keep our heart, brain (mood, cognition, memory), bones, skin, hair, eyes, lungs, etc. healthy. Studies show that removal of a part(s) of the "reproductive" system increases risk for many chronic health problems.

A surgeon with good cystectomy (cyst removal) skills should be able to remove most ovarian cysts and save the ovary or enough of it for hormone production. The cyst section of ovaryresearch.com talks about this. The HERS Foundation may also mention this on their website.

I wish I had insisted that only the cyst be removed if the cyst was benign. I would have made sure to make my wishes known and "binding" by modifying the surgical consent form and making my surgeon sign off on modifications. But I didn't know any better.

I hope this helps!

[dallas69511]

hi im going through the same thing i have a cytse the size of 17cm and imin pain all the time im getting my surgery readt no set date but i hope real soon but what i want to know is how long did the doc say the recovery would be and has it hurt any of your other organs

[bloated94]

The countdown to surgery begins. Still hope to keep my right ovary. If cyst on left ovary is benign I still can. Doctor said if the 22 cm cyst is borderline or anything more...full hysterectomy. Really do not want to deal with being forced into menopause if I don't need to. Very nervous but just ready to start the recovery now!

[bloated94]

Thank you for your input! I am so sorry to hear that you have been through so much at such a young age. I am very thankful that at 44 I do have 2 children already (one just a few years younger than you). It makes me so sad when you hear about so many women making such hard decision about their surgeries because of future family concerns. It just does not seem fair...crappy female parts and all! So update on my surgery. It is scheduled for July 21st. Cyst is now 22cm and sounds very similar to yours in that it also has veins and what not that have shown up on the test. Still very worried about the elevated OVA 1test level. Also have decided to go ahead with a full hysterectomy. Sounds like incision can also be like yours. Doctor said because of size it might need to go up towards ribs. How long was your recovery time? Very happy for you that the out come was benign! Does it look like you will have the other cyst removed? Scares me because I also have a teenage daughter who has dealt w/cyst at such a young age. Hope all goes well for you and thanks again!

[Tgijeffreys]

Sorry for what you're going through, it's always scary when you have no answers. In October I had a 30 cm tumor removed along with my right ovary, tube, and appendix. I have a 12 inch incision from my ribs down to my pelvis. My cyst was mucus filled and had TONS of veins ad stuff, I saw pictures of it. It was thankfully benign. I know it's impossible but try not to stress about it yet. It's the longest wait when you're waiting on that pathology report but hopefully you will get good news. It was a tough recovery, I'm not gonna lie but I felt so much better after it was out of me. Unfortunately I just found out I have a 6cm cyst on my only remaining ovary, it's very stressful. I'm 24 with no children. I guess some of us are just given crappy female parts!! :( let me know if you have any questions, I'd be more than happy to help with anything!! Take care of yourself!!

[bloated94]

Lee, they probably want to have a clear picture of what s going on before they get in there.
Dd the say how they will they will be removing it? I would also think they will want to run some blood work. I know what you must e going through. It is very scary and it seems like there is always more questions than answers. Please keeps updated.
...Lisa

[Leeship]

I am having a 9 cm cyst removed that is possibly malignant. I am only 29. I have not had the blood test yet, but they did schedule surgery. I had an MRI, and an ultrasound and I will be going back tomorrow for another ultrasound. I don't get it. I mean I know they are doing surgery, so why prolong it by just looking at it..? I want the thing out so I can know if I am dying or not :( Good luck to you!

[bloated94]

Home from doctors and he now wants me to see  a gyn/onc. The test was actually a ova1 and did come back elevated at 7.5 She said anything 5 and above is elevated. has anyone else had this test and with elevated levels? She Also said it is filled with fluid with some sign of vain like things on one side? Good or bad? She also wants me to get an CT now because it shows more than the ultra sound. Any info?

[bloated94]

Thanks for the input. I did have the blood test CA 125 and go to the doctor in the morning for the results. She has already told me that it will need to be removed. Do not look forward to the recovery. She already warned me that it will be a large incision. My worry really is about it being cancer. I know now that most are not but it is still very scary. Worst is that they make some women wait so very long for the result of the biopsy. Is it a case of something so big(20cm) just be annoying and it,s the little ones that are dangerous?

[Raju Thapar, MBBS]

Thanks for the query.

20cm is a little too big for a cyst and less likely. Do u have back ache? Have you lost weight?  You might have to go under the knife for the cyst, once they send the sample to histopathology  and  a frozen section it will be conclusive as to what the cyst contains.

Have a nice day.

[Katyfw]

Hi sorry to hear ur news,
Just wanted to say that on 27th of may I had a 20cm by 17cm by 13cm removed, at first they thought my cyst was a blood filled one with echoes and on my right ovary, when they got in there to do laporoscopy they found that it was a benign mucus cyst which was on my left ovary and and to have left ovary & Fallopian tube removed at same time.
The blood test she wants u to have is it the CA125 by any chance? That test is not reliable and many people that have high results are fine so don't get worried about that, once they take ur cyst out it will be sent to pathology for testing and results can be with u with hours or a month even the length of time means nothing!
The sooner u get the cyst out the better no matter what kind of cyst it is wether cancerous or not (fingers crossed for NOT) it can cause u lots of pain at the drop of a hat! Take care and I hope u get the answers ur looking for
Best wishes
K

[Idiana]

Hi , I am a bit new here but I know how scary it is to have a huge cyst inside you. I had a 18cm cyst removed on May the 15th , I still dont know what kind of cyst it was , I wont know untill next friday , But from what I have read most cyst are not cancer. The only thing you can do is get the cyst out of you and keep your fingers crossed. My cyst also damaged the tube that goes from your kidney to your bladder so I had to have that fixed during the same surgery, so the sooner you get surgery the better I think.
Take care of yourself !