For years now, I've been told by my docs that the CA-125 is unreliable due to the possibility of false negs and pos.  Since November, I've been experiencing intense pain in the lower right abdomen/pelvis, increasingly bad pain in my thighs and right hip/lower back, constipation, diarrhea, bloating and a ridiculously constant need to pee.  I was stupid in that I just tried to pin what I was feeling on a nervous stomach.  In January, I had had enough and saw my gyn.  The transvaginal us showed a "humongous" cyst...repeated the us in a few weeks and it showed the same.  CT scan confirmed it.  I was subsequently sent to a gastro guy who did a colonoscopy...showed clear.  Saw the surgeon who finally ordered the CA-125.  When the results came in, I was told that they were within "normal parameters". My left ovary was removed in '78 (yes, '78) with a low-grade malignancy. I'm scheduled for surgery at the end of this month to remove the mystery mass.  Having said all of that, I'm just curious as to how many women have been told that their CA-125's have been "normal" and still went on to have a malignancy.

Hey there.  Try not to think about it too much (ya, I know, easier said than done)  We are here for you and you are in my thougnts and prayers.  Godspeed
~Tascha

Also try to think of all the emergency surgeries performed every day that are still successful. Those people go into surgery totally unprepared and the risk for complications are much higher. You will be well prepared with pre-op tests etc. You will be fine.

I went into surgery very calmly. They wanted to give me a sedative but I didn't want it and my blood pressure was 90 to 60...I wasn't worked up at all. I was joking with my friends as well as the surgeon. Like a previous post said, you're out and they know what they are doing. If something weird goes wrong, the hospital is the place to be they are really prepared for a lot of things. I know errors or weird things can happen but they are very rare. They will take care of you, that's what they do. I actually love being put to sleep. You're out so fast and next thing you know you wake up and it's done. They will give you pain meds and any med you need for any complaints and that stuff works. The care in my hospital was miserable but I still think the surgery and the hospital stay were nothing compared to having cancer and chemo etc. Also, I remember when they discharged me after day 5 I was nervous about going home and actually had a panic attack at home that night. There is something soothing about knowing you're in a place where they can fix you if things go wrong. So have faith and good luck and speedy recovery!

My CA-125 was 946 OvCa stage 3C. Even it being so high they could not be 100% sure it was cancer prior to surgery.

450 is relatively high if you have a benign condition, and could indicate other problems such as extremely severe endometriosis or even liver disease.  Someone posting on this site well over a year ago had a CA-125 result of about 700 and had nothing more than benign tumor-like endometrial implants in her abdomen (with complicating adhesions).

450 is relatively low if the mass is malignant, as ovca can cause CA-125 levels in the THOUSANDS.

Happy Easter - My CA 125 before my op. was 759 so your on the right side of that and I'm here nearly nine year so chin up.   The thing about an operation which is what I thought about being my very first time in hospital never mind the operation was I will be asleep and they know what they are doing.   I fortunatly for my nature still do not know much about Ovarian Cancer but a lot about the treatments I have had and I will say there have been many more good time in those years than bad.  I hope you sail through the operation and things go well for you in the future.
Helen Jane