A little scared

[maggimay]

Just to give you a little history about what has been going on with me.  I have been having pain from just under my right rib radiating up through my chest with abdominal bloating which is extremely uncomfortable.  Can't eat or drink much but have only lost five pounds.  I went to the hospital and had tests on my heart, including an angioplasty which all turned out normal.  I was then sent in for an ultrasound on my gall bladder.  No stones.  Then off for a HIDA scan which showed my injection fraction was at 17% which is abnormal but my surgeon said that sometimes the HIDA scan has false positives and doesn't want to do surgery since I do not have stones.  He then sent me for an endoscopy on September 26 which showed a Duodenal Ulcer and am now on two prescription meds for that.  Had a CT scan of abdomen on September 24 and it showed an enlarged right ovary but nothing else.  My surgeon is going to have his nurse set up an appointment for me to have an ultrasound.  My question is, what could they be looking for with the ultrasound and could this be ovarian cancer?  There is no history of ovarian cancer in my family, only lung cancer.  I was checking into having lap band surgery before this all came up but now am trying to take care of these issues first.  I have a history of benine breast disease (4 incisional breast biopsies) and have not had a period in 10 months.  My primary care doctor thought that I was probably heading into early menopause because my mother was 45 when she hit menopause ( I will be 44 in December) and I have had irregular periods ranging anywhere from three months to nine months late for the past two and a half years and have been having hot flashes for almost four years.  I had my last pap smear and physical which my primary care doctor last October or 2007 and everything was normal at that time.  Can anyone give me any answers on what an altrasound might me looking for on my right ovary and whether this could be ovarian cancer.

I appreciate any answers as I am a little concerned.   Thanks!!  

[bohan54]

I hesitate to answer your post because although I am 54 and menopausal since age 49, your symptoms and medical history sound very similar to mine.  
I thought I had a gall bladder issues based on the pain under the right rib.  My ultrasound was of the abdomen, no stones, mass appeared near left kidney tho.  This ultimately turned out to be an ovarian tumor, pain under rib was pleural effusion also related to ovca.  All my pants felt too tight, this was from ascites.  
Since you've already had one ultrasound, wondering why they are doing another.  My cancer was discovered via a CT scan which was ordered after the first ultrasound.  Has anyone mentioned the ugly word?  If not, maybe you should bring it up.
I really do not want to add to your worries, just want to make sure they do a thorough investigation of your symptoms.
Best of luck,
Sharon

[StillFighting]

by doing the ultra sounds there looking to see if you have anything abnormal in the stomach area. I can't say if this is cancerous or not, this doesn't sound like any of the symptoms I had when I first came down with ovarian cancer. I always gain weight, never loose it. two bouts ago I had fluid build up in my stomach, couldn't keep anything down. It hurt to eat etc. I wouldn't sweat it being ovarian cancer unless your doc says it is.

[maggimay]

Thank you so much for your input.  The ultrasound I had first was to only check my gall bladder and did not include any of my reproductive organs.  The ultrasound that the surgeon wants done now is of my ovaries since an enlarged ovary was found on the CT scan I had earlier this week.  I am wondering if an enlarged ovary always includes some kind of cyst or mass on the ovary or if the ovary is just enlarged without any growths on the ovary.  I should have asked the surgeon more questions but he did not tell me about the results of my CT scan until just as he was getting ready to perform my endoscopy and I'll have to admit I was very nervous about getting that done at the time.  (By the way, it turned out to be a piece of cake) And of course it's always easy to think of these things to ask afterwards.    

[bohan54]

In my case, the CT scan was quite revealing as to the growths on the ovary as well as omental caking and lymph nodules.  It would seem that your CT scan would have indicated more info that just enlargement of your ovary and I would certainly ask the doctor for more details if they are available.

[maggimay]

I should ask how are you doing after your diagnoses?  I pray that you are doing well.

I go to see the surgeon as a follow up from the endoscopy in about a week and I will definately be asking more questions then.  I was not only shocked about hearing the CT scan showed I had an enlarged ovary (which was something I didn't even expect or consider) and I was also very nervous about the endoscopy he was just getting ready to perform at that time and was caught a little of guard.  

I really appreciate your comments and support!!!!