Ovarian Cyst size of a Grapefruit (10cm)

[sangom01]

Hi,

I am 30 years old just found out that I have a cyst size of a grapefruit (10cm) thru ultrasound. I went in the other day to meet the doctor who will be doing my surgery. So far from the ultrasound they say it does not look cancerous and I would think if it was they would operate me immediately. My concern is and my doctor did mention this they will be doing the small incesions and drain the cyst and remove it. Then take a sample of it the cyst and see if its cancerous or not. If it is then they will remove both ovaries an uterus. If not they will continue with the surgery like planned with the small incesions. I am freaking out right now I dont know what to think I feel like am I going to wake up from surgery with nothing left? That is my biggest fear right now....Any similiar storys and what was the outcome?

[sangom01]

Thanks ladies for the informative stories. I am just going to have to wait patiently for my surgery that is in a week and a half. Feels like eternity for me right now. I am just trying not to think about it right now but its really hard.

[cjan222]

That's pretty much what happened to me.  I had an 18cm cyst on my ovary and prior to surgery, they were pretty sure it was benign.  My CA125 was 31 and other tumor markers all came back negative.  They still told me about the possible outcomes:
a) benign
b) cancer more commonly found in young women (I think it's called a germ cell tumor?)
c) cancer more common in elderly women

My cyst was too large to be taken out laproscopically, but the surgeon told me if it was benign, he would take it out with an incision up to my belly button, and it would take about an hour.  If the frozen section (that's the on-site pathology) showed it to be cancerous, he would have to cut farther up and remove my lymph nodes.  That would take 4-5 hours.

Once I was on the operating table, they knew right away that the cyst was c), and the doctor came out to talk to my parents.  I'm only 23 and want to have children eventually, so my parents asked him to save my uterus and remaining ovary if possible, which he did. However, I was originally a Ia but because he left some of my organs, it bumped me up to a Ic and so now I have to do chemo.  

So when I woke up, the first question I asked was "what time is it?"  When they answered, I knew that the cyst had been cancerous, but they quickly reassured me that I have one ovary left.  Also, my incision is about 10 inches because he had to cut higher to perform the lymph node staging.  I'm probably going to end up taking two quarters off from school to recover from surgery and finish the chemo.

Anyways, I might've just lucked out because the severity of my situation was relatively low.  But since you're young and would like to keep as much of your reproductive organs as possible, you should definitely talk to your surgeon so that he knows your concerns.  Good luck!

[Carcinista]

Have you had a CA-125 test done? That result would shed some light on whether the cyst will turn out to be malignant. Have you had any of the classic OvCa symptoms: bloating, frequent urination, feeling full or unable to eat, bowel changes, fatigue, pelvic pain?

I was 34 and had all the symptoms but my CA-125 was 135 (normal range 8-30) and my laparoscopy showed extensive disease. I woke up to full hysterectomy and Stage IIIc diagnosis. In hindsight, everyone was expecting this to be the outcome but me. I think it's smart of you to consider the worst-case scenario, but know that statistically it is very unlikely that you will have a malignancy. Especially if they are talking about puncturing the cyst: if they thought it would turn out malignant, they wouldn't risk the puncture and possible contamination.

Keep us posted and good luck - don't stress yourself out worrying!

Sarah

[OzBron]

As you are pre-menopause and they are talking about draining it sounds like it is a fluid filled cyst which are more typically benign so it sounds like they are running with the more likely scenario.
I was 32 when I was diagnosed however as the ultrasound looked ominous (solid complex mass encompassing tube) so they ordered a MRI and CT before surgery to get a better look which showed multiple masses. I then had a laparscopic surgery as though the cyst was complex solid they still thought it would be benign due to my age. This was a exploratory surgery to see if it could be biopsied and have a better look (I was in the UK and they couldn't do pathology while I waited on the operating table which seems to happen here in the US). They took one look, thought it didn't look good, found a piece of mass that had broken off so took that as biopsy (didn't want to biopsy mass itself) so closed up. I later had a staging and mass removal lapartomy with conservation of my uterus (it was untouched by cancer). I was diagnosed OvCa Stage 3.
My situation was different - looked ominous from the start, but I wanted to tell you the story so you can see that there isn't the need for the surgery to be in one go. They could do a laparsopic surgery to assess the situation and biopsy if safe to do so, then stop there is you want to be able to make an informed decision on what extent the surgery needs to be based on pathology.
You are only 30, even if the pathology is not what you hope, you can opt for conservative surgery - just one ovary, both ovaries but keep uterus or everything out. It depends on where you were upt o with family, if your uterus is not affected why take it out? You can still have a family (I just had a baby through donor egg). Keeping one ovary will save you from surgical menopause, preventing associated side effects including bone loss etc and will allow you to have a biological child if you desire that.
Some doctors jump straight to full OvCa staging surgery where all organs arre taken without considering that there is a more conservative option particularly for people our age. It is your body, your risk, your decision. Make sure you know all your options and make the choice that is best for your personal situation.

[ireneo]

I'm 57, post menopausal and they found a large cyst on my left ovary. It was 7 cm but quickly grew to 10 cm by the time they did surgery. I knew they were going to remove my ovary and tube as well. The question was whether she could remove everything via laparascope or have to open me up and remove things. In my case they were able to bag and remove the whole thing through the small incisions. And it was all benign. But at least I knew that they might have to do more if they ran into problems.