What to Expect

I am 29 years old and for the past 5 months have been experiencing the following:
-bloating
-pain in lower right side (sometimes front, sometimes back)
-spotting between periods
-burning sensation in pelvic region
-pain with bowel movements
I visited my dr last week and she suspects and/or wants to rule out ovarian cancer.  She wanted me to get an ultrasound immediately.  Unfortunately I couldn't get in for a month, even with the dr's office calling and saying it was an emergency.  The next day I was experiencing some pain, more localized than it had been in the past.  I lied and said it was quite bad, they managed to get me in for an ultrasound this coming Thursday.  Since the appt with my dr the pain, as I mentioned before, has been more noticeable and more localized. At first I thought it was just from the exam (she was palpating my ovaries internally and externally, squeezed them quite hard), but it hasn't went away in nearly a week.  I am trying to remain calm and think positive, keep reminding myself worrying won't help, so I may as well wait until after the ultrasound before I start worrying.  But it is hard.  I was just wondering, what else could it be?  If I had something else to cling to I might be able to relax a bit.  I've compared my symptoms to those of ovarian cysts and they seem a bit different.

[shewrites]

I would never advise you not to get this checked out.   Advocate for yourself and get the answers you need to move forward.  Because it "could" be ovarian cancer.  And you need to get rid of the pain.  

However, you are young and ovca is less likely in younger women.  Also, by far most masses on the ovaries are benign regardless of age.  Hang in there.  Thursday will come.  

On the chance that surgery is needed (a mass over 5 cm is usually removed even if it's expected to be benign) be sure that the doctor is a gynecological oncologist. They have more training and experience and therefore get better results.  

Good luck and let us know how you are progressing.  

[madismom2509]

Thank you for your response.  I had an ultrasound yesterday and it did not find anything, which at first was a relief, but the relief turned to confusion - what is causing my issues then?  I was surprised they only performed an external pelvic ultrasound, I had expected them to do both an external and a trans-vaginal.  I will be meeting with my family dr next week to discuss what to do next (I think she said colonoscopy), but while I'm waiting for the colonoscopy (wait times are terribly long here) should I request a trans-vaginal ultrasound?  I am not usually the over-reacting type, but there is clearly some sort of issue and I would like to cover all the bases in as timely a matter as possible.

[shewrites]

I think you're in good shape as long as your family doctor is working with you to find an answer.  It's when they don't listen to you or try to help you that you have to get really loud, stubborn, obnoxious, you-fill-in-the-word.  

Your family doctor can also order a CA-125 blood test.  It's not really a good diagnostic test, but a high number would indicate the possibility of ovarian cancer and would give the doctor a reason to order an intravaginal ultrasound or a CT scan.  (The CA 125 number can also be high because of inflammation, infection, and other things, so don't freak out, just insist on further tests.)  

Good luck.  

[ketownes]

I had similar pain and had an ultrasound done. They did a lot of sounding on the right lower abdomen and didn't see what they were looking for, gallstones. A few weeks later I had a CT scan and a 6-7cm mass was spotted. Surgery confirmed that is was OVC, so please don't rely on ultra sound as sometimes a deep mass thats not entirely solid will not show up. Best wishes for your outcome and get a CT scan to be sure.