my 16 year old daughter

[worried410]

My daughter has always been healthy until last year her right side and stomach was killing her what thought it was appendicitis but she took a ct scan and they said a cyst had burst on her ovary after that she was really sick tired and not feeling good then she was ok  4months ago she was hopitalized because she wouldnt eat or drink because her stomach hurt and nausea had took over she lost 10 pounds in 1 week they took blood test ct scan of brain she wouldnt even get out of the bed she also had a calcium spasm when she was there  every test that she has taken comes back negative but shes still sick and losing more weight and last month we had to rush her to the hospital again because of pain from another cyst that had burst. My question is could those cyst that burst have been cancerous because shes still sick and losing weight and what kind of test can she take to make sure it wasnt canerous  a nurse told me a test called c25 have you heard of this test and what kind of test is this? Thanks

[Annekathryn Goodman, M.D.]

Hi There,
It sounds like your daughter is having a very complicated problem. It is hard to begin to understand what is going on without more information about the extensive testing that she has had.

For instance, you say all the tests have come back negative. What tests exactly has she had?

Ovarian cysts come and go and are part of the menstrual cycle. At age 16, the menstrual cycle is just starting to  get regular. Commonly, teenagers will have very significant menstrual cramps as they start ovulating regularly. When a girl first starts her periods at age 13, she may not being ovulating and commonly these periods do not hurt. Then sometime between age 15 and age 20, the ovarian -brain feedback loop matures and periods change, there can be mid cycle pain with ovulation, and so forth.

If she has had multiple scans and there have not been persistent tumors or growths seen, I would suspect that this (the maturation of the menstrual cycle) could be a piece of what is going on. But of course without the actual reports, I cannot comment further. If you are able to get the actual reports of her ultrasounds and CT scans and type them in here, I could comment further.

As far as weight loss and pain. Many different things could be going on. There are some very serious problems that teenager can have such as anorexia nervosa - a life threatening condition where a person has a distorted sense of their body and stops eating or purges. There is inflammatory bowel disease such as ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease. There are metabolic disorders that can affect the calcium such as thyroid or parathyroid disorders.

So you see , it is hard to get a handle on this.

But what is clear is that she is suffering and your are suffering for her.

If you are able to get more information I would be happy to help more. Another option is to set up a family meeting with her primary doctor. Write down a list of questions, bring a friend who has experience with the medical system. Ask for copies of labs and xrays and procedures. Ask for an explanation of the reports and of what is going.
I am so sorry for your pain. There is nothing worse than watching a child suffer and feeling like you do not know how to help.
take care

[harley1989]

Three years ago I had a similar situation that I had low abdominal pain and pain by my stomach and spleen.  Because of my age they thought it was stress and not event thinking about ovarian cancer.  I lost a lot of weight and always tired and sick.  Make a long story short you need to have her see an OB-GYN - Oncologist ASAP!!!!  If you have more specific questions post and I will reply.  I was 22 when I was diagnosed with a rare kind of ovarian cancer.

[worried410]

I will try and get her results back on the ct scans of her abdomen and her ct of the brain. But her main problem is having the nausea because she dont want to eat because she feels like shes going to vomit. She weighed 126 and then dropped to 109 now ever since shes been sick she hasnt vomitted the gastro dr said its irratable bowel syndrome but she doesnt have constapation or diahera so we dont think this is it . Well thank you for your kind words and I wont give up until we find out what it is. Thanks again

[worried410]

What was the name of the rare type of cancer? Her family doctor is sending her to a Gastroentroligist. She seen a OB-GYN they did a pap test and hiv test and also complete blood work and it came back normal. What kind of test did you have to take to found out you had this rare form of cancer?