question about ovarian cancer?

[2Young4This31]

hello i was wondering if my grandmother had and died of ovarian cancer , am i concidered at high risk for possabley devoloing it ? she had an 18lb tumor on one of her ovaries , and it spread to her lungs and bones. she also had other health problems . she was only 66 when she past on . she went into cardica errest . i know one of my great aunts died of breast cancer, my great great grandmother died of liver cancer , and now my grandmother died of ovarian cancer. and these women are all on my mothers side of the family . im just wondering what my chances if any of develping any of these cancers  or possabley endometrial, uterin ,cervical cancers. i am scared because i went to my gyn recently and found out my uterus went from a 12wk preg size to a 16 wk preg size, multaply cysts on right ovary biggest one being 1cm ,small  follicles on left ovary, 2cm thick abnormal endometruim lining pushed to the left, abnormal pap , with high-risk hpv POSSATIVE , i had an endometrual biopsy done last wed , and now my doc wants to do a colpscopy on may 7th . i thank you all for reading and answering my post !

thank you, 2young

[2Young4This31]

Oh okies, well i have no sisters, and my mother well i rarely speak to her and as far as i know whats going on with her is the rheumatiod arthritis , diabetic ,umm i think hbp  and i really honesly dont know about the female stuff , she said something about being over menapause and now something going on she had to make an apt with her gyn . like i said i rarely spean to her so gathering info is like pulling teeth ! lol  now on my dads side , my grandmother had tumors and i think endometruis , she had a TAH , and my aunt (dads sister)   she also had tumors , and she had precancerious cells and someother stuff  she too had a TAH  . both where in there mid to high 30's  when they had them done .

[Jan214]

No, a first line relative would be a mother or sisters and 2nd line would be grandmother's and aunts.  

[2Young4This31]

thank you crecco ill do that . im not much of a question asker when it comes to my doctors . which is why i have my hubby come along with me . Yes it states high-risk hpv - positive . but i also found out that they didnt test me in 2006 when i had my pap . so i have no clue as to when i got this and how long its been festering ! what do you mean first line relative? as in my grandmother (maternal ) ?

[crecco]

As the others have said, having a first line relative with these forms of cancers does put you at a slightly higher risk, something your Dr should know about. It seems there is close connection between breast, ovarian, and colon cancers. Also if you tested positive for HPV virus, I am hoping that it was taken care of. Contracting HPV does also put you in a higher risk group for developing cervical cancer. As far as how it could spread, I really do not know. But if you have regular yearly pap tests, your chances of catching cervical cancer early are very high.
When you see your Dr next, make a list of the questions that you have and take in with you.
  Good luck, Chris

[lucymullis]

Genetic testing begins with a conference with a genetics counselor and then just a blood test.  I did not "fit" the profile for being positive for BRCA, but insisted on testing.  Both me and my 20 year old daughter where found to be positive.  A positive test yields a 84% risk for breast cancer and 40% risk for ovarian cancer.  There are several options, like prophylactic mastectomies.  The standard protocol suggests at least one enroll in high risk screening, which includes yearly MRIs and digital mammogram and specialists exams.

[2Young4This31]

Thank you both , yes that did help . i think the waiting on my biopsy  and my next tst  is what is stressing me outthe most . its heart wrenching knowing there might be a slight possabilty ! and also found out that my last pap in 2006 they didnt test me for hpv. so for all i know i could have been carring this for many years ! i dont know if cervical cancer can spread to the ovarys or endometruim or vise versa  and so on . what i do know is that ovarian can spread in your blood stream and travel to the lungs and bones . is that the same with cervical or endometruim cancers? again ty u both ! ...............

2young

[Jan214]

My mother and my grandmother (I don't think I have told you all that) both died of ovarian cancer.  It is very prevalent in the maternal line of my family.  I don't know the details because mom died when I was 7 and I didn' t know my maternal grandmother because she died of ovarian cancer when my mom was a teenager, but I have been told that several women on my mom's side died of ovca.  

Having said that, the Brac tests do make some women more comfortable just knowing, but I think prevention is the best route.  It concerns me that some women may think that a "clean" test means they don't have to have yearly exams and what not. Also to have a more reliable test result there are certain criteria they like you to meet such as certain amounts of people in your family with cancer and the degree to which they were related to you.  Here is a link to a page that has a everything you could ever  want to know about these tests.

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/risk/brca

My daughter and I have decided against the testing and are just assuming that she doesn't stand a chance of not getting it.  She will be having TVUS' (if they don't come up with something else) yearly starting when she is 30.  Everytime she goes to the Dr now, no matter what it is for, he feels her stomach for abnormalities and he will continue to do that.  One time he felt a cyst that she didn't know she had, so we know it is effective for him to do this.  Like me she has a propensity for Ov Cysts.

Anyway, this is what I would suggest to anyone who has a history of these cancers in their family.  The Brac tests can only tell you if you are at risk, not if you will get it and it can be very costly to be tested.  I would recommend genetic testing if everyone  could do a whole body test to look for things they are not expecting or aware of but when you know it is in your family, I believe that aiming for prevention and/or earliest detection is the wisest course.    Hope this helped.
Jan

[Tybear]

Anytime you have a first line relative who has had a cancer like breast or ovarian, I would think that could put you at a *slightly* higher risk. There is gene testing you can do, to see if your pre-disposed to these types of cancer - it's the BRAC1&2 gene. I would suggest talking to your doctor about possibly being tested to see if you carry this. Good luck with your colposcopy and let us know how you make out...
Becky