Hi Cindy,
(First, Alex,it's so refreshing to hear your story; I wish I'd read it during the weeks I just spent googling. It will make others feel so much better - so much terror surrounding how ovarian cancer is discussed, and your story helps me see what a myth so much of the info is.)
I just had a 9 x 7 x 5 complex cyst removed today. It had every sign of being cancer on the ultrasound ( I reviewed images w/ my gyn/onc) and looked exactly like a Serous cystadenocarcinoma, with a huge solid area, papillary projections, uneven borders, everything. It was benign - an endometrioma. The internet can't tell you anything and Alex is right that each case is different and that the o-cancer stats are old. I know it's impossible to stay offline - I had panic attacks daily for 2 weeks because of googling - but really, you won't find anything that won't scare you to death, or that will give you the magic answer you're seeking. (I thought if I googled hard enough I would; I also thought I'd found my magic answer and was also convinced of a death-sentence.)
Although I did just complain about all of the statistics vs. individual cases, a stat I found that was comforting was that in women under 40, 2/3 of malignant ovarian tumors will be borderline (low-risk, slow-growing). And also I'll quote form this article "In actuality, various studies have shown that cysts found prior to menopause are benign in 87% to 93% of women" http://www.obgmanagement.com/index.php?id=20667&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=170920
Of course this wasn't completely comforting - we are all individuals, but it did give me a little perspective that helped get me through the hours before my surgery.
I've also read that blood tests can be raised by any very large cyst, as well as many other conditions in premenopausal women.
Go outside; go for walks; be with friends if it makes you feel better; don't sit in front of the computer googling if you can help it, or make a rule where you can only google an hour a day. I made my boyfriend stop me if he saw me doing it; get people to help you.
Good luck to you.
Megan
Alex,
Thank you so much for your information. I know I shouldn't be on the internet but I can't help myself, and it seems like everything I see/find isn't good news for ovarian cancer. You gave me hope if in fact it turns out to be. I feel extremely relieved by your info that they now call it a chronic illness like diabetes. It gives me a new outlook on this. I wish you the best. And again sincerely thank you for your response.
Cindy
First off they do not know it is Cancer until they actually get in there. There are many large cysts which turn out to be benign. I have had several friends who thought they had Ovarian Cancer but when they got in there the tumors were benign. If it is Cancer it is not the end of the world. The statistics on Ovarian Cancer are old. They now call Ovarian Cancer a chronic illness like diabetes. You deal with it but you can live a fairly normal life. I am stage 4 Ovarian and I ride horses, hike, camp, train dogs, and have a happy life. Even with Stage 4 I am no where near dead.With the CT Scans and newer Chemo therapies they can keep you around a long time. There are new medications which are not chemotherapy which are about to hit the market. I am in a trial for one which will be out next year. If they were worried holiday or no they would have had you in surgery already. My PCP looked at my ultrasound, I was at the oncologist the next day and in surgery in a couple more days and it was a holiday when I had surgery. Take it one step at a time
Alex