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Complex Ovarian Cyst 7cm & High CA 125
I am scheduled to talk to a Gynocologist/Oncologist soon. I am very concerned. I was diagnosed with Complex Ovarian Cysts. They said both ovaries have fluid & hard cysts on them. Both ovaries are 7cm (grown some from 6 week ultrasound). My Gynocolgist did a CA125 test - my number came back 1000. Anyone have similar experience?
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The CA125 test is unreliable. There are too many false positives / elevated results when there is no cancer. A friend and I had the exact same type of benign ovarian cyst / tumor (per biopsy / pathology) and her CA125 was well over 1000 while mine was in the normal range (around 30).
Sadly, our organs were removed despite the frozen section done in the operating room being benign. Gynecologists remove women's organs far more often than is necessary. Only about 10% of female organ removal surgeries (hysterectomies and oophorectomies) are done for a cancer diagnosis.
Sadly, our organs were removed despite the frozen section done in the operating room being benign. Gynecologists remove women's organs far more often than is necessary. Only about 10% of female organ removal surgeries (hysterectomies and oophorectomies) are done for a cancer diagnosis.
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Thank you. You helped ease my worries some. I am glad I found this forum. I have tried searching the net & of course have found conflicting information. I wanted to hear from real people with real experiences. Thank you again.
Do you mind me asking if you or your friend had the following symptoms: fatigue, fullness, back pain (lower /kidney), Urgency to urinate, sudden stabbing/shooting pain that goes away instantly (but when it hits it shoots like lightening) & then pain in the abdomen with bloating -some days my whole abdomen just aches & is very bloated. Other days not as bad.
Yes and those symptoms are fairly typical for ovarian cysts. Almost all ovarian cysts are benign, including complex ones, and most go away on their own. Imaging is not exact so they cannot always tell the type of cyst. For example, yours appear to be complex but they could be multiple fluid-filled cysts making them appear as one cyst with septations. These are common in women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). Could you possibly have PCOS? When is your appointment with gyn oncologist?
I had a hysterectomy 4 years ago but they left my ovaries. So can I still possibly have PCOS? I go on Tuesday.
Hysterectomy is not a cure for PCOS so if you had it before, you would still have it if nothing else has changed. Removal of ovaries is not a cure either. Removal of ovaries (the female gonads) would merely cure the associated symptom of having cysts on your ovaries. You would still be left with this metabolic condition of insulin resistance. And ovary removal causes a whole new set of chronic health problems and an earlier death.
My regular gynecologist recommends that the ovaries be removed since I am unable to have any more children and that I am almost 50. But now I am being referred to a gynecologist /oncologist due to the ca125 number
Benign cysts can cause an elevated CA125 so you cannot put any stock in that test.
Removal of the ovaries is unnecessary ~90% of the time. It is castration and has been proven to do more harm than good when ovaries are removed before age 75. The ovaries produce health promoting hormones a woman's whole life. Estrogen levels drop at menopause but testosterone levels gradually increase to reach reproductive levels in a woman's 70's.
Ovary removal causes accelerated aging increasing risk for heart disease (#1 killer of women), stroke, osteoporosis, dementia, impaired memory and cognition, parkinsonism, lung cancer, sleep disorders, mood disorders (depression, anxiety, mood swings), aging of eyes and skin, more severe hot flushes, sexual dysfunction.
If the cysts are benign (per biopsy not visualization), there is no reason for removing your ovaries. If the cysts don't go away on their own, a surgeon with good cystectomy skills should be able to remove just the cysts so you can keep your ovaries or at least most ovarian tissue for those health promoting hormones.
Removal of the ovaries is unnecessary ~90% of the time. It is castration and has been proven to do more harm than good when ovaries are removed before age 75. The ovaries produce health promoting hormones a woman's whole life. Estrogen levels drop at menopause but testosterone levels gradually increase to reach reproductive levels in a woman's 70's.
Ovary removal causes accelerated aging increasing risk for heart disease (#1 killer of women), stroke, osteoporosis, dementia, impaired memory and cognition, parkinsonism, lung cancer, sleep disorders, mood disorders (depression, anxiety, mood swings), aging of eyes and skin, more severe hot flushes, sexual dysfunction.
If the cysts are benign (per biopsy not visualization), there is no reason for removing your ovaries. If the cysts don't go away on their own, a surgeon with good cystectomy skills should be able to remove just the cysts so you can keep your ovaries or at least most ovarian tissue for those health promoting hormones.
They have done 2 ultrasounds. 6 weeks apart. The 2nd one showed that they did not go away and the right one had increased. The left one stayed about the same
It can take months for them to go away. I have read that most resolved within about 3 months. Cysts can get very large. I know of women who had ones that were larger than 20 cm that were benign. Yours may need to be surgically removed but, again, if they are benign there is no reason you should lose your ovaries. You may find ovaryresearch.com to be helpful. Another resource is the HERS Foundation.
will complex cysts go away? I was told I had hard cysts & fluid cysts. I thought the hard cysts were things that would not go away? On the plus side, I am not hurting today & it eased up yesterday. The week prior I was in lots of pain. I wonder what the sudden change would be or is this normal? Severe pain then nothing for a few days? Still bloated but not as bad - but the urgency to urinate has slowed down also.
If they are indeed complex then I've read that they do not go away. But, again, imaging is not definitive so they cannot always tell the type of cyst. I recall a woman who was scheduled for surgery and insisted on another ultrasound the day before or day of surgery and her cyst was gone. (Her surgeon did not want to do the u/s.)
The pain from the cysts can come and go. I had only one day of pain that was constant and then had no more pain for the next 2-1/2 weeks when I went into surgery. I was "bloated" because the cyst had caused me to gain 4-5 lbs.
The pain from the cysts can come and go. I had only one day of pain that was constant and then had no more pain for the next 2-1/2 weeks when I went into surgery. I was "bloated" because the cyst had caused me to gain 4-5 lbs.
I am going to have surgery on July 19th. They said my left cyst is 14cm and right 10cm. The ultrasounds that they did in April and May did not show any blood flow to the cysts but the ca125 being 1000 and the can tell parts of cysts are hard tumors they are concerned.
I'm sorry the cysts have grown and you have to go through surgery. :( Hopefully, they're benign (as most cysts are) and the surgeon will remove just the cysts versus both your ovaries. Hopefully, he/she has discussed all of this with you and the consent form will reflect the specific surgical plan.
I hope all goes well and recovery is uneventful! Please keep us posted.
I hope all goes well and recovery is uneventful! Please keep us posted.
Thanks. I will.
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