ovarian cysts

[tangia]

I just had an exam with my gynecologist yesterday; she performed the usual pelvic, etc; I had an ovarian cyst on left ovary in January, 2010 which prompted her to perform another ultrasound yesterday;it showed the cyst had grown; she also ordered the CA125 blood test; I won't find out anything until Tuesday, March 16, 2010; I missed my period for the first time ever in February, other than during pregnancy; for the past few months I have had unexplained lower back pain and my internist referred me to a spinal specialist. My labs from my internist all returned perfect, however, what has happened yesterday is terrifying me; I had a cyst on my right ovary in the summer and my doctor ordered the CA125 test at that time; the cyst in the right ovary dissolved, but in January when I had the ultraound performed again, it showed the cyst on the left ovary which yesterday they had seen increased in size; the doctor also said there were a few cysts but she was vague; the look on her face was NOT reassuring  hence my fear; she is a very well respected oby/gyn in Chicago at Northwestern Memorial hospital-Prentice Women's Hospital, but I am still scared. My mom had colon cancer and survived; any help out there, please, for some re-assurance. Thank you so much.

[tangia]

It's great to know you're familiar with Prentice; my ob/gyn delivered both my daughters and has known me for almost 20 years; she also knows how my imagination can start forest fires; I was so happy in January to know the cyst on the right ovary dissolved only to find out that one had developed on the left side; my annual was yesterday (the 11th) so the timing was good; when she did the pelvic exam, I could tell she felt something, but I didn't feel any pain; then she decided to have the tech perform the sonogram; once my doctor reviewed the results and came back to talk to me, she said that I needed to come back on the 5th-9th day of my NEXT period for further testing because the cyst had grown and apparently there are "other" cysts; why are these doctors so vague about all of this??  in the meantime, she ordered the CA125, which I knew from the summer was the ovarian cancer blood test; I'm very anxious by nature, so my friends are trying to re-assure me that it's simply standard procedure to do these tests, but everyone agrees the waiting is very, very difficult. Thank you for responding to my question; as I wrote to MarieMichelle, I'm new to this, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect; I am really grateful that both of you responded to my questions; thank you, ladies and I will keep you posted.  Good luck to you, Paulette; I hope all goes well; please post and let me know.  Thanks;  Linda

[tangia]

Thank you so much for responding; I've never been on a forum before, so this is relatively "unchartered territory" for me; the waiting is absolutely horrible, but I guess that's all I can do is wait until Tuesday; at 49 years old (I'll be 50 in August), I thought these were supposed the "good years"; I suppose if it's not one thing, then it's another; ugh!

[paulette40]

I have had two ultrasounds and was given no information about my cysts just that I had them. So I was left uninformed.  My second ultrasound was yesterday and the doctor came in and said although the ultrasound shows my cyst has shrunk a little, it is necessary to go in and remove it and also take a look around.  Gave me no further information than that.

My PCP just performed a CT Scan and that came back showing my uterus as "unremarkable" so not sure what the ultrasound is showing vs the CT scan.  

I have not had the CA125 but maybe they will do that pre-op on Monday.  But I have had lots of pain like bad cramping daily for over 6 months, back pain, severe bloating, late periods and now mid cycle bleeding to mention a few problems.  

I used to live in Chicago and went to NW/Prentice too.  You should be in good hands!

[MarieMichele]

If the doctor performed the US, I do not understand why you were left uninformed as to the details. It is possible they want a radiologist's expert eyes to interpret first. It is horrible to wait through a weekend for answers.

The good news is that often the worst case scenario is that some kind of surgery may be required to remove what does not belong there.  Rarely is it cancer.  Benign cysts can also make us ill to the point we think we have a fatal illness, but take comfort in the fact that this is rarely the case.