Seeking Advice on Ovarian Mass and Fertility Challenges

Hi there,my name is sarah and i am 33 years old i have had a ileostomy since 2009, and was diagnosed with chrons colitis in 2000. I also had my right ovary removed during this surgery due to complications. I revently was reffered to the fertility clinic as have been trying now to conceive for a year. During the ultrasound they found a mass that was described as being around 12 cm large. I was then a month later given a m.r.i scan and recieved the results yesterday. The surgeon told me the mass is infact 18cm large, he told me that tumour marker blood tests had come back showing no signs of mailgnancy, but the problem is the doctore dont know what the mass is, they told me that if it is fluid then surgery could complicate matter if it ruptures during surgery,and also a theory is that it is the ovary itself and leaving it too long could result in it twisting causing great pain,i asked the surgon to advise me on the best course of action and he said that it was my own call,this worries me as i am afraid of making the wrong desicion,although i now know fertiltiy is out of the question, i was just wondering if any women on the forum have had anything similar happen to them and what the outcome was, i would greatly appreciate any kind of advice thankyou xxx

 

Hi Sadie31

I am a 3x survivor of ovarian cancer - four years in remission now.  Was the blood test you had done the CA-125?  Is your surgeon a gynecologic oncologist?

I can't advise you what to do since I'm not a doctor, only share my experience.  A CA-125 was not a reliable diagnostic tool in my situation but it depends on each individual patient.  It has been helpful with several of the women in my support group.  The masses that I had grew quickly and did cause some damage - that's how I ended up with a colostomy with the fourth surgery.  The last mass was 21cm.  I have had surgeries, called "debulking", which removes any cysts and adhesions that are part of the mass.  The mass did break during my second surgery and it leaked into the ascites (abdominal fluid that had built up).  The doctors did a wash in my abdomen to remove that.

I have heard that it is extremely painful to have the ovary twist and it can be life-threatening.  

Does ovarian or breast cancer run in your family?  If there is any chance that it may be malignant, treatment for ovarian cancer at the early stages has the best outcome.  Even if not cancerous, it is best caught early.

Hi Lomac,thankyou so much for the reply,yes the blood test was CA-125, and the doctor was a gnyecoligiacl oncologist. Ovarian and breaast cancer dont run in my family, i agree with you about treating it sooner and later and think i will phone on monday to let them know that its prob best to go ahead to look in and see exactly what it is. I dont think leaving it for 4 months as suggested is wise. Thanks again for your reply, and what a strong lady you are xxx

I'm glad you are seeing a gyne-oncologist and will keep on him to have the surgery.  Time is always a critical factor when dealing with something like this.  Hope everything goes well for you!  If you have any questions along the way, don't forget to ask or even message me if there is something you're uncomfortable asking here.  I've been through several surgeries and treatments along the way and am open to discussing anything - even the TMI stuff ;-)

 

 

I'm not a woman and I am not a doctor, but I have heard stories and known women who have had similar circumstances where a doctor can't tell if the issue is due to a cyst or a tumor.  Many of those cases were resolved by taking birth contro pills, especially when the issue was a fluid filled cyst.  Sugery was not necessary in these cases!  I would think with your lab work not indicating malignancy, you might want to ask about birth control pills.  Many of those women are able to conceive later on depending on whether other issues like endometriosis are present.  I hope this helps.

Words of Encouragement from Ostomy Advocates I Hollister