My Sister's tumor

Sorry, that is 10 inches, not feet!

Little Siss

Is she having any abdominal pain? It is a little concerning that the doc said "tumor".. I wonder what other symptoms she's having. They should have drawn her blood and checked for a tumor marker. Find out if they checked her tumor markers. The symptoms of ovarian cancer would be Abdominal Pain, Abdominal Swelling, Bloating, Constipation, no appetite, Fatigue, Frequent Urination, Increased Abdominal Girth.  

Oh and it doesn't make sense to wait a month for an oncologist. Pathology results take about a week. Why would they wait so long? I would definitely get a second opinion. Especially if they haven't checked her tumor markers. 

The doctor will order a CA-125 test. Women who have a high CA-125 level are often referred to a gynecologic oncologist, but any woman with suspected ovarian cancer should see a gynecologic oncologist, as well. 

Some germ cell cancers can cause elevated blood levels of the tumor markers human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), and/or lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). These may be checked if your doctor suspects that your ovarian tumor could be a germ cell tumor.

Some ovarian stromal tumors cause the blood levels of a substance called inhibin and hormones such as estrogen and testosterone to go up. These levels may be checked if your doctor suspects that you have this type of tumor.

Those who ate the most red meat, processed meat, and cured meat had a

briefer survival time. When the researchers looked at red meat lovers vs.

avoiders, "we found almost a threefold risk of dying for those women who ate

four or more servings of red meat a week compared to those who ate less than

one serving per week over the 11-year study period," Dolecek says.

Women who drank more milk also had a disadvantage, although Dolecek can't

When I had my first consultant appointment the registrar interchanged the words tumor and cyst constantly. 

I had an ovarian cyst of a similar size to your sister's removed 3 weeks ago. In the words of my surgeon (gynaecology-oncology) 'it's not the large ones we worry about'. My bloods and CT scan were rushed through but they all came back as low risk of cancer so things calmed down and it was 6 weeks later I finally had the op - I was obsessively measuring my abdomen each day to see if it was getting bigger.

Post op I was told that the cyst was pre-cancerous but it was of a type that rarely actually became cancerous and all the cell samples they had taken during the operation had come back clear and they didn't expect any reoccurances.

I found this section helpful http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Ovarian-cyst/Pages/Introduction.aspx

5 weeks ago I had a 25cm (10" ) cyst removed, along with tube and ovary. I had a 3" cyst removed on the other side too - some ovarian tissue was left. Mine were dermoid cysts (on researching them I found that they are also termed a tumour). The surgeon I had was a gynae/oncologist.

I think in hospitals with the expertise, they prefer to use gynae/oncologists as they are experienced in identifying what looks cancerous or not an they are very skilled surgeons adept at carefully removing materials which could be cancerous. Their skill allows them to remove the tissue without spreading/spilling contents. 

I was told my cyst had grown over a lengthy period of time. I last had a laproscopy for endometriosis in October 2010, there was no cyst then, so mine has grown between then and June of this year. 

I have had some pain post op, but this morning have had results of a CT scan which say all is ok and the pain must just be healing pains - thank god. 

My surgeon was amazing and managed to do my op laproscopically (keyhole), which doesn't take as long for recovery. I am however still off work and still getting pain, but it was quite major surgery. 

I was listed originally for an op 2 months post diagnosis, but I managed to get a cancellation, so had my op a month after diagnosis.

Most of these things are not cancerous. How old is your sister? Is there any history of ovarian cancer in your family?

Here is a web link to info on dermoid cysts/tumours 

Emis Moderator comment: I have removed the link as it was broken (went to page not found). If users want this information please use the Private Message service to request the details.

http://patient.uservoice.com/knowledgebase/articles/398316-adding-links-to-posts

http://patient.uservoice.com/knowledgebase/articles/398331-private-messages

Thank you SO much for both your responses! I've been having a hard time sleeping thinking of all the possible outcomes.

First, she doesn't have any pain, but her adomen has grown and become very firm, she has had a problem with constipation for many years so it's hard to tell, but she has lost around 8 pounds without trying, she feels full quicker and not as hungry, she said she does feel more pressure and needs to urinate more often. They did a CA125 and her results came to 52 and the Dr. said normal is 35 but some cancer patients are over 100 so that didn't give a clear indication.She was told the surgery will take the tumor and the ovary. They will test for cancer while she's in surgery. If positive, the oncologist will take over the surgery and remove all reproductive organs and lymph nodes. I don't know if they have a test that will determine quickly if cancer is present. What bothers me is she doesn't have insurance and she is thinking of holding off the surgery now until Nov. when she can get on Obama Care. Do you feel this is a huge risk? We're your tumors cancerous?There is no previous ovarian cancer in our family, but my dad and grandfather had and survived colo/rectal cancer and we had an aunt on my mom's side who died from breast cancer in the 1950"s and a cousin who in the last few years survived breast cancer. She is worried but not in pain, she is not a huge read meat eater but I'll let her know about your findings. I think she will be surprised about the recovery time, she thinks she'll be back to work in 2 weeks. Maybe it's better to let her find out for herself, I don't want to scare her too much. But I would have that taken out of me ASAP ! and not wait for insurance, do you feel waiting another 2 months will make a big difference?

Thanks again for your time and concern!!

 

I wondered if any of you know... does the term "tumor" suggest a bigger chance of cancer as appossed to a"cyst"? And does a larger tumor have a stronger chance of cancer as opposed to a smaller one? Also, does ovarian cancer seem more common with tumors inside the ovary rather than tumors attached on the outside? We have a long wait until surgery now it may not be until Nov. from your experience do you feel waiting 2 more weeks it will put her in much more additional risk?

I appreciate your answers as I've had a hard time finding answers to these specific questions on articles on line.

Thank you!