Ovarian Cyst - Blood Test after ultrasound (Any need to worry?)

[fifiasco]

I am writing this as a concerned brother, my sister is 21 years old and since her periods started they have been very irregular (2-3 a year) they can either last for 3 days or 2 weeks. After being dismissed by loads of Doctors and just prescribing her the contraceptive pill she really decided to push through this year. She found a new Doctor who has been very thorough and very friendly with her. Initially she did a routine check of the area and took blood tests. They all came back clear; she got her booked in for an Ultrasound. When she had the ultrasound they found a small cyst on her right ovary (simple cyst) and just said we will get the results back to your GP to get you booked in for a rescan just to check up on the cyst as you'd expect. 2 weeks later she got the call from the Gp to make her appointment to discuss the results which was booked for 2 weeks’ time from that date.

She went to the appointment yesterday and the GP explained to her ok so you've got a simple cyst (it's not very big 8mmx12mm) and we are going to book you in for a reason like discussed just to monitor the scan. She then asked my sister if she had been experiencing any symptoms.

My sister hasn’t been experiencing anything major but she does suffer with anxiety.

She said to the doctor "I don't know if it's because I know it's there but for about 15 seconds a day i feel an acute pain there" With Anxiety my sister suffers with IBS and the doctors knows this and knows all about her anxiety. She said she has noticed she is a lot gassier over the past week or two and feels a bit bloated.

When she told the Doctor this, the doctor has told her to get booked in for a blood test just to rule out anything malicious. So I take it this is a CA125 Test.

The doctor has also booked her rescan and she will get a letter with the date in a week or so.

Now is this Doctor just being really good and making sure she gets tested for everything or does this sound like there is something to worry about. I am a proper worry wart and I am driving myself round the bend with this.

[Oamanda6]

The doctor is just doing his job so stop stressing yourself.

[fifiasco]

Thank you for this, I'm calming down now. She only went yesterday so i guess it was just that initial shock that she's being tested for something so awful. In my head I was just saying she's got it the test is just going to confirm it but in reality i guess they just want to rule it out to know where to go next. The doctor has been very good to her, He's done all of this within 4-6 weeks. Other doctors did nothing for years.

Thanks again, Colin

[Impatient]

The CA125 is not very reliable, but it is a cheap blood test, and better than that, if by any chance it does show higher levels than 'normal', then it immediately means queue jumping for seeing a gynaecologist and then possibly diagnostic surgery. CA125 might be raised for cancer (extremely unlikely at her age) and also might be raised for endometriosis which is more than 10% of women, so look at the odds. The main benefit is as i said, getting to jump the wretched NHS queues to see a gynaecologist and possibly have diagnostic surgery.

If the CA125 is normal, it doesn't rule out endo, but it does mean joining the back of the queue for appointments and the waiting lists can be weeks, or might be months in some areas.

So please do not fret about the CA125. There is a reason for being given the test, but it is more a case of trying to queue jump than there being much if any likelyhood of anything sinister.

That cyst is VERY small, and normally they would monitor and wait till a cyst is around the 3.5 to 4 cm diametre size to justify surgery. So if it continues growing over the coming weeks, it will show up on the next scan. It could be just part of the ovulation process and might vanish..reabsorbed back in to the body.

There is a chance it will burst, and that really will hurt. And might need a trip to A&E for suitable pain relief, but the best thing to do is for her to lie still on the bed or sofa until the pain eases off, might take a few hours, but it would be much like having a testicle kicked repeatedly for a few hours. That kind of pain..just to give you some idea.

Hopefully being a simple cyst it will disappear and be over and done with. But that is the best case scenario and it doesn't always happen, which is why they monitor cysts.

incidentally the contraceptive pill, or mirena coil are the best methods for keeping on top of endo, apart from surgery, even after surgery that is the long term treatment, so it wasn't wrong to be prescribed them if she does have endo. The problem is getting a diagnosis for what is actually causing her symptoms. Pills tend to mask the problem.

[fifiasco in reply to Impatient]

Thank you very much for your reply, I can see what you mean with the queue jumping. I feel a lot more at ease now and i guess it's just an overload of online information getting to me!

Again thank you very much for your response.