Worried

[Mstjf]

Hi there. This might be a bit long sorry. I'm a 28 year old female, I've had 2 c-section births in 2010 and 2013. I have a history of anemia and heavy periods. About 2 months ago I noticed a lump in my abdomen when I was laying down, other symptoms include a cramping type pain after sex, bloating, longer periods that were closer together, and feeling full quickly. I went to my GP for her to examine the lump, she sent me for an ultrasound the next day, I was then sent for a CT scan. The findings were a 150x120x90mm mass off my right ovary. I'll just copy some of the report as it's written. The mass has a solid component inferiorly which has areas of punctuate calcification. There are irregular cystic septations, with the lesion which showed enhancement. Differential lies between cystadenocarcinoma and cystadenoma, the former more likely. I have been referred to a specialist in my capital city 10 hours away and have an appointment in a week and a half. Obviously I have a few q's for my doctor when I get there but I presented to emergency about a week ago because I felt like I couldn't breathe and I felt like the mass had grown in the week since the scan, my stomach looked like I was 6 months pregnant, the doctor at emergency said "I've seen heaps of these and you definitely just have a dermoid cyst". Is that likely given the findings on the report? Thanks for any help you can provide.

[Lindaura]

That is just not a proper response from the ER doctor and really aggravating as well as dangerous.

I was taken to ER in an ambulance, swollen as if I had swallowed a beach ball (husband had panicked and I was so embarrassed) but the ER doctor took one look at my bloated abdomen, got out the ultrasound and warned me that the bloating looked like fluid called ascites, which was probably due to cancer.

He said this gently before sending me for a CT scan and I was admitted to hospital immediately and whisked into treatment.

I hope you get your answers swiftly and I wish your cyst could be benign, but the bloating is a giveaway. Let your husband panic.

I am so grateful that mine did!

Best wishes,

Laura

[Marieloiuse]

Hi,

A very worrying and confusing time for you. Who to believe? I hope the ER doctor is right but I just want to say that if it is cystadenacarcinoma it is certainly one of the easiest OCs to treat and is usually found at an early stage. Mine too, was huge, stage 1 and treated with surgery alone. They are rare tumours which is maybe why the ER doctor thought it was a dermoid cyst.

However, he could be right all along and that would be great wouldn't it. Even with mine, until surgery, they just couldn't be sure (they said) although they had prepared me for the worst case scenario. Which is how it turned out, but that was 30 years ago!

The waiting is horrible but hopefully you will soon be on the road to recovery.

Catherine x

[bamboo89]

It might be a dermoid cyst; when they cause trouble, symptoms can be similar to relatively advanced ovarian cancers. At the moment, the scan shows only a mass on one ovary, and apparently no adjacent growths anywhere. Try not to worry too much (I know its a tall order!) - you'll only know for sure once tests have been carried out along with possible surgery.

[Lily-Anne]

I would wait for your appointment and let the gynae examine you. The only way to rule anything out is through a biopsy. So if they decide not to remove it I would request a biopsy to put your mind at rest

I was told that my ovarian cyst was a simple cyst. However because it was causing pain it was removed. It came back as ovarian cancer stage 1C so it really is better to know all the facts. Because of my experience I’d rule out guesses. My CA125 was in the normal range because of my early diagnosis

LA xx

[Mstjf]

Thanks for the responses they said it will definitely be coming out either way because it's 15cm, hopefully I get more answers at my appointment