Ovarian Cancer after Breast Cancer

dst

This may seem like a dumb question, but here goes. I had bilateral mastectomy with diagosis of DC and LC in both breasts. I am BRCA-2 positive so I also had mhy ovaries out last year too.

I am wondering if it is possible to get ovarian cancer even if your ovaries are gone? Every time I read a list of symptoms of ovarian cancer - bloating, gas, digestive distrubances, etc. - I get scared because I have all of them. They did pathology on my ovaries and they were fine last December.

Am I crazy or should I get this checked out?

Katiejane

I have been told by M.D.'s that you can get ovarian cancer even when no ovaries are present. I wouldn't panic but definately consult your doc.. Chattie

sandramacy

Hi Deb,

I had cervical cancer 20 years after my cervix was removed. My Oncologist, at that time, told me that there is always some tissue, of a removed part, that is left behind because there is never any way to get it all.

The symptoms you are describing also fit other types of cancer including cervical. However, Crohn's disease and IBD and other non cancer diseases have some, if not all of those symptoms.

Should you get your symptoms checked out....I vote absolutely yes.

If your Oncologist is not able to identify the source you might want to visit a Gastro-Enterologist

Hugs,

leaf

Agree - there is a risk of cancer in the area after oopherectomy.
I am not sure if these cancers were classified as ovarian, fallopian tube, or peritoneal though-you'd have to look at the paper. In this study the incidence was 217/100,000 years for those who already had elective ooph. They estimate that ooph overall decreased the incidence of cancer by 80%.

"CONTEXT: Women with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation are often advised to undergo preventive oophorectomy. The effectiveness of this intervention has not been prospectively evaluated in a large cohort. OBJECTIVES: To estimate the incidence of ovarian, fallopian tube, and primary peritoneal cancer in women who carry a deleterious mutation in BRCA1 or BRCA2. To estimate the reduction in risk of these cancers associated with a bilateral prophylactic salpingo-oophorectomy. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Women known to carry a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation were identified from an international registry between 1992 and 2003. A total of 1828 carriers at 1 of 32 centers in Canada, the United States, Europe, and Israel completed questionnaires at baseline and follow-up. Participants were observed from the date of study entry until: diagnosis of ovarian, fallopian tube, or peritoneal cancer; death; or the date of the most recent follow-up. INTERVENTION: Participants were divided into women who had undergone bilateral prophylactic oophorectomy and those who had not. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The incidence of ovarian, peritoneal, and fallopian tube cancer was determined by survival analysis. The risk reduction associated with prophylactic salpingo-oophorectomy was evaluated by a time-dependent survival analysis, adjusting for covariates. RESULTS: After a mean follow-up of 3.5 years, 50 incident ovarian, fallopian tube, and peritoneal cancer cases were reported in the cohort. Of the 1828 women, 555 (30%) underwent a bilateral prophylactic salpingo-oophorectomy prior to study entry, 490 (27%) underwent the procedure after entering the study, and 783 (43%) did not undergo the procedure. There were 32 incident cancers diagnosed in women with intact ovaries (1015/100,000 per year). Eleven cancer cases were identified at the time of prophylactic oophorectomy and 7 were diagnosed following prophylactic oophorectomy (217/100,000 per year). The estimated cumulative incidence of peritoneal cancer is 4.3% at 20 years after oophorectomy. The overall (adjusted) reduction in cancer risk associated with bilateral oophorectomy is 80% (multivariate hazard ratio = 0.20; 95% confidence interval, 0.07-0.58; P = .003). CONCLUSION: Oophorectomy is associated with reduced risk of ovarian and fallopian tube cancer in high-risk women, although there is a substantial residual risk for peritoneal cancer in BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers following prophylactic salpingo-oophorectomy."

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez..._RVAbstractPlus

Anonymous

It is possible to get ovarian cancer even after the ovaries have been removed (as ovarian cells can be left in the peritoneal cavity), but your risk is dramatically decreased (by ninety %). Did they do peritoneal washings when you had them removed? If they did, and they were benign also, it is highly unlikely you would get oc, but I would definitely describe all your symptoms to your doctor in detail. (If they didn't, it is still very unlikely). As someone said, those symptoms can also be indicative of other conditions. (They suspected I had ovarian cancer when a large mass was seen by CT scan; so I asked a LOT of questions at the time. Fortunately, everything turned out benign during my total hysterectomy--prayers for good results for you as well).

susan_CNY

I would suggest you have a colonoscopy if you have not already. I had the same symptoms and had a vaginal ultrasound to check ovaries ( had hyst at 32 for cervical cancer), they were ok. Still had the problem so had colonoscopy, found tumor blocking colon- stage 2. Year later diagnosed with breast, so yes you can have more than one kind of cancer. I wish benign results for you. Let us all know.

dst

OK I'm convinced that I need to follow up to see if there is something really wrong or if it's just the new calcium formulation I'm taking that has my gut grumbling.  I am scheduled for a colonoscopy in mid-October and have called my onc to set up an appointment to have a scan.  There are days that I think I read too much and have become a hypochondriac.  Then I think back to what I've been through already and that there is nothting too insignificant that it is worth waiting to see if it gets worse.  Thanks for all the feedback and I'll let you know how things turn out.