CAN You Have BC AND Ovarian Cancer at the Same Time????

pupfoster1

So, of course now I'm projecting, but is it actually possible to have both BC AND Ovarian at the same time???  My psych doc yesterday was adamant that "you would be one for the record books"---but seems to me if you can have more than one type of BC at the same time, couldn't you have another type too?  OR, yuck, it just hit me, could the BC have spread to the ovaries????  I know I'm thinking too much, but this pain down there really has me worried.  The only "reassuring" thing is that it is not constant.  It does come and go, although it seems when it comes now it stays for a long time.  I was under the impression that cancer symptoms wouldn't go away.  Anyway, I'm calling my gyn as soon as they open so I'll keep you posted.

Take care all,

Sharon

Abbey11

Ok, slow down, breathe.... I think the chances of this being ovarian cancer are very slim.  Are you taking tamoxifen?  That can cause ovarian cysts.  I was having some pain in my lower abdomen last fall and was diagnosed with "functional" ovarian cysts.  My OB/GYN says that its common for women on tamoxifen to develop them.  I had a follow up ultrasound about a month later and they had resolved.  Tamoxifen can also cause endometrial changes which could be causing pain.  Hang in there!  I hope your doc sees you today.

KerryMac

Try not to worry yourself too much. I am sure something would have shown up on your staging scans if there was anything to be worried about.

BTW, when I was first Dx,  I went for my pre-Op physical, and my Dr did a pap and an internal exam. Well, she thought she felt a "mass" on my Ovary. So, I got majorly panicked, they had already done an Abdominal U/S, but my BS said "oh, we could have missed something, so better scan." So they did. While we were waiting for the test, my husband and I did a lot of research into BC and Ovarian mets - it is possible, but rare, and more common if you are BRAC +. Anyhow, for me there was nothing there, my Dr thinks she was feeling my Bowel....(so poop, not cancer) I have to say though after my ooph I was very relieved that the pathology came back clear.

Anyhow, I hope it is nothing for you to worry about. But you are getting it checked out, then you can at least have some peace of mind.  Let us know what the Gyn says.

Anonymous

Sharon ~ It seems to me that if your ovaries have been used to ovulating regurlarly, and then suddenly stopped becuase of chemo and tamoxifen, they would be sensitive and "cystic".  Try not to get yourself too stressed and get some reassurance from your GYN.  Take a deep breath honey.

Gitane

Hi Sharon, I have no advice or stories, but I sure understand about the worry.  I am hoping you get all the right answers from your gyn and that you're fine.  Hugs. 

pupfoster1

Thanks Ladies,

Going to the gyn this am.  Once again it comes down to not knowing how to trust what's "normal" and what's not.  I had thought too what you had said Shana, that since I've been in chemopause my ovaries, etc are still somehow trying to function and maybe that's what it is, or cysts.  I just don't know how I would handle it if they find more cancer.  I know I'm getting ahead of myself, and I know I'll feel better after I find out what it is.  So off I go.  I'll let you all know later what happens.

Thanks for being here,

Sharon

KerryMac

Good luck - you will feel better getting it checked out. I am really sure it is nothing. Let us know how you go.

pupfoster1

OK, so I saw my gyn yesterday.  She did a pelvic exam and said she didn't feel anything huge or bulging, but thought it could be something--perhaps a cyst and recommended to have another ultrasound to follow up on it (had one back in November).  She did also have me go for a CA125 as I mentioned Ovarian cancer, and although she didn't think that's what it was she said to go ahead and have it done.  She did say it can happen although it's very rare.  So hopefully I'll have more news early next week. 

Thanks everyone,

Sharon

cs34

pupfoster1, i'm going through the same thing right now! and happy to hear it's highly unlikely.

i only have the right ovary left. {removed left ovary in 1986 with a 9lb cyst.}

when they did my tests to see if the BC spread last year they saw a cyst on my ovary. i ignored it. i was going through WAY too much to worry about that too.

i'm done with treatment, gyno sends me for trans vaginal ultra sound and find that there are two cysts and one is bleeding. the blood could be nothing or it could be something...

i'm having it removed on the 30th.

i also did the CA125 and that came back ok.

i hope everything turns out ok for you. i'll be looking next week for any updates.

it's a crazy thing. let's hope neither of us ends up in the records books!!!

weety

Okay pupfoster and cs34,

I'm also one hoping not to end up in record books!  I'm so glad I found this thread because I'm going through the exact same scare.  My ob-gyn sent me for a routine pelvic ultrasound (I finished chemo and just finished with radiation but haven't started any tamox or AI yet)  and they found a complex cyst on my ovary. Ob-gyn is very concerned saying that post menopausal (I am only post menopausal because I'm in chemo-pause--I was pregnant and breastfeeding right before my bc diagnosis, so I'm actually probably quite pre-menopausal if it weren't for the chemo) women don't form functional cysts because they aren't releasing eggs.  So I'm freaked out that now they've discovered ovarian cancer or breast cancer mets just 2 months after finishing chemo.  So then I wonder if it is cancer, was it bigger before chemo and the chemo got some but not all of it?  How would they ever stage me since I just had chemo?  Which would be worse?  Ovarian cancer or Breast cancer mets???  Gosh, this whole thing just has me so worked up. 

My regular onc doesn't seem to be as worried about it, but then she deals with cancer all the time!  What's one more patient with mets to her????????  She agreed that in post menopausal women, cysts are rare, but she said that for chemo-induced menopause, they just don't really know what happens.  If it truly caused menopause, there wouldn't be the cases in which fertility comes back.  No one really knows exactly what effects it has on the ovaries and hormones related to fertility. 

I've got a consultation with a gyn-onc tomorrow.  Most likely, we'll be setting up a date to have ovaries and uterus removed (family history of uterine cancer) regardless of what this cyst is.  I was already kind of going in this direction, anyways, it just would have been later down the road. 

BTW, I had the ca27.29 and ca125 done--both came back normal. 

pupfoster1

That's good news about the blood work coming back normal!  But sheesh, I am SOO sorry you are having this added stress to your plate.  I mentioned on my other link that the nurse today was saying it could be my bowel acting up, but to me it feels more like in the female parts.  But as I said there I don't know anything for sure about my body anymore.

I'm wondering why your gyn is calling you menopausal after only being out of chemo for 2 months.  I was told you could still have your period come back after chemo.  Maybe because of being pregnant?????  I'm not sure how long "they" consider it to be before you are "officially" in menopause after chemo ends.  I was peri going in to all of this and have not had a period since my dx in Sept.  Seems to me that your body could still be "trying" to have a period and maybe hence the cysts????  Anyway I think your onco would be the best one to figure it all out.  There are also Oncologist Gynocologists out there (oh God not ANOTHER doctor to have to go to) if you don't feel comfortable with the other two docs opinions.

I hope you get good news soon.  PM me if you'd like to stay in touch!
Sharon

weety

Sharon, I saw your other message about not having the results ready yet--sorry you still have to wait longer.  The waits are the worst!  I think my ob-gyn is calling me "menopausal" because I am currently in the chemo-induced menopause.  I don't think he means it will necessarily be permanent.  I doubt if it will anyway, just because of my age (39) and the fact that I was just pregnant right before diagnosis (baby was 6 months old--yeah, so much for enjoying the babyhood years--I just wanted time to pass so I could be done with chemo and all!)  My appt tomorrow is with a gyn-onc.  My  regular ob-gyn had told me that the normal protocol in my situation was to "watch & wait"  but because of my history, he was going to skip the "watch & wait" step and just send me directly to the gyn-onc.  For all I know, the cyst in question could be completely gone (but knowing my luck lately, it's probably still there and bigger...sigh...)  but I guess since we had already been talking about eventually doing the surgery/removal, it probably will be best to just do it now and be done with it.  I had the ultrasound done on 2/11 and I'm just now getting in to see the gyn-onc anyways--if you ask me, that already fills the "watch & wait" period.  It's been a month.  I think usually they wait 6 weeks and then recheck. So I'm really not that much ahead by "skipping" the "watch & wait" step that my ob-gyn was trying to avoid.  

I will definately post after tomorrow's appt and let you and everyone else know what's next, but my guess is I won't know anything else until after the surgery.  I'm not exactly sure of the reason(s) but I guess they don't usually biopsy ovarian cysts.  They just remove them and check then. I guess it has something to do with possibly rupturing the cyst and spreading the cells (oh joy) but I don't know for sure. 

KerryMac

Sharon - oh, don't you hate that! Results are sitting right there but "they" can't tell you anything. Still, in my experience, when things look really bad, they call you, so I would see this as a good sign.Let us know when you hear anything.

Weety - let us know how you get on. 

Lynbob

I  have been wondering this same thing, I was having abdominal pain and bloating when my family physician sent me to the ob/gyn who sent me for the mammogram and the rest is, as they say, history, lol.

After a colonoscopy & egd I am finally having gynecological testing. Transvaginal ultrasound showed an enlarged ovary (I only have one left from a partial hysterectomy in 2002). My gyno says if I was post menapausal she would want to remove it right away. Since blood work showed the ovary was not in menapause she stated she was comfortable watching it for 3 months for me to recover from my exchange surgery (April 7th) and doing another ultrasound. At that time she wants to go ahead and remove the ovary. I did have CA-125 but my level was within normal range.

I am sorry that you are having difficulty. Hopefully you will be able to get some answers that will put your mind at ease.

weety

A few days got away from me after my gyn-onc appt.  I am having surgery on April 20th, laproscopically with gyn-onc present "just-in-case."  He says I'm not highly indicative of a malignancy, but have enough of the risk factors/physical features to be "of concern."  Wish me luck!  I think the waiting is the worst.