oopherectomy

Maya847

Hello all,

I apologize if this is addressed in someone elses' post....  I am triple negative and BRCA 2 positive.  Went through chemo and then bilateral mastectomy with diep flap reconstruction.  (I actually have my second surgery next month for the reconstruction).  At any rate my doctor is recommending oopherectomy.  The reasoning is the BRCA + and my grandmother died from ovarian cancer.  I was 46 when dx last year and chemo through me into menopause after first treatment.  Oncologist tells me the ovaries are not producing estrogen now.  If that is the case why should I have the ooph?  I was not smart enough to ask this when I was in his office.

Poke

When you remove your ovaries, you are reducing your risk of ovarian cancer which is increased due to your gene mutation. I hope this answers your question. 

chatter99

I had mine removed because my breast cancer was strongly estrogen positive. That was during my 2nd round with bc. I don't recall any bad side effects from the oopherectomy.

JRyan

Hi Maya847,

I too am BRCA2+. I just had ooph on monday. Chemo put me in menopause so the darn things were just sitting there waiting to cause me problems. Pretty simple procedure. But with ovarian cancer being so hard to screen for, it makes sense to get rid of them before they go bad.

9911

Maya847-

TN & BRCA2+ ... I had myfallopian tubes and ovaries removed. I had chemo twice ... that's enough for me. It's a very easy surgery. Nothing like BMX & flap surgery ... I had that too.  I was back to normal the next day ... without doing anything crazy.

~LA

hydeskate

I inherited the Brac 1 gene from my mother who had breast cancer in her late 20's and she had a hystercotomy and ovaries removed before she was 30.  My doctor's want me to get an oop at 35, I am still debating it becasue my mom had it removed and her sister who also had breast cancer in her 20's both died in there 50's of take a wild guess ovarian cancer.  Even though they removed them they still got it.  So the way I figure I am going to wait I have enough to deal with between the side effects of chemo and this studpid auto immune disorder I am not about to add menopause.  My GYN at first wanted to take them out as soon I got NED, my ONC wants to wait becasue she doesn't want to send me in menopause, but know that I have been Stable/Ned whatever (I am Stage IV) now my Gyn is done an about face and asking when I plan to have a kid last year.....My next appointment is in Nov for the GYN so we will see what she says since I am 2 years away from the 35 year mark when the genetics people said i should have them removed.

Maya847

thanks to all who responded.  I plan on having my ooph after the first of the year.

slinky

I am BRAC1+, ER+.  I had a BMX and a full hysterectomy last year.  My onc put me into medical menopause early into my treatment, so I experienced all the side effects before the actual hysterectomy.  My doc said my chances for ovarian cancer was higher because I am BRCA1+.

I chose a full hysterectomy over chemo.  Doc gave me the choice.  Not everyone's situation allows for this choice, but it worked for me.  I cannot take any Tamox, Femara or estrogen blockers.  My body had a hard time on all of them.  For now, I keep my body fat as low as possible because the adrenal glands produce estrogen.

I do not have many menopausal symptoms.  A hot flash here and there and thats about it.  It has been much easier than I expected.

Good luck to you.  May I suggest that you speak to your onc about Lupron shots.  That way you are not slammed into menopause!

MiniMacsMom

I am BRCA 2+ and the genetic counsellor said that OOPH are usually recommended for BRCA 1 between 30-35 and 35-40 for BRCA2.  If I remember correctly ovarian cancer is a higher risk for BRCA 1 patients at an earlier age.  Yes the OOPH doesn't remove all risk of ovarian cancer, like MX don't remove all risk of BC but it helps significantly.    Functionally, i don't know if shutting down the ovaries chemically will do the same thing for preventing the ovarian cancer as it does for helping to reduce BC risk.  THe ovarian shutdown is a ER + solution for those of us for whom tamox doesn't work enough, Though one of my MOs isn't convinced there is enough evidence to prove that the shutdown is entirely needed. 

If you haven't been told there is another blood test along with the cancer antigen test that is a mroe accurate test for ovarian cancer.  Its called the OVA 1 test and it uses the CA antigen and a few other factors to indicated the likelyhood of ovarian cancer.  Its still not phenomenal, but its another bit of info to add if you are worried or at risk for ovarian cancer. 

Maya847

Thanks MiniMacsMoms , I had the CA125 test done and I assume the OVA1 test is different.   I am going to go with the ooph and be done with it.  Not sure what follow up is needed after that...for the ovarian cancer risk.

Thanks Slinky, I was thrown into menopause after my first chemo treatment.  The rest of chemo was easy!  I remember laying on the floor, curled up and feeling like someone was hitting me over and over with a baseball bat.  I had a period for 18 days and then nothing since.  You said you had the chemical menopause prior to your hysterectomy?  I saw my onc last week and he told me the joint pain and memory loss I am experiencing is most likley due to being thrown into menopause the way I was.  I asked if it would get worse once the ovaries were removed and he said it could.  I know you said you don't have symptoms now but did you notice any change in your symptoms from when you first went into menopause and then after the hysterectomy...or has it just been consistently mild?  

Thanks again to everyone!

Sandlake

I am triple negative and BRCA2+ too.  I had a complete hysterectomy by the Da Vinci method in August.  Also had a BMX with reconstruction in September.  Recovery for the hysterectomy was minimal, just very bloated with gas.  

Good luck to you!