Did you have anything found after your oophorectomy?

When I found out I was Palb2 with Breast Cancer I opted for a prophylactic open abdominal hysterectomy & oophorectomy. There were some extenuating reasons as to why it was a TAH instead of laproscopic ( definitely wish I had chosen that option.) In anycase my surgery was done by a GYN MO surgeon and even though it was prophylectic he made sure to send both abdominal washes and organs for complete pathology. Nothing was found.

He did tell me on follow up that ovarian cancer is very curable at stage 1 but is almost always found at that early stage by accident when women have procedures for alternative reasons. He strongly recomended prophylectic because I have an aunt who had ovarian cancer at a young age plus the palb2 gene. He explained that the screening for ovarian cancer is very poor. The science is not there yet.

I had a TAH/BSO to treat numerous fibroid tumors in my uterus nine years prior to diagnosis of breast cancer. I had a TVU done six months prior to the surgery and my ovaries appeared normal at that time. My GYN recommended ovary removal as I was 45, done with pregnancy, and had experienced some problems with large and painful ovarian cysts throughout my 20's-30's, including a rupture. Post-op pathology revealed uterine fibroids too numerous to count, making hysterectomy the correct choice since they could not be treated individually with another method. However, post-op pathology also revealed a 3cm pre-malignant teratoma on the right ovary which came as a surprise to all. This was all prior to breast cancer, but I had also experienced many simple and complex breast cysts during those same years, and had some combo of mammo/US every six months plus frequent US-guided aspirations and FNA throughout that time - so would have been considered high risk due to that and breast density. I had 3 or 4 cysts in each breast, including a complex cyst adjacent to the 2.6cm tumor in the right at the time of BMX, additional DCIS in the right that had moved into the lobules as well, and ADH and ALH in the left.

It happenned to the sister of a friend of mine, about twenty years ago though. The mother of the family had died in her early 40's of ovarian cancer. There were four daughters, one being my friend. One was diagnosed with oc after experiencing an episode of severe abdominal pain. Two of the sisters had prophylactic ooopherectomies. One, my friend, was fine. The other was found to actually have oc during surgery. In hindsight, her CA-125 levels had increased, though were still in the normal range.

I supported my friend through this time, having lost my own mother to ovarian cancer. Now I'm in my forties, the science has advanced, and I'm trying to decide on my own oophorectomy. My genetic testing is negative but my family history is strong and troubling. My friend's family story does haunt me, especially since there is still no reliable ovarian cancer screening.

I have strong family history of ovarian cancer and tested positive for BRIP1 genetic mutation. I was tested after my BC diagnosis and didn’t get the results of the test til a couple weeks after BMX with immediate DIEP reconstruction. Chose to have all the baby making parts removed during stage 2 reconstruction using lap-vag option. One of my ovaries was kind of lumpy looking and bigger than the other (I saw the photos) but luckily it was just cysts that made it lumpy and larger. Pathology is standard with just about anything they remove and it was all clear. Hoping the same for you. Let me know if you have any questions on the oophorectomy, BMX or natural tissue recon instead of implants!