QuestionHi. I am a 31 year old otherwise healthy person who had a ruptured cyst that sent me to the emergency room. Subsequent to a CT scan, pelvic, and vaginal ultrasounds, the ER physician said there was a 4cm mass on my left ovary. He was very vague in answering my hundreds of questions. When asked if it could be cancer, he replied, "that's a possibility". He immediately referred me to my gynecologist. She diagnosed me with a complex mass which she intends to monitor for another menstrual cycle ( it may decrease on its own). She informed me that I did not have cancer--how does she know? She had the same results the ER physician had. Should I ask for a cancer test?I am just very nervous and the waiting is horrendous. Do I have reason to be concerned?
AnswerDear Kristina, If the ULTRASOUND showed this as a complex ovarian mass, then even though there is a chance it could be cancer, there is also a chance it is not.... The FACT that this has been seen as a COMPLEX cyst/mass, this means that it is filled with BOTH fluid and tissue and not just a SIMPLE cyst that is just filled with fluid... This gives this cyst/mass a BETTER chance of being cancer, but unless this is actually removed and biopsied, there is no way of knowing "FOR SURE"..... Your doctor could do a CA-125 blood test which is classified as a TUMOR MARKER blood test for ovarian cancer.... The only problem with these types of blood tests are that they are often NOT accurate either... What I mean by this is, if you have a tracable amount of cancer in the blood, then the positive results would most likely mean that you DO have ovarian cancer... However, if the cancer cells in the blood are NOT at levels to actually trace, then a NEGATIVE result in the blood test could actually be a FALSE/NEGATIVE.....
You need to get a copy of the ultrasounds that were done at the hospital... READ exactly what the radiologist is interpreting about what he sees, and then make sure your doctor is REALLY paying attention to what the radiologist is reporting.... Family doctors and OB/GYN's often miss things the hospital radiologist is telling them..... If you can get a copy of the radiology reports and write back the RESULTS to me (radiologist ALWAYS have a space on the report that says "impression" and this is where they tell the doctor exactly what they see and also make recommendations to the doctor for FURTHER treatment or follow-ups....
Here are a couple of web sites that may help you understand some things about complex ovarian cyst/mass....
http://emedicinehealth.com/articles/18443-5.asp
www.wdxcyber.com/ncanc07.htm
www.wdxcyber.com/movarmas.htm
Get back to me if you can get more info from the ultrasound reports.... thank you, karen
