Handhold if anyone’s around? Scan yesterday at 5pm, GP called this morning

[GiveOverWillYou]

Wondering if anyone has any experience/insights?
Late 40s, on HRT. Cycle usually still rock solid, horrendously heavy, except for last few (2-3) months - spotting, random bleeds, periods when not due. Bit of pelvic discomfort.
Went to GP, but kind of hoped assumed it was the beginning of the end of periods and just the timing going haywire/and to find out how I should be taking progesterone as had previously been on that Day 15-28 and cycle being out of whack meant that that regime was going to be hard to do. GP said she could feel something on the left hand side. Recent CA125 was fine, recent smear was clear ‘but cervix is very red’. My cervix has always defied medical science (that’s another story) so wasn’t unduly worried. They upped progesterone to 200mg daily, put me on the 2 week wait for internal/external US. It’s been 5 weeks 😬but I had the US last night after 5 o’clock. Sonographer was rummaging around for ages (over 30 mins) and made a point of saying the GP will be in touch, but if they aren’t, you must contact them. I know they usually can’t/don’t say much. Told myself that it was good that the tests have been done and that I’d hear in due course, not to worry in the meantime. Then this morning I have had 3 calls from the GP before 10am, which I missed as was in a work meeting with phone off. I called them back and they asked me to come in at noon. So now of course I am absolutely shitting myself, and have self-diagnosed with every gynae cancer going.
Don’t know what I’m asking for really, other than a handhold, and if anyone has had similar happen and it turned out to be something that wasn’t nefarious. I feel lucky that at least I find out what’s going on this morning but the speed at which they’ve followed up is terrifying me 😧Speculation of course, but I can’t help but feel that if this was, I dunno, fibroids, there wouldn’t be this level of urgency this morning

I’m really sorry you’ve had bad news OP. I really hope it turns out to be benign. As a cancer patient myself I can only guess how you must be feeling. This bit really is the worst. Once you know for sure what is wrong - good or bad news - it gets a lot easier to deal with and you will find strength you never knew you had. Stay away from google and deal only with facts and not what ifs.
Sending you lots of love and hugs. I hope you don’t have to wait too long to find out what is wrong.💐

I am so sorry the news wasn't better than it could have been. I'd park the GP and how they dealt with telling you for now, put in a complaint to the practise manager another day, and deal with what you need to as and when.
I hope your husband is going to be supportive for you too. I take it he was aware of what was happening, as much as you knew was happening?
Just know you have a whole team of us right behind you here, for the highs and even those lows 💐

Your GP has no idea if it’s cancer or not, and the cancer alert is them trying to be as cautious as possible!!! I can’t believe their lack of sensitivity in this..

Hold tight, breathe and wait for any results. It very well could be benign, and if not, there is lots to help xxx

Hang in there! Hand-hold from here.
(Remember that you are most likely told the worse case first. It is easier to come back with better news than to have to explain it is all worse than expected.)
Two months ago we had a similar scare: large mass detected -a further scan then showed most unlikely anything but cancer... followed by biopsy that showed it benign.
May this happen for you.

Sending you all the best wishes in the world. And enjoy that wine and bath, you deserve it. Best of luck

OP I'm so sorry 💜
I could have written exactly your last post, word by word.
It was at the end cancer (not avarian) and here I am 10 years after that.

You are at the most difficult part of the journey. And the anger/ shock/ disbelief comes in waves.
It's going to be difficult because you still don't know the exact details but please please keep this in mind: at some point in the near future you will be writing posts like this one to strangers on the Internet telling them your story. And you will be fine. And you will worry again about the silly stuff that doesn't matter.

Take one day at a time. And when days are tough, one hour at a time. Will be thinking of you. Keep writing if that helps xxx

That sounds like a very bad way of delivering the US results by your GP. As others have said it need not necessarily be cancer. The sonographer discovered a mass on one of my ovaries when I had a 12 week scan when pregnant with my second daughter. They operated the next day and it turned out to be an ovarian cyst so they removed it and the ovary. That was almost 40 years ago. I hope yours turns out to be something similar.

A bit gobsmacked your husband did not go with you so he deserved a bollocking if you told him it sounded serious as of course it was. Fingers crossed that when they remove it they can confirm it is benign.

oh @GiveOverWillYou I have just rtft and I am so so sorry about your day and news.

Cling onto hope.

wishing you well.

Haven't read the entire thread, so don't know if you've already had clarifying results. But I'm guessing no, since everything, everything, takes time. Anyway, I'm not a doctor, so I'm just guessing. But in case it helps, my guess is that a large mass is less likely to be truly vicious that a smaller one. Something grapefruit-sized which is only producing some symptoms, not landing you straight in the emergency room, is probably not very invasive or very metastatic. So hope is not just wishful thinking.

The uncertainty is awful.

Also, if your husband is not otherwise quite self-absorbed, not sure you need to be hard on him. I mean, you're right he ought to be thinking about you but it can be hard for anyone to switch over to a new and potentially terrifying reality. He'll need to get his act together soonish, but that he didn't do so immediately is maybe not a cardinal sin.

Keep your chin up, OP

I had cancer of the uterus and had "everything taken away" then radiotherapy.

20 years later, I'm still here (touch wood)
Lean on DH (now he's had his telling off)

So sorry OP. Sending love and best wishes 😢❤️

I'm so sorry the news were not what you wanted to hear, but NO ONE, either your GP or any specialist, can ascertain if the mass is malignant or not until a biopsy is performed.

I'm going to go out on a limb here - a malignant mass the size of a grapefruit would have spread to other organs now with accompanying symptoms.

My oldest brother went to his GP 7 years ago because suddenly his appetite was gone and lost 10 kg in a month. An x-ray revealed a large mass in a kidney, suspected of being cancer. The GP urgently referred him to a specialist, who performed a barrage of testing looking for malignant spread to other organs, considering how big was the mass. All the testing was negative. His specialist told him he had two choices - go to surgery and remove the kidney, or wait for the biopsy results. The results could take 4-6 weeks and if the mass was malignant those weeks could be essential to his life. My brother chose surgery, and the results of the biopsy eventually showed the mass was a huge fibroid.

It's normal you are panicking and thinking the worst but "suspected" cancer is not a diagnosis. It may be a huge fibroid.

Thinking of you OP

I am so sorry to read this @GiveOverWillYou.

as hard as it is, try and take one day at a time and focus on the facts. Right now you don’t know what it is, but you are going to find out.

Will be thinking of you x

I’m so sorry to read your update. You were on my mind all day yesterday. Sounds like the GP couldn’t have been any more insensitive! Take one day at a time - these things move quickly for a reason, hopefully the outcome will be far less severe than what they are guessing..sending hugs xx

Wishing you so much love and luck OP .

Your GP handled this very badly. I hope it doesn't take too long to clarify exactly what is going on. I hope your DH is being extra nice to you now.

Hang on in there until you’ve got more info from the hospital. Sounds like the GP was useless, hopefully it’ll get better with hospital staff who have more experience 💐

I’m so sorry your GP was so awful. The overwhelmingly vast majority of people I’ve spoken to who have ever been on a cancer pathway - whether towards a cancer diagnosis or not - have said that the treatment is exemplary, that the NHS steps UP when serious things are suspected. I hope this is the case for you and the rest of your experience is good.

Hope you feel ok this morning. Will be thinking of you.

I had something sounding very similar - they even used the grapefruit sized mass ‘terminology’ and were working on the basis it was end stage ovarian cancer (that was 14 years ago), including giving me a pamphlet about it.

However, it was ‘only’ bilateral tubo ovarian accesses on my fallopian tubes which, due to the infection, symptoms and hard distended swollen stomach was presenting as advanced ovarian cancer.

It was still pretty major - with a not insignificant time in the gynae oncology ward and two fairly invasive surgical procedures but it wasn’t ovarian cancer. (The reason I remained in the gynae oncology ward was that complex gynae issues require more specialist surgery than the ‘regular’ gynae surgical teams can provide.

This may or may not reassure - but I thought I’d share.

Wishing you the best x

I'd been reading your thread yesterday OP and I've just seen your update. I'm sorry that there's potential bad news but I'll keep everything crossed for you that it's something simpler, or it's benign.

I haven't read everyone's responses since the update, but if no-one else has suggested it, maybe consider giving the GP some polite feedback on how she dealt with the situation. It sounds as though she could do with some further training on delivering sensitive information to patients.

I hope your equally useless DH has also stepped up since and is now giving you the support and comfort you need.

Oh my goodness what a horrible day you had. But thank goodness you had gone to the GP in the first place despite assuming it was going to be menopause. Your GP at the midday appointment sounds shocking and you should definitely flag that to the practice manager. But that can wait. Concentrate on yourself. Trust DH has had a strong word with himself and put himself on a performance improvement plan.

OP I really hope it turns out not to be cancer, and that you don't have to wait long to find out. Xx

All the best OP.

Another stranger here who will be thinking of you until you get a diagnosis, and fervently hoping that is "just" a lump that they can whip out and have you back on your feet again. I can only imagine how scared you feel right now.

I’m so sorry that the GP didn’t deliver the news in a compassionate and concise wise. That is the least you can expect under these circumstances. Sending you lots of love xx