Large Ovary - CA-125

[MummyToPrince]

Has anyone had this or can reassure me in any way please ..
I'm 29 and have 2 children. My periods have always been dead on since I was 13 until January. I have been bleeding nearly all year and started getting pain in my lower left abdomen. In October it become severe and constant so I went to hospital in October and they done scans and said I'm 'bulky' on the left side and a gynecologist said I'm too young for it to be anything serious and it's nothing to worry about. in novemeber i returned back to hospistal still in server pain where they did another scan and said they would do a follow up with my results. I recieved a letter to say my left ovary is infact 10cm and should be 2.5cm. I have a CA-125 blood test this Thursday (which I had to ask for) The pain is horrific, for the past 4 weeks I've been so so tired and feeling weak, I have no appetite and feel full all the time and I'm worried sick 😞

Has anyone had this ?

Thank you for reading x

Not in the same position but I think it is reassuring that the Dr didn't request the test themself.

I think the chances are this is hormonal but I understand how worrying this is. My ovary was also enlarged, didn't have any further tests but it must have been ok as this was over 6 years ago!

Why have you needed to ask for such a test?. Such a test is only a marker for inflammation.

You also need an up to date internal ultrasound scan to assess the state of your ovary. It could well be some sort of ovarian cyst . As there are several types of cysts it needs to be determined what type you have.

@Loki01 Thank you for replying, I'm really hoping it is hormonal. I worried as it runs through my family and I sadly lost my mum through cancer when she was 45 and she was also told 'your too young for it to be anything bad' x

@AttilaTheMeerkat It also can give me reassurance that it's not cancer and when I spoke to the Dr he said if the results come back in the hundreds then it could indicate a serious problem. If you thought you had something that was cancerous would you not ask for a test that may give you an answer/reassurance ? They have apparently looked for ovarian cysts but couldn't see any and just said my ovary is 10cm and shouldn't be.

My mum died of ovarian cancer so I'm constantly on the alert. I have uterine fibroids and IBS both of which cause terrible abdominal pain and mean that a few times a year I'm convinced that I'm following in mum's footsteps when really it's nothing. Just saying this to let you know that there are so many reasons for pain and bleeding and most of them are not life threatening but it's so easy to jump to the worst conclusion. Ask for an ultrasound for reassurance. Fibroids can cause a raised ca125 result but they're harmless. You are young and most likely you are fine x

@Billybabs I'm so sorry for your loss xx My mum sadly passed away from cancer too and I think what's worrying me more is the size of my ovary as silly as it sounds but like you I'm on alert aswell. Also once you start thinking will it happen to me its hard to get that thought out your head. Thank you for replying on my post x

I had this and it turned out to be a 10cm cyst that had sort of attached itself and grown around my ovary. I had to have surgery to have it removed. I'm the same age as you, OP. They also did the ca125 test and it was fine.

I’ve had ovarian cancer. The result of my CA-125 was normal. You need a CT scan to look at your ovaries. That’s what you need to push for.

@BilaB Thank you for replying, thank you for the reassurance I'm sorry you had to got through all that, hopefully mine is the same as yours x

@talkingmorenonsense I had a CT scan done that's when they said I'd have a follow up appointment to discuss my result but I recieved a letter a couple of days ago to say my ovary is 10cm and they are thinking about doing a laparoscopy. Thank you for replying x

My mum had ovarian cancer at age 20. You're not too young. There was no family history. The type she had is called dysgerminoma. She had the exact same symptoms as you, feeling full, pain, etc.

Good news is she had it removed ( in the 1960's) and it was incased. She went on to have 4 kids.

Please push harder. Your symptoms are worthy of further investigation.

Was not suggesting you should not have a ca125 test performed but it is all too easy to think the worst possible when there are many other causes. Do you think you’ve been properly investigated to date?.

They apparently looked for ovarian cysts and not seen any - my guess is that they’ve missed something fundamental here. Would concur with having another set of scans performed to assess state of ovaries.

If you have a lap done ensure it’s not a mere diagnostic type of laparoscopy.

A lap is usually performed when endometriosis is suspected, it’s the gold standard op for such. Chocolate cysts called endometriomas can cause both pain and bloating to arise.

My ovarian cancer was diagnosed from ultrasound and confirmed by CT. If they’re not telling you it’s very worrying after both I would think you are OK. They were very clear with me that it was looking like cancer from day 1.

I had ovarian cancer when I was 28. I had bilateral ovarian cysts measuring 6cm each but my CA125 was within normal limits. My enlarged ovaries could be seen on ultrasound, when my gynaecologist went to remove the cysts he could see that what was on my left ovary was not a normal cyst. I think you need to keep pushing for more investigations and advocating for your own health, but at the same time remember that you are young and ovarian cancer is not common. Hugs to you, I know how stressful this is.

My ovarian cancer was only diagnosed after surgery to remove the cyst and a hysterectomy. The mass was tested and I got the results, when I went for a follow up two weeks later.