Re: Ovarian ultrasound yesterday. Referred urgently for a CA125 blood test- scared
I really can't remember what they said to be honest. It was a long time ago.
It all sounds routine and normal to me and not necessarily urgent. The two-week referral is normal as well.
Re: Ovarian ultrasound yesterday. Referred urgently for a CA125 blood test- scared
Please try not to " read " any online info which won't have any bearing on your case?
Re: Ovarian ultrasound yesterday. Referred urgently for a CA125 blood test- scared
Quote:
Originally Posted by
pulisa
Please try not to " read " any online info which won't have any bearing on your case?
Avoiding anything on Google, but joined the cancerresearchuk chat support forum where people are waiting on urgent two weeks referrals for suspect cysts. I've avoided going near any threads where cancer is confirmed, and have stuck only to things relevant to me. Many of them are in the same stage as I am in the process and have no idea if it's serious or not. There are nurses there who help with info on what to expect. Unfortunately quite a few of them seem to say an ultrasound is very good at telling if something is likely to be cancerous or not, but that you have to wait to see what the specialists think. They also said that 9/10 people who are referred via the two week cancer referral are not diagnosed with cancer. So that's somewhat comforting. It definitely helps to have professionals giving me solid info, but the ultrasound comments threw me a little.
Edit: The support forum is for people waiting too. I didn't want to seem like I was joining a forum just for people with cancer as that would be extremely selfish!
Re: Ovarian ultrasound yesterday. Referred urgently for a CA125 blood test- scared
An ultrasound will just pinpoint the characteristics of the lesion. Nothing is 100% definite. It's an inconclusive result but will indicate whether further investigations are necessary.
I had an experience recently when ultrasound/biopsy indicated malignancy and the Royal Marsden Hospital were asked for a second opinion but couldn't give one without having the lesion removed. It was benign.
It isn't cancer until your specialist tells you it is..as FMP so wisely says.
Re: Ovarian ultrasound yesterday. Referred urgently for a CA125 blood test- scared
Quote:
Originally Posted by
pulisa
An ultrasound will just pinpoint the characteristics of the lesion. Nothing is 100% definite. It's an inconclusive result but will indicate whether further investigations are necessary.
I had an experience recently when ultrasound/biopsy indicated malignancy and the Royal Marsden Hospital were asked for a second opinion but couldn't give one without having the lesion removed. It was benign.
It isn't cancer until your specialist tells you it is..as FMP so wisely says.
Very true. At least I'm getting seen to very quickly, so if there's anything amiss, hopefully it's easily treatable. I'm setting my hopes on them turning around and saying "Oh it's just a slightly weird looking benign growth and you can go along your merry way" :D
Re: Ovarian ultrasound yesterday. Referred urgently for a CA125 blood test- scared
Quote:
Originally Posted by
WorryRaptor
Very true. At least I'm getting seen to very quickly, so if there's anything amiss, hopefully it's easily treatable. I'm setting my hopes on them turning around and saying "Oh it's just a slightly weird looking benign growth and you can go along your merry way" :D
There's every chance of that but I expect it will be hard to keep your HA mindset "tamed". Not long until your appointment though which is good. Knowledge of your OWN condition is power x
Re: Ovarian ultrasound yesterday. Referred urgently for a CA125 blood test- scared
A quick update.
So I'm extremely confused. With that confusion comes doubt (thanks anxiety).
I went to the urgent gynae oncologist appointment yesterday, on the verge of tears because of this complex cyst I was told I had. All of those urgent calls and quick appointments have been terrifying.
So two doctors sat me down and told me they weren't remotely worried at all. That not only were they completely unconcerned, the ultrasound images they had received were apparently bad quality. The main gynae said she didn't even think there was a cyst at all and she had no idea what they thought they'd seen. She said, just to confirm this, that she would do an ultrasound there and then herself. She almost seemed annoyed by the whole thing. Meanwhile, I'm crying like an idiot because I was very directly told that I had a complex cyst which had prompted all of these urgent tests and appointments. I had come to terms with the possibility of having cancer, while not telling any of my family or friends.
So, she did the second ultrasound and said that it was all fine. I have slightly polycystic ovaries (which I knew about anyway). She said her u/s machine could take much better images than the one from my previous ultrasound. I asked about the cyst and she said there's none, you were probably ovulating at the time and the follicle collapsed in on itself.
The appointment was over in about 15 minutes, and that was that. She said she was sending a report to my doctor but I didn't have anything cancerous.
I can't feel relieved, I honestly can't believe it. I feel like any second they will call to tell me they did in fact see something. I keep worrying that maybe she only looked at one ovary and the report had the wrong side listed. I know all of that is irrational though.
I want to be overjoyed but I'm stuck in the same tense headspace I've been in for the past two weeks. Yesterday was a blur but I'm clinging to the fact she said "You definitely DO NOT have cancer in there". I almost feel scared to say it out loud in case I get another urgent phone call. My brain feels fried by this whole experience.
Also, I just don't get how this kind of thing could happen. It's such a freak incident that the u/s sonographer took bad images, the person who reviewed it decided it was possibly cancer, called me in for urgent tumour marker tests, then my own gp referring me urgently too, only for the gynae to tell me I was probably just ovulating in a funny way. Surely this doesn't happen often? I can't imagine women who are just ovulating get fast tracked to cancer investigations. That would be a massive drain on NHS resources.
Anyway, I'm still in shock, but I guess I wanted to update this in case anybody is going through a similar worry. Sometimes it actually turns out to be absolutely nothing at all, even when it looked bad in the first place.
Re: Ovarian ultrasound yesterday. Referred urgently for a CA125 blood test- scared
I know you are in a state of shock but it IS good news...really good news but it's been a terrifying experience for you especially as you have HA.
I'm sure you would be entitled to make an official complaint but that would just involve more doubt and anxiety, I suppose?
I was diagnosed with a condition in my twenties which was later put down to a dodgy x ray machine...It wasn't cancer-related though so nothing as frightening as your experience.
You HAVE to focus on the "no cancer" FACT despite all the HA voices urging you to be suspicious and doubting of the doctors' judgement based on yesterday's appointment. I hope you will soon receive a hospital letter which spells out the situation and gives you visual confirmation of your clear bill of health x
Re: Ovarian ultrasound yesterday. Referred urgently for a CA125 blood test- scared
Quote:
Originally Posted by
pulisa
I know you are in a state of shock but it IS good news...really good news but it's been a terrifying experience for you especially as you have HA.
I'm sure you would be entitled to make an official complaint but that would just involve more doubt and anxiety, I suppose?
I was diagnosed with a condition in my twenties which was later put down to a dodgy x ray machine...It wasn't cancer-related though so nothing as frightening as your experience.
You HAVE to focus on the "no cancer" FACT despite all the HA voices urging you to be suspicious and doubting of the doctors' judgement based on yesterday's appointment. I hope you will soon receive a hospital letter which spells out the situation and gives you visual confirmation of your clear bill of health x
Thank you :) Yeah, I'm slowly relaxing now as a couple of days have passed and there's been no urgent calls. Hopefully I'll be able to let this be a distant memory soon. I'm focusing on really taking care of my overall health and let go of the hypervigilance. The stress I cause myself is more likely to cause more harm than any number of the conditions I may or may not have.
The really weird thing is, when it seemed like there was genuinely something the doctors were concerned about, my anxiety took a back seat, and I became (for the most part) very calm and reasonable. Inside I was terrified of course, but I had accepted that bad news was a possibility and that I would deal with whatever came.
While the whole ordeal was indeed really taxing on my mental health, I can't help but be grateful that an over cautious sonographer thought they saw something. It means they didn't dismiss something, even if it looked vague. That could mean somebody else's life being saved if something slightly questionable showed up for them and turned out to be something serious. Still, I would have preferred not to experience any of this!
Re: Ovarian ultrasound yesterday. Referred urgently for a CA125 blood test- scared
A very reasoned response there to a difficult situation and a great outcome. Its interesting that you say that 'anxiety took the back seat' after acceptance that it might be something wrong - when I was diagnosed with 'something wrong' I was anxious, yes of course, but the acceptance meant that I had to just get on and deal with it, there was no choice.