Hello... from a newbie awaiting results

Hello,

I'm sorry you're having to go through this at the moment.

Your symptoms sound similar to mine right before I had my surgery. I had a fairly rare type of ovarian cancer (mucinous ovarian cancer (MOC)) which is more common in pre menopausal women. Before my operation they thought it was borderline. My cancer was diagnosed super early, at stage 1a, which is common with the mucinous type as they often cause large cysts and symptoms before spreading. 

If it helps, my journey was as follows:

May 2022: visited GP due to irregular spotting, at this point I had no other symptoms that I would have called out over and above PMS type

June 2022: after being referred for an ultrasound by the GP, I was told they had found a 'complex' cyst on my right ovary, measuring about 12cm. My CA125 blood tests came back normal. The GP sent a referral to the hospital under the urgent 2 week cancer referral (although this was expected to be largely precautionary at the time). GP also sent in a request for an MRI at this point. 

Late June 2022: attended gynae clinic at the hospital and saw a consultant who told me they'd be very surprised if it was cancer (due to my age, health etc) but couldn't rule it out. Had more blood tests which were all normal  Had a MRI scan. 

July 2022: scan results came back and determined the cyst was either borderline or cancerous. The regional team reviewed and decided it was likely borderline. 

August 2022: by this point the cyst had grown and I was getting symptoms similar to those you describe, it felt like being pregnant  had surgery to remove the cyst, ovary, appendix and do various biopsies. 2.5 weeks later the biopsy results came back saying it was cancer but contained within the ovary.

I've been told I don't need any further treatment for now, but will have another ultrasound in 6 months and regular checkups for the next 5-10 years. I've also been told to consider completion surgery after completing my family. 

I don't mean to share this to scare you, just to give you an example of what the process could be. It's extremely unlikely that a mucinous cyst would be cancerous (there's around 200 cases a year in the UK of MOC) - I just got unlucky! I believe it would have been the same for a borderline cyst, whereas something completely benign could possibly be removed without the ovary - although I'm no medical expert so don't take that as a given!

In terms of the discomfort, I would 100% recommend digging out the pregnancy pillow! I'm still using an extra pillow between my legs as I'm recovering from the surgery. Before my surgery I was also getting uncomfortable walking too far and had to limit my activity slightly. 

Let me know if there's anything else I can share that might be helpful - and I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for good news for you. 

Thanks so much for sharing and taking the time to reply GreenOrchard - I really appreciate it. Sounds like you've been on quite a journey over the last few months - I'm sure it's been a lot to process, and obviously now surgery to recover from too. Hope everything is going smoothly for you.

I have an appointment scheduled with the GP for Tues 20 but given the symptoms are worsening I think I'll call in the hope they might see me sooner. That said, I guess it's a waiting game until the ultrasound results are back regardless. I think it's just with the pregnancy-like discomfort, even sitting down to work for any period of time is tricky.

The lack of appetite / inability to eat much has come on quite suddenly in the last few days which is really unlike me. And that doesn't help with tiredness - I'm finding I fancy a wee nap early afternoon which might not fly in the office! ‍♀️

Thanks again for taking the time to reply - helps me feel a bit less like I'm going mad!!

Definitely call and leave a message for the GP so they know your symptoms have moved on. 

Have you already had your ultrasound? Did they say anything while you were there? They told me while I was at mine that they'd found a cyst, and the GP had the report within around 10 days. I don't know if this was sped up because of what they found or not. 

Hopefully if the report had anything untoward in they'd call you up and bring your appointment forward. 

My suggestion with food is just to go for little and often and try high energy density foods like nuts just to get something to keep you going. 

I hope you hear something back soon, waiting is the worst!