Cysts on ovaries
 

My onc called me back to say that although no tumors were found on the scan I have a cyst on each ovary. This was not on the prior scan.

He did not seem too concerned but is sending me for follow up. I wonder how concerned I should be? I am not er/pr+ so I didn't think I needed to worry about this. What should I ask the dr and can I now push to have them removed?

Thanks,
Tonya

Re: Cysts on ovaries
 

Hi

This happened to me too (although I just had 2 cysts on the left ovary only). They looked odd on ultrasound too but that ended up being because I was supposed to probably ovulate but didn't due to chemo, treatment, Taxoxifen (at that time) etc. So these cysts imploded and filled with blood and looked funny. Anyway, at the time I was 46 and really wanted my ovaries out so I could take Arimidex instead of Tamoxifen (because I am only ER+ and not PR and Tamoxifen usually doesn't work so well in that situation) and I did get them out. However, I was older than you are now and I was hormone positive which you are not.

I would definitely follow up but I think its just a "wanna be" ovulation and you still are in treatment and sometimes those poor wanna bes just don't know what to do so they just hang there (do I burst and ovulate or do I not). When you do follow up, make sure that if they are still there, they ultrasound you again in a few weeks. I guarantee they won't be there then I bet.

When you are told to "follow up" it always brings the fear of God into you. And remember that your onc already called them cysts (I think this is more common than anyone thinks when having been on or are currently on chemo and is only discovered because of testing of some sort. Mine were discovered because of a routine uterine ultrasound to measure baseline endometrium lining. I had just started Tamoxifen and Tamoxifen has a side effect of thickening the lining (and perhaps cause uterine cancer)...) So it goes.

Have a wonderful weekend and think about us in the Mid Altantic States. We are supposed to get 1-2 ft of snow.

Re: Cysts on ovaries
 

When diagnosed with breast cancer I was quite concerned about my ovaries, estrogen positive, early menses, late menopause, I thought there was significant history in the family (drs didn't), wanted them removed. My onc tried to reassure me that I need not worry about ovarian cancer as despite being in treatment for breast cancer, I was no more at risk for ovarian cancer than any other woman. I wanted another opinion and also asked for an ultrasound of my ovaries. They found two cysts on the one ovary, much to my horror, but in the end after lots of fretting and seeing four different doctors, everything was fine. Ovarian cysts are rare in menopausal women but not rare in younger women. I was sent to a Women's Center where I met with two Gynecologist/Oncologists and they wanted a second ultrasound which I did 3 months later. The cysts had resolved themselves and by that time I was ready to get off the train. Four doctors had told me I was no more at risk for ovarian cancer than any other woman and so I have relaxed and am going to let that part of things go. Life is a crap shoot and what will be will be so no point in worrying about ovarian cysts that are probably a common occurrence in a woman your age and will resolve. Have faith.

Re: Cysts on ovaries
 

Thank you both for your informative replies. I met with the ob/gyn and she is a little concerned about the size of one cysts. It is 6 cm so I'll do an ultra sound next week to get a better look.

Tonya

Re: Cysts on ovaries
 

I discovered an "ovarian" cyst around the same time my breast cancer was found. Because the cyst was about 12 cm they were concerned about it AND it could not be removed arthroscopically. SO, since I already had my lumpectomy scheduled, they threw in the bonus hysterectomy/oopherectomy at the same time. They discovered that the cyst was fused to my bladder, so they had to call in a urologist to cut it open to make sure that was not the origin. It was not, and it ended up not being on my ovary at all. Instead it originated from the point where my uterus and cervix met. It had only grown large enough to make it look like it was on my ovary. Everything was fine however - all was benign.

The main reason they want to watch it is that a lot of times, cysts take care of themselves and will go away.

Wishing you well!

Re: Cysts on ovaries
 

Hi! I get them ALL THE TIME. The first year after being diagnosed, I swear I had an U/S every 6 weeks. The protocol is to wait and see if they dissolve on their own--surgery is never the first option, unless there is torsion. I think you will be just fine.

I am on Tamoxifen, so mine are quite repetitive, but I have had them on and off for as long as I can remember (before BC).

Hang in there!

Re: Cysts on ovaries
 

One thing I want to add as well is when I got my ovarian ultrasound report back a nurse, the technician and two doctors had read it, and then me. I went with the report to my onc and asked how can these ovarian cysts be measured so large when the ovary itself is so small? The end of the story was the onc asked the same question as me, sent the report back, and lo and behold these huge cysts that I had..... ended up being very small as they had put the decimal in the wrong place twice in the one report so don't worry too much. They are so common at your age. When you get your next ultrasound, you will see that they have resolved and you will feel so good about it. All the best, Carolyn

Re: Cysts on ovaries
 

Carolyn your story about the decimal point reminds me of a mistake the radiologist's transcriptionist made on my last restaging cat scans. They found a cyst on my liver (which was originally small, just 1.6 cm).......but in the new report they said it was 60 mm (which translates to 16 cm!) I was so shaken (my onc didn't even notice this in the report, indifferent man that he was - he's no longer my onc).......I took the cat scan on a cd to my gastroenterologist and he looked at it and measured it on his computer and said they made a mistake. It wasn't 60mm........only 16mm.........he called it a "transcriptionist" error. I ranted and said, "Yes let's blame the underpaid transcriptionist.......not the radiologist who signed off on the report!" So I called the radiology department and ranted a bit about these kinds of errors causing unnecessary anxiety for breast cancer patients, and they agreed to have the head of radiology re-read the scan and issue a new report (without charge).

Tonya I hope the cysts on your ovaries turn out to be nothing. I also have cysts on each ovary and freaked out (because I'm Er+) but an obstetrical oncologist reassured me these are very normal and I'm at the same risk for ovarian cancer as any other woman (a fact that is sometimes NOT a fact, but an opinion - especially for BC women). Still my follow-up restaging scan showed the same cysts that didn't grow, so I calmed down. I'm now of the opinion that scans just cause me unnecessary "scanxiety" so I'm not as pushy about getting them any more - as long as I feel OK and don't have any symptoms.