Need some advice - Cancer: Breast Message Board

Missy7 · 03-19-2003, 04:59 PM

Hi, I'm 28 years old and I wanted to ask if any of you out there can relate to the symptoms I've been having. It runs in the women in my family to always have bowel problems. Although nothing as serious as cancer, bloating, gas and constipation have always been around. Last year my sister was diagnosed with IBS.

After a depression stage, from what I can remember for roughly 2 years now, I've been having a light pulsating pain on my lower left side. It can come at any time/day but doesn't last any longer than 15-30mins. at a time. I can't seem to relate it to anything (ie: after eating, on empty stomach, stress, periods etc). I never felt the need to take pain killers for it as it's not that painful. The severity of the pain hasn't changed (increased/decreased) over the years but one thing I notice is that I never get the pains during my period. This led me to believe that it might be related to my ovary so I requested an ultrasound, PAPs and blood tests which all came back normal.

I've been on a contraceptive pill for the last 10 months and it didn't make any difference to the pain. This and other symptoms led my doctor to suggest that it's not related to my reproductive system and like my sister, she believes, I too have IBS. I've never had regular bowel movements and I go through phases of passing pebble like hard stools along with mucus at times (sorry about the toilet talk). Bloating and gas are also a concern which are all known to be symptoms of IBS.

My doctor referred me to have a colonoscopy which I haven't been as yet. Reading over the symptoms of ovarian cancer, I keep worrying that they're misdiagnosing me and that scares the hell out of me. I've had these pains come and go for almost 2 years now and my doctor said if it was as serious as ovarian cancer, I'd be at an advanced stage by now and would have surely had other symptoms and not look as healthy as I do. Can any of you out there give me some insight into ovarian cancer or whether you think my symptoms are relating to something as serious as that? Very confused. Thanks heaps for your time.

Lithiate · 03-19-2003, 10:17 PM

Missy,

Have you ever had your thyroid levels checked? You mentioned a couple of things in your post that made me wonder if it might not be thyroid related: depression and hard, difficult to pass stools (some would consider this constipation), being the two most obvious. Are you more sensitive to cold or heat than others? Lots of fatigue? A family history of thyroid disease?

The pain in your lower left abdomen sounds like it should be checked out for an ovarian cyst. As far as that goes, cysts are very common and tend to occur and then go away on their own. Basically, a cyst forms on your ovary every time you ovulate, but sometimes for reasons not completely understood, a cyst forms on your ovary and continues to grow without going away. Typtically, they're not assoiated with cancer, but they hurt like a son-of-a-gun all the time!

I'm not saying that these are definitely things that are happening to you, but I'm hypothyroid and I've had a whopper of an ovarian cyst a few years ago, so I always have to ask to make sure. In all likelihood, you're not dying of ovarian cancer, but perhaps you'd feel best if your gyno performed an ultrasound to rule out anything like cysts. Large cysts can usually be felt during your pelvic exam, but sometimes it's just easier to see the results of an ultrasound, for peace of mind if nothing else.

Sarah

[This message has been edited by Lithiate (edited 03-20-2003).]

Missy7 · 03-20-2003, 06:58 PM

Thank you so much for replying. My initial suspicion was ovarian cysts as well but I actually did get an ultrasound and nothing was found. The ovaries were normal. My doctor included a test for thyroid also and that, too, came back fine. Looks like I'm gonna have to do the much dreaded colonoscopy to rule out it's not related to any bowel problems. Very frustrating. Thanks again for replying and I hope you're feeling better yourself.