Day 4: A Month of Teal - You Experience Symptoms. Now What?

Yesterday I wrote about symptoms. What if you have those symptoms? What do you do?

I recommend reaching out to your gynecologist for an appointment. Be sure to mention the severity and duration of the symptoms you feel. The gynecologist will most likely:

• do a PAP test ( if you haven't had one )
• perform internal pelvic exam
• get your family history ( let her know about any breast, ovarian, colon  cancer in your family - both mother and father's side). Ovarian cancer and breast cancer have a hereditary link (BRCA mutations) as does colon cancer ( Lynch Syndrome).
• if your doctor has concerns she may send you for a transvaginal ultrasound and also run a CA-125 blood test. 

 For graphics of the pelvic exam and transvaginal ultrasound mentioned above please see this page ( https://www.cancer.gov/types/ovarian/patient/ovarian-screening-pdq#section/_12)  on the NCI website.

If your results show the possibility of ovarian cancer please ask for a referral to see a gynecologic oncologist. Studies have shown that women treated by gynecologic oncologists have better outcomes. See The Relevance of Gynecologic Oncologists to Provide High-Quality of Care to Women with Gynecological Cancer for more information - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4712269/ .

Dee
Every day is a Blessing!

I Have Symptoms - Now What?

If you have any of the  symptoms that I mentioned in my post of September  3^rd , you should make an appointment to see a physician, preferably your gynecologist. There is NO screening test for ovarian cancer for the general public. But there are a few tests that your doctor may run if he/she suspects you have ovarian cancer.

At your appointment with the gynecologist you may have a pelvic exam. If you are due for a PAP test your gynecologist may do it at this time too. Remember a PAP test is a screening test for cervical cancer.

In addition to the medical tests she may do, you doctor will ask questions about your personal medical history as well as that of your family.  Be sure to mention to your doctor if anyone in your immediate family (aunts /uncles too) has had breast or ovarian cancer or has Lynch syndrome. About 10 % of ovarian cancers are hereditary. (Tomorrow's post will discuss risk factors.)

If your doctor has concerns during the exam she may do for a trans-vaginal ultrasound.  You can find more info about the transvaginal ultrasound here.  She may also ask you to have blood drawn to test the level of  the ovarian cancer tumor antigen, CA-125. ( I'll provide additional information on the CA-125 test in a future post.)

For more information and diagrams of screening methods please visit : http://www.cancer.gov/types/ovarian/patient/ovarian-screening-pdq#section/_12

My Story / Advice:  I recommend going to the doctor with a small notebook and writing down information your doctor has given you. That way you won't forget  important information and appointments. I used a small pocket-size notebook to keep track of information and to write down any questions I had so that I could remember to ask my doctor when I saw her. 

Dee

Every Day is a Blessing!