Mets to GI tract?
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Libber, great news about your path report! Do they plan to investigate further? My GI told me stress will aggravate symptoms but is not actually the cause of the issues. Because I explicitly asked him if I was just having a reaction to the tremendous amount of stress in my life.
I thankfully don't have a lot of indigestion/reflux. Just the constipation/nausea/early satiety/near constant fullness - and the swelling in my legs/ankles which my primary seems to think may be related, even though I thought they were separate issues.
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Glad the CT is ordered. Hoping you get answers. Keytones will commonly appear in urine if you have not been eating well. It means your body is burning fat for its energy needs. Hoping you get answers soon!
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Thanks KBeee!
Yeah, weird about the ketones. I'm not able to eat a lot, but my diet is stellar, no junk food or fatty meats or fried foods really. I get the sense I'm just not absorbing nutrients properly.
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Just had my CT of the abdomen and pelvis. It's Friday, so I don't expect any results until at least Monday, probably later.
I had to drink a quart of some clear radiated liquid within the hour before the scan, so now I feel SOOOOOOO nauseous. Ugh. I am glad the scan is a fast one, because I felt like I was going to throw up the whole time.
I think whatever the issue is, it's keeping me from absorbing the nutrients in any food I eat. I'm even more fatigued than normal (and that's saying something because I'm always fatigued) and I have some bruises for no reason right now, including one pretty large bruise on the back of my left calf that has been very dark (the typical "black and blue" bruise) for days - usually after a day or two, my bruises start to heal and get lighter, and I've never really bruised easily. I even have a small very purple bruise where I had blood taken on my left arm on Tuesday. I've never bruised after having blood taken before.
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Surprisingly, I can already see my CT report on my patient gateway.
There's a 3 mm (tiny) hypodense lesion in my liver and a 2.3x2.2 cm hypodense lesion in my right ovary (I've been in menopause for 2 years).
There is a small amount of pelvic peritoneal fluid noted.
Not sure if any of this means anything. Still have the upper endoscopy on November 1st.
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I am scheduling a folllowup with the GI doc. My stress level is over the top. My husband filed for divorce and served me with papers this past Monday. So obviously I’m a nervous stressed basket case. Symptoms happened before that occurred. My life has been crazy the last 4 yrs so not surprised about tummy issues.
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I'm so sorry, Libber. My husband abandoned me and lives with his girlfriend now. I know how hard it is to deal with that on top of cancer. You're in my thoughts. Do you have a good therapist to talk to
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You have to love all the medical terms. I hope your doc calls you Monday to explain. Please keep us posted. I totally understand the nausea. I’m really sorry.
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Does anyone know if chemotherapy would shrink a pre-existing ovarian cyst? (I'm wondering if that's what it is)
I'm completely in menopause according to my hormone tests. Haven't had a period since June 2017, right before I started chemo.
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I’m really sorry, Libber. I can’t even imagine the stress you’re under.
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Lesions, I do not believe are the same as a cyst. It could be scarring from a burst ovary at some point. Just as an aside, I was in an ovarian cancer study and one of the gals had a simple cyst on her ovary....she was 70. Three months later, it disappeared. Ovaries never seem to "die" which is why they say we can get a lot of side effects/symptoms with a oophorectomy, regardless of our age.
The pelvic fluid is troubling. I hope nothing serious. THank you for keeping us updated.
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Interesting. My understanding has always been that "lesion" means something different as well.
However, my report says I have a "2.3x2.2 cm hypodense lesion arising from the right ovary"
But then later in the comments the radiologist wrote "likely a cyst."
I also thought the pelvic fluid was troubling, but, again, the radiologist wrote "likely physiologic" - meaning probably normal. Since when is pelvic fluid "normal," especially in the presence of a lesion, especially in a person with a history of cancer?
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Depends on how much fluid and how big a cyst that burst, the cavity can fill with fluid. The lesion could be the remnants of a burst cyst. You didn't post all the findings so it is hard to tell what they are seeing. I'm hopeful this is all an annoyance and once the fluid reabsorbs, the GI issues will be resolved.
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That's all the report says. "There is a 2.3x2.2 cm hypodense lesion arising from the right ovary. There is a small amount of pelvic peritoneal fluid."
Then later in the comments, it says it is "likely a cyst" and the fluid is "likely physiological peritoneal fluid."
Given my history of stage III TNBC, my current symptoms (early satiety, nausea, sudden onset constipation lasting since late July, abdominal fullness and bloating, and abdominal and bilateral leg edema bad enough to warrant my insurance company approving a lymphedema pump) AND the fact that I am postmenopasual, one would think they might want to investigate further.
But my guess is "watchful waiting" will be the course of action, if anything.
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I've contacted my doctor's office, waiting for a reply.
After talking to a friend whose husband is a doctor and doing some investigating, I'm now annoyed that the report simply says "likely a cyst."
This was a CT scan with both oral and IV contrast. A CT scan is what is used to determine something is a cyst. So why the guessing game? A CT scan should not only determine that something is in fact a cyst, but should distinguish between a complex and a simple cyst. So why are they calling this a lesion and indicating that they think it "might" be a cyst?
Of course, this morning I had some discharge with a tinge of blood. I told my doctor I would like some more clear reassurance than simply that it's "likely a cyst."
I've about had it with the constant vague and/or incomplete radiology reports I've been getting after every scan.
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Ugh. Just got a message back from my doctor: "Unfortunately, the radiologist did not provide much detail."
WTH. So the doctor probably would not even have followed up if I had not asked more questions. He said he will refer me to a gyn.
I mean, honestly, a CT scan report that doesn't provide any detail or even indicate whether something is a cyst is really unacceptable.
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There was an article in this mornings local newspaper about an organization called Pink Foundation that does not use funds for anything other thanhelping women w financial burdens secondary to breast cancer. It may be beneficial for anyone w this added burden.
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I did a google search and was unable to find anything on something called Pink Foundation. Is this US-based?
Yesterday I had some pink and slightly brown-tinged discharge. Today I had thick brown discharge. This is the first time I'm starting to get really nervous. My last period was June 2017. I have not had even a hint of bleeding since then - until now. I started this thread thinking my early satiety and stomach fullness was a problem with my GI tract. Now with the CT showing a lesion arising from the ovary and suddenly having vaginal bleeding out of nowhere, I am thinking there's multiple things going on.
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Can you go to a gynecologist and get a pap smear? I hope you're making note of all of your symptoms.
Maybe this is what Yoga was talking about.
https://www.pinkfund.org/get-help/0 -
Just got a call, they squeezed me in with a gyn for next Tuesday, and then they called back and said the gyn wants me to have an ultrasound before he sees me, so they are trying to schedule that.
The nurse said the gyn looked at my CT scan and wanted her to call me to ease my mind that he thinks it's probably a simple cyst. BUT, when he looked at the CT, he was apparently not aware I was having postmenopausal bleeding - he wasn't fully aware that I have not had a period since June 2017 and that my hormone level tests indicated menopause (FSH 81, estradiol 35). The nurse wasn't even aware that I have been having bleeding/spotting (even though I had spoken to another nurse earlier and explained it). She asked what was going on with it. I explained again that I've been spotting for 3 days now - some pinkish mucous and some thick very brown mucous-y discharge. Then she sounded a little less blase about it all.
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I'm so happy you will have a full gyn work up and people are taking this seriously. As I mentioned, the ovarian cancer study I was in had a woman who turned 70 and developed a simple cyst. It happens. It is rare, but menopause does not prevent the incidental ovulation.
If your menopause was chemo induced, your body may be trying to get back to "normal." If the gyn said simple cyst, my bet is that is what happened. Once your pelvic fluid is reabsorbed, it may quell the nausea. That is what I am hoping for, as you are no doubt also hoping for that.
Thank you for keeping us updated and I hope this turns out to be nothing serious.
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Thanks, wallycat! The nausea has been persistent for a year now, so I'm really looking forward to the day it resolves!
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I'm a little concerned that they seem to have ordered a pelvic ultrasound and not a transvaginal ultrasound.
I feel like this is ultimately going to lead to the need for another ultrasound. Ugh.
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Yeah, that doesn’t make sense. You would think they would want to go inside to see what happening. Ugh
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Exactly. I could see if I had JUST finished chemo. But for me to have bleeding when I haven't had a period for 2.5 years and haven't even had any chemo in my body for over a year now, seems like they'd want to get as close a look as they can.
I've never actually heard of anyone getting their period back after 2.5 years, but who knows. My body could be trying to get back to normal - but my hormone levels show that I'm well into the postmenopausal range (for menopause, FSH is anything over 25 and mine is 81).
It does irk me that the radiologist initially said the lesion and the peritoneal fluid were both likely physiologic (normally occurring due to the menstrual cycle). It's like he didn't even bother to look at my history, just made an assumption from my age and appearance that I was still ovulating.
Again, it's so strange to be going down this road now. When I started this thread, I was concerned about something being very wrong with my GI tract, due to the symptoms of abdominal fullness, early satiety, nausea, etc. When someone first mentioned in response to me that it sounded like ovarian cancer, I didn't even think much of it. Now here I am a few weeks later with a lesion arising from my right ovary and unexpected bleeding after literally 2.5 years without so much as a hint of bleeding. Weird.
I still have the endoscopy scheduled because it'll be good to cover all bases. But wow, what a left turn this took me on!
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Pesky, I found your posts after trying to find something on ovarian ca. I was found to have an ovarian cyst in June, 2018, about a month after I was diagnosed with BC. They waited a year and then did a trans-vaginal ultrasound, and it looked slightly larger. I talked with my onc about it, and he said he thought I could wait 6 more months and then have another ultrasound. But I arranged for him to get the images from the 2nd ultrasound (My GYN didn't think it was worth talking to my onc, even though she knows my history!), and he told me this week that he thinks a hysterectomy is a good idea. Yikes! So now I have an appointment with a gynecological oncologist on Monday. In retrospect, I'm concerned that I've had pain from that side for quite a while, off and on, but just assumed it was nothing. And I've had recent constipation (which I attributed to coming off herceptin & prejeta) and have lost quite a lot of weight. It's just so hard to know what's important and what isn't! Anyway, I'm really scared now. I just wanted you to know that someone else out here is following your posts. Good luck next week!
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Hi Fairchild - sorry to hear what you're dealing with!
It is scary, all these things that keep popping up that we have to keep waiting on results for.
So I had my ultrasound today - full pelvic, which included transvaginal. Then I saw my new gyn, who had not gotten the ultrasound results yet when I saw him. He said "Don't worry, the cyst looks benign on CT, though it's hard to tell. But if your endometrium is larger than 4mm, we will have to do a biopsy. If it's 4mm or less, you can breath easy."
Well, just got the results on my patient gateway, along with a note from him. The ultrasound results show "abnormally thickened endometrium with several cystic spaces" and "a few small subcentimeter fibroids." Endometrium is 7.2mm. The cyst did appear on ultrasound to be a simple cyst though, so he said no follow up needed for that. I have to go back within the next two weeks for an endometrial biospy. Ugh.
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It sounds like polyps or fibroids and you had a "normal" ovulatory ovarian experience.
Did you tell us how old you are? Apologies if I missed it. I had a similar transvaginal experience with a thickened uterine lining (I had been on tamoxifen but switched to Arimidex and at the time, completed all anti-hormonal therapy). They suspected a polyp. 5% chance it would be cancer because of the tamoxifen. Turned out to be 3 b-9 polyps.
The biopsy is do-able in an in-office procedure. If you are concerned about the lining or the fibroids (am I wrong in reading that the fibroids are inside the uterus?), you could request a hysteroscopy where the fibroids and lining can all be removed. This would ensure them not missing any of the uterine tissue since a full D&C would be done.
Best to you and thanks for updating us. Has your nausea and other issues gotten any better?
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I just turned 45. My last period was June 2017. My FSH has been very high for a year. The doctor is concerned because he said I’m high risk and since I’m triple negative he thought I should be under 4mm, while he would expect to see a thickening from a patient on Tamoxifen or a hormone positive patient.
The fibroids are listed under themyometrium. My uterus is also enlarged. He said normal is about 3 x 2.5 inches. Mine has always been normal and right now is 6 x 4 inches. (That might account for some of the feeling of abdominal fullness.)
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Hi, Pesky904!
I am glad you’re at least getting the tests done. The waiting is excruciating. I know in the end we just want answers. I’m hoping whatever is going on is benign and they can give you some relief. Please continue to come back and keep us posted.
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