DEAR DR. GOTT: I am a 48-year-old female. A CT scan followed by an ultrasound revealed that I have an ovarian cyst about the size of a tennis ball with solid tissue in approximately ¼ of it. A second smaller cyst was also found with fluid only. My CA125 blood level came back as 35. I have had almost constant abdominal pain since January which was what prompted the tests that led to these findings.

Since I am symptomatic, my gynecologist is going to remove the cysts along with one ovary.

I have no family history of ovarian cancer but an aunt had breast cancer last year and some other family members have had other types of cancer. I regularly have basal cell carcinomas removed and one dysplastic nevi was found for which I see a dermatologist every six months. I recently had one 3 mm polyp removed during a colonoscopy and it was determined to be [Read more...]