Hello, I am 46 years old, no history of ovarian cancer on either side of my family. I have had 4 children. My periods for the most part are every 30 days. But, first 2 days it is pretty heavy. My obgyn did an ultrasound at 3 weeks after period (so pretty late in cycle), & uterine lining was at 20 & one 3 cm cyst on each ovary, and ovaries a little swollen. Nurse called & said I needed to get a blood test to see whether the cysts were benign. She actually really scared me & told me that Ovarian cancer was the Silent disease & that s why we needed to have the blood test. What do you think about this? I have heard that the tumor marker blood tests can produce false positives or even negative ones? I m wondering if they were jumping the gun.
Hi. You are right that tumor markers (CA 125 in your case) can produce false positive and negative results. But these false results are very few among all tests done. They are non-invasive and cheap and help us decide future course of action. In your case if tumor marker is negative and cysts on both ovaries are simple cysts, observation with frequent scans is an option. But if CA-125 is raised, and I am your treating doctor, I would like to take both cysts out and see them under microscope to confirm that you donor have cancer. Hope I have answered your query. If you have any further questions I will be happy to help