Schedule surgery? Check.

So I have just scheduled my next operation, having yet another piece of me cut on and removed. I sometimes wonder how many operations I will have throughout my life. I know many people who have had close to 10 abdominal surgery, some maybe more. This will be my 5th surgery and my 4th abdominal surgery (this is not counting my wisdom tooth surgery this past February) since I turned 22, just 3 years ago. If I am having 4 surgeries in 3 years then will I have 8 surgeries in 6 years? Ugh I hope not. But I am thankful that my doctors are so rigorous in screening me. I'd rather have surgery when I need it than need it and not have it.

So anyway, I have scheduled surgery. I have been avoiding this specific surgery for over a year but it is finally inevitable. My GI doctor demanded it so I consented. I have had several CT scans, 2 MRIs, and multiple ultrasounds and like I'm sure I've mentioned in posts before, they have found something on my left ovary. Actually, it was there when I was diagnosed in 2008 but they thought it was just a cyst. It might still be a cyst, but it has gotten bigger and is now connected to my uterus as well and they are now wondering if it could be something else. So, considering my history and my risk for endometrial and ovarian cancer it would just be safer to check and see if it's malignant or benign. My gynecological oncologist will be performing a robotic surgery, removing the mass from my ovary if possible (if not he will have to remove my left ovary) and testing it, biopsying a cyst on my right ovary, and testing my endometrial lining for pre-cancerous cells. That is best case scenario. Worst case scenario, they find cancer and have to do a total hysterectomy, removing my uterus and both ovaries. But I'm not going to worry about that unless it happens... there is such a small chance of it. Have any of you had a similar surgery?

Not that I think I have this, but ovarian cancer is often misdiagnosed or caught too late, so in light of my upcoming surgery on my ovaries I wanted to post symptoms of ovarian cancer. But often, like colon cancer, the most common symptom is no symptom at all. Ovarian cancer needs to have more awareness too!

• Abdominal pressure, fullness, swelling or bloating
• Pelvic discomfort or pain
• Persistent indigestion, gas or nausea
• Changes in bowel habits, such as constipation
• Changes in bladder habits, including a frequent need to urinate
• Loss of appetite or quickly feeling full
• Increased abdominal girth or clothes fitting tighter around your waist
• A persistent lack of energy
• Low back pain