Hi ladies,
Has anyone had an oophrectomy please and what was your experience?
Im 42, dx last June, had bilateral mx, 7 months of chemo. Am braca neg but v strong family history so going to have my ovaries out. Just not sure what to expect
thankyou
mandy
Hi mandy,
I am having an oppherectomy on 29th april. I had b/c in 2009 then a second diagnosis last year following bilateral mastecomies. I have a brca 1 mutation so it is a no brainer really esp in light of my having had breast cancer twice though really not relishing the prospect of another op. I have posted underneath your thread and you can see the responses to my request for help. They are encouraging. I am happy to share my experiences.
Rattles
Hi Mandy
I was 41 upon dx, with large tumor, neo adjuvant chemo, WLE and node clearance, radio therapy and tamoxifen. I was dx in June 2010 and like you have a strong family history (mum bc, maternal aunt bc and ov). Above and the fact that my cancer was strongly ER pos were all deciding factors to have an oophorectomy (bilateral salpingo oophorectory, basically the tubes and ovaries). My onc only wanted to consider the op once I had finished treatment and 2 months post treatment we got the ball rolling and in July 2011 I had the procedure done. It was a tough decision, as I felt it was my decision rather than part of my treatment. And I wondered what am I doing to myself…? But, I haven’t looked back and am to this day happy with the decision to go ahead.
The op was done via keyhole surgery and involved an overnight stay, and within 2 weeks I was back at the gym. It really was a easy compared to the other bc stuff. Another deciding factor for me was the fact that I had started to feel my hormones kick back in post treatment. It drove me insane to think that I was producing oestrogen again and thus feeding any stray cells.
The hot flushes kicked in pretty quickly post op, but they seem to have calmed down a bit off late.
I stayed on tamoxifen and will now after 2.5 yrs on it move to an AI, anastrazole.
If you have any questions, please feel free to pm me.
NIM
Hiya nim and rattles,
thankyou for your responses.
Rattles I’m going to have a glance now at your messages. How did your second dx present after having a bmx if you don’t mind me asking.
Nim we certainly have some things in common. I feel very similar and course we were the same age at dx. I am worried about the menopausal s.e. but nothing in comparison to my other worries t.b.h. My cancer was also strongly er positive. They have said like you I will have the op keyhole.
Thanks again
Mandy x
Hi Mandy
i had a hysterectomy and ovaries out following bilateral BC and BRCA2 pos… I had bc at 37 and then again at 40 and had my hysterectomy at 42 and a recurrence of bc at 43.
i dont have a very strong family history as its mostly men in my family… but we have one case of ov ca and she was quite young, but we dont know if she was a gene carrier or not as she died about 30 years ago.
i already had menopausal symptoms from chemo so figured it wouldnt be that bad after the hyst… But the flushes were pretty harsh to start with… They did settle down a bit, but when im on chemo they get worse and i changed meds from tamoxifen to letrozole they increased again… Also got a bit of vaginal irritation, but i know some people have real problems in the lady garden department
i had an abominal hyst and was only in hosp 3 nights… Was planning to have a BSO but changed my mind the day before and decided to get rid of the lot as i didnt need any of it… I recovered well and im sure i made the right decision although it was a hard decision to make.
good luck
Lulu xx
Thanks Lulu,
Bit scared about it all, going in on Tuesday, but feel it has to be done!
Hi Mandy
I just had my ovaries taken out on 14th June. I am still off work and resting but have been back on my feet suprisingly quickly. The operation is very short despite a long wait at the hospital and I was out the next day. The wounds are healing well and are tiny but the bruising round the belly button has been quite severe. I am on HRT patches and have a Mirena coil so am getting both oestrogen and progesterone and haven’t been suffering with menopausal symptoms so far. I am a BRCA1 gene carrier aged 39 not in a position to reflect on it yet but admit I was terrified beforehand. Good luck
Kate x
Thanks Kate. Im glad you’re recovering well. I won’t get hrt as I had an oestrogen positive breast cancer. I must admit I thought they wouldn’t give it to any ladies at increased risk. (Always knew I’d never be offered it) but I’m obviously wrong. Think I’m more nervous twitch this than I was my mastectomy, silly really! Xxxx
Hi mandy,
Hope you are recovering well as its sounds as though your op was soon?
To answer your question (which I didn’t see), 2nd tumour found in tissue removed during surgery- I din’t explain myself very well. Interestingly, I am continuing to have ultrasound as consultant sees me at high risk, even though I havd no breast tissue.
Women with hormone negative breast cancer can take HRT- I have been told that the oestrgen is much lower than that produced by ovaries post-meopausally, and this together with the masteomies means risk is minimal.
I too was nervous, think I had just reached the limit of what I felt i could manage, but it was okay. Bit painful afterwards but this soon passes. It is a doddle compared to mastectomies.
Take good care. Rattles x
Mandy if you have your ovaries out and have never had BC then HRT is still much lower risk than if you kept your ovaries… I explain it that I’d your risk of BC was 10 with your ovaries, if you remove them the risk drops down to 5 and if you take HRT then it makes it about 5.2… Nowhere near the original 10!
also although they don’t routinely offer hrt after BC if the menopausal symptoms are playing havoc with you they will consider it for a short time.
hope all has gone well xxx
Hiya lulu and rattles,
im due to go in this Tues, thanks for thinking of me. Just got home from the bcc young women’s forum, which was in the most part really interesting. Just feeling a bit angry that b.c. Affects so many lovely young ladies.
Thankyou for sharing information with me
Mandy xxx
Hi ladies,
all done and dusted…phew
Mandy xxx
Way to go! x