The results are in, and you may not be a winner.
February 23, 2010 5:00 PM Subscribe
I just received word that my biopsy/examination results are in. They want to see me tomorrow morning. Should I start freaking out now? The receptionist scheduling me was not forthcoming with any details.
A laparoscopy to remove scar tissue from the many ovarian cysts I have had rupture/form over the years revealed a small mass on my left ovary. The mass was whisked away to those who know how to identify these things, and I was told I'd have an answer within a few days. They called tonight, and scheduled me for an appointment at 10am. I know I can't predict the bedside manner of every physician ever, but to me this seems foreboding.
It's after hours now of course, and I have no one to talk to and a clock to watch until then. Previous to this laparoscopy, there was talk of removing this ovary due to the many cysts I have had. My tube and other ovary functions normally. Over the last year, I have been having episodes of leg/thigh pain, malaise and fevers lasting a few days, along with the ever present pain in my lady-regions.
These are the things I am curious about:
1) Is needing to have a face to face with the doctor pretty much an indicator that this tumor is malignant? If benign wouldn't they just tell me over the phone like they have for all the other things I've had yanked from off this ovary?
2) If this is malignant, I'm assuming I will need the ovary removed. Will they want to do that like... immediately? I just had this lap surgery earlier this week, I'm a single parent of a 4 year old and my partner is currently 3000 miles away (and also freaking out). Do I need to make major childcare arrangements? What happens after an oophorectomy?
3) If they remove the ovary, do I have to have chemo, or radiation, or whatever it is? If you couldn't tell by now, I know next to nothing about cancer.
If its relevant, I'm 32, have one child and do have a history of ovarian and cervical cancer in my family.
Apologies if this seems disjointed. I'm on a few painkillers still from the laparoscopy.
Wish me luck.... just writing this calmed me down.
A laparoscopy to remove scar tissue from the many ovarian cysts I have had rupture/form over the years revealed a small mass on my left ovary. The mass was whisked away to those who know how to identify these things, and I was told I'd have an answer within a few days. They called tonight, and scheduled me for an appointment at 10am. I know I can't predict the bedside manner of every physician ever, but to me this seems foreboding.
It's after hours now of course, and I have no one to talk to and a clock to watch until then. Previous to this laparoscopy, there was talk of removing this ovary due to the many cysts I have had. My tube and other ovary functions normally. Over the last year, I have been having episodes of leg/thigh pain, malaise and fevers lasting a few days, along with the ever present pain in my lady-regions.
These are the things I am curious about:
1) Is needing to have a face to face with the doctor pretty much an indicator that this tumor is malignant? If benign wouldn't they just tell me over the phone like they have for all the other things I've had yanked from off this ovary?
2) If this is malignant, I'm assuming I will need the ovary removed. Will they want to do that like... immediately? I just had this lap surgery earlier this week, I'm a single parent of a 4 year old and my partner is currently 3000 miles away (and also freaking out). Do I need to make major childcare arrangements? What happens after an oophorectomy?
3) If they remove the ovary, do I have to have chemo, or radiation, or whatever it is? If you couldn't tell by now, I know next to nothing about cancer.
If its relevant, I'm 32, have one child and do have a history of ovarian and cervical cancer in my family.
Apologies if this seems disjointed. I'm on a few painkillers still from the laparoscopy.
Wish me luck.... just writing this calmed me down.
Could be totally fine. I had some routine bloodwork done, and they wouldn't tell me the HIV test results over the phone. So I was nervous. But when I went in the nurse was like "You're negative." I asked why I needed to be told I was fine in person.
Her reply: "If you're positive, you need to be in a supporting environment where you can know what resources are available to you. If you have the test done repeatedly, and are told the results over the phone, but later are asked to come in, you will freak out. So we have everyone come in every time."
posted by BusyBusyBusy at 5:13 PM on February 23, 2010 [7 favorites]
Her reply: "If you're positive, you need to be in a supporting environment where you can know what resources are available to you. If you have the test done repeatedly, and are told the results over the phone, but later are asked to come in, you will freak out. So we have everyone come in every time."
posted by BusyBusyBusy at 5:13 PM on February 23, 2010 [7 favorites]
If you go in tomorrow and it's good news, you'll wish you hadn't stressed yourself out for nothing.
If you go in tomorrow and it's bad news, you'll wish you had given yourself one less day of worry.
The receptionist scheduling me was not forthcoming with any details.
He or she may not have had any information other than "Call the Emperor and ask her to come in tomorrow."
Try and relax tonight, and assume it will be good news if you can. You will be in my thoughts.
posted by sallybrown at 5:18 PM on February 23, 2010 [2 favorites]
If you go in tomorrow and it's bad news, you'll wish you had given yourself one less day of worry.
The receptionist scheduling me was not forthcoming with any details.
He or she may not have had any information other than "Call the Emperor and ask her to come in tomorrow."
Try and relax tonight, and assume it will be good news if you can. You will be in my thoughts.
posted by sallybrown at 5:18 PM on February 23, 2010 [2 favorites]
Will it make you feel better right now to come up with a fallback childcare plan? If so, you should do it, and then if you've got to implement it in the morning, it'll be there for you.
posted by fairytale of los angeles at 5:27 PM on February 23, 2010
posted by fairytale of los angeles at 5:27 PM on February 23, 2010
A friend just went through this with a breast lump biopsy, and it just turned out that it's the doctor's blanket policy to make people come in for results, whether the results are positive or negative. I have heard many other instances of this being the case with many doctors.
posted by BlahLaLa at 5:35 PM on February 23, 2010
posted by BlahLaLa at 5:35 PM on February 23, 2010
Yes, this is often a blanket policy, as many have suggested.
I hope that everything goes well tomorrow, and you're in my thoughts. Try to relax as much as possible tonight -- I know those are sort of empty words, but if anything will make you feel better (a bubble bath, a glass of wine, watching television, going for a walk, reading a book, watching a scary or funny movie) try to do that instead of worrying about tomorrow.
posted by k8lin at 5:38 PM on February 23, 2010
I hope that everything goes well tomorrow, and you're in my thoughts. Try to relax as much as possible tonight -- I know those are sort of empty words, but if anything will make you feel better (a bubble bath, a glass of wine, watching television, going for a walk, reading a book, watching a scary or funny movie) try to do that instead of worrying about tomorrow.
posted by k8lin at 5:38 PM on February 23, 2010
if they end up removing the ovary, you may or may not require additional treatment. If it's a low-grade tumor, the risk from additional treatment may be greater than the risk of not doign additional treatment. (after my ovaries were removed, I had a couple of months of "will I or won't I" regarding chemo. the final verdict was "won't")
If they wanted to whisk you away into surgery post-haste, i would expect them tell you that when they made the appointment. So I assume there will be time to make arrangements and schedule the surgery if needed.
good luck, and I'm hoping for the best for you.
posted by rmd1023 at 5:41 PM on February 23, 2010
If they wanted to whisk you away into surgery post-haste, i would expect them tell you that when they made the appointment. So I assume there will be time to make arrangements and schedule the surgery if needed.
good luck, and I'm hoping for the best for you.
posted by rmd1023 at 5:41 PM on February 23, 2010
try not to worry too much about it now. best of luck to you.
posted by anthropomorphic at 5:59 PM on February 23, 2010
posted by anthropomorphic at 5:59 PM on February 23, 2010
When I had a malignancy, they told me over the phone before scheduling me to talk to a surgeon. There is no standard practice, so do your best to have an unstressful evening, according to sallybrown's advice.
posted by pickypicky at 6:09 PM on February 23, 2010
posted by pickypicky at 6:09 PM on February 23, 2010
I'm not going to tell you not to worry, because of course you will worry--anyone would. That's a normal reaction to a stressful situation such as this.
It's standard for the receptionist not to have any details about your appointment. It's also standard to give any news about procedures like this in person. Even if the results are benign, there will probably be followup treatments/medication, etc that will need to be discussed.
Positive thoughts are being sent your way . . .
posted by bookmammal at 6:56 PM on February 23, 2010
It's standard for the receptionist not to have any details about your appointment. It's also standard to give any news about procedures like this in person. Even if the results are benign, there will probably be followup treatments/medication, etc that will need to be discussed.
Positive thoughts are being sent your way . . .
posted by bookmammal at 6:56 PM on February 23, 2010
I had an ovary removed, but due to a torsion and not any sort of growth. I was more or less in and out in less than 24 hours, and that also included at least 12 hours of figuring out what the heck was wrong with me after entering the ER.
Mine was a laparoscopic surgery, and if you do that, it will probably not seem too different from your previous laparoscopy. I can't say what they may want to do past that, though. In general, having one less ovary is not notable in any way.
posted by that girl at 7:23 PM on February 23, 2010
Mine was a laparoscopic surgery, and if you do that, it will probably not seem too different from your previous laparoscopy. I can't say what they may want to do past that, though. In general, having one less ovary is not notable in any way.
posted by that girl at 7:23 PM on February 23, 2010
The receptionist is pretty much prohibited from providing any results or any clues, for a very good reason. He or she is not trained or qualified to deal with imparting medical information to patients. That is the skill set that (hopefully) rests with the doctor.
posted by yclipse at 7:29 PM on February 23, 2010
posted by yclipse at 7:29 PM on February 23, 2010
Obviously you're going to worry about it, but it definitely doesn't necessarily mean anything bad. I had some bloodwork and such done last year a few days before I returned to school for various semi-serious reasons. I was told to call back a few days later to get my results. When I called, they told me I needed to come in to get my results, no exceptions. It took me a half hour of arguing on the phone, trying to convince them that I was 6 hours away at school (which I was) before they would tell me that all my tests were clear and I was completely healthy.
posted by kro at 7:55 PM on February 23, 2010
posted by kro at 7:55 PM on February 23, 2010
Whenever I am asked to come in the next day for results, I tell them I am out of town for a week starting tomorrow morning at 7:00 am and ask if this is something that needs to be discussed before I get back. After a minute or three of hold music, I usually get the "all clear; call us when you get back". Once, for an off the chart cholesterol result after a complete blood work, they told me the doctor would call back later in the day. She did and told me to get the Lipitor prescription filled before I went away and we had to have a lifestyle talk when I got back. If I do not want to wait, I try to create a situation whereby they have to at least give you a good indication of the nature of the results if not the actual ones. "Sure go ahead and go on that business trip and come in when you get back" is a lot easier to sleep with than, "Going away for a week? Can you come in today? No? Ok, the doctor will call you back at 3:30. Please be available."
I guess this is advice for next time, but this time, I do not think anything more than a 60-40 chance there is an issue can be read into it. If it were me, I would take another pain killer and go to sleep and head to the doctor's office to find out in the morning. I would show up 20 minutes before the first appointment of the day and tell them when you get there that you could not sleep, were in a panic about the news and need to find out what the story is stat. I cannot imagine them telling you to come back later in the day unless the doctor is not in until later in the day.
Also, even if they want to operate or proceed immediately, you can and should consider asking a second opinion. If it is so life threatening that they need to operate immediately, they would have had you in there today. No reasonable person wouldn't give you 24 hours to arrange childcare and get things in order.
Good luck.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 10:02 PM on February 23, 2010
I guess this is advice for next time, but this time, I do not think anything more than a 60-40 chance there is an issue can be read into it. If it were me, I would take another pain killer and go to sleep and head to the doctor's office to find out in the morning. I would show up 20 minutes before the first appointment of the day and tell them when you get there that you could not sleep, were in a panic about the news and need to find out what the story is stat. I cannot imagine them telling you to come back later in the day unless the doctor is not in until later in the day.
Also, even if they want to operate or proceed immediately, you can and should consider asking a second opinion. If it is so life threatening that they need to operate immediately, they would have had you in there today. No reasonable person wouldn't give you 24 hours to arrange childcare and get things in order.
Good luck.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 10:02 PM on February 23, 2010
1) Is needing to have a face to face with the doctor pretty much an indicator that this tumor is malignant? If benign wouldn't they just tell me over the phone like they have for all the other things I've had yanked from off this ovary?
No, they want to explain it in person regardless, since not-malignant doesn't mean something to everyone. In particular, that the biopsy didn't show a malignancy doesn't mean that it showed nothing, or that they have nothing to tell you about the underlying problem. They also want to get paid. They'll tell you "all clear" on the phone after routine blood work because they probably didn't tell you what they did or were looking for to start with, so there's no point in explaining everything.
posted by a robot made out of meat at 5:39 AM on February 24, 2010
No, they want to explain it in person regardless, since not-malignant doesn't mean something to everyone. In particular, that the biopsy didn't show a malignancy doesn't mean that it showed nothing, or that they have nothing to tell you about the underlying problem. They also want to get paid. They'll tell you "all clear" on the phone after routine blood work because they probably didn't tell you what they did or were looking for to start with, so there's no point in explaining everything.
posted by a robot made out of meat at 5:39 AM on February 24, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
Really, though, I think this is a case that no news is no news. You may be right that if it were nothing they would have told you. However, there's a wide range of things, other than ovarian cancer it could be, that would still trigger the come-in call.
Try to get some sleep. Hopefully you'll get ok news tomorrow.
If nothing else deep breathing exercises can help with some of the physiological panic.
posted by mercredi at 5:11 PM on February 23, 2010