SmallsE

I'm 28 and was diagnosed with ovarian cancer four months ago. I had gone to my doctor months ago complaining of a lump and lower abdominal pain. I told her I thought it was an ovarian cyst. She said I wouldn't be able to feel it, didn't even touch the spot where I said the lump was, and made a joke about me being "too healthy". It was a cyst the size of a babies head along with Stage III cancer. I'm sorry this happened to you. As a young person, it's just assumed that you're healthy. It sounds like at least your doctor had plans to follow up with you about your pain, which is nice.

I actually worked as a receptionist in a gynecologists office at the time. My boyfriend finally convinced me to to ask my boss if she would take a look. She put her hand on my abdomen for three seconds and said "you need an ultrasound". The good news is that it's low-grade and it just barely qualified to be categorized as stage three. My doctor says that she hates talking numbers because they don't have the same meaning on an individual level, but if she had to tell me my "chances" she says I have a 40% chance of living a long life.

It's true, and ovarian cancer is incredibly hard to detect. However, my cyst was large enough and shaped weirdly enough that you could see disparity between the sides of my lower abdomen when I laid on my back. And yes, she should have palpated the area. She actually didn't even do a pelvic exam. It was billed to my insurance as my annual well women's exam. She dropped the ball.

Thank you! That's a wonderful thing to wish for someone!

I am! My oncologist and her team are absolutely amazing. I stopped seeing that doctor immediately, but some of my records have been faxed to their office because she was listed as my PCP. I've gotten two awkward phone calls asking me if I was planning on leaving the practice.