You did not provide your age, or any information about whether or not your doctor has ordered a CA-125 tumor marker blood test, so I can only provide you with a rather general response.

Presumably, your doctor wishes to rule-out the possibility of ovarian cancer. That evaluation begins with an ultrasound and a serum CA-125 level. Depending upon the results of these tests, you may require a CT scan (or, much less commonly, a pelvic MRI). At some point, if the concern for a potentially malignant lesion of the ovary is high enough, then diagnostic laparoscopy, and possible biopsy or removal of the tube and ovary, may become necessary.

I hope that your work-up will, ultimately, provide you with good news.


Sincerely/ Robert A. Wascher, MD, FACS

I am 41, I have a family history of uterine, ovarian, and cervical cancer (as well as brain cancer, luekemia, breast cancer). Because I lost my job and don't have insurance it's been nearly impossible to get anything done. As far as I know, no one has done the CA-125. I had a CT scan and a colonoscopy in February which showed the cyst on the left ovary. My first pap is what led me to get a second opinion which I never actually got because they wanted to do other tests on things that weren't bothering me. I do have the following things: Fibromyalgia, mild osteoarthritis in my spine, a hiatus hernia, very mild diverticulosis, hemmorhoids, and have had 3 ovarian cysts in the past which were removed nearly 3 years ago. I've known that I had this cyst (I can tell when they come on, even when small) for about a year and a half. I became alarmed when I began skipping periods for 2-3 months at a time, became more tired than usual, nausea, vomiting, abdominal swelling, weight gain, back pain, and numbness in my extremities. I had never had an abnormal pap before the one in December. What are some other causes for these symptoms? Can just the cyst cause all of it, early menopause, anything?