On 1/25/2008 parrotbayRN wrote:
I had post menopausal bleeding, was referred to an OB/GYN Oncologist, who informed me I needed a TAHBSO, I had the surgery on 12/28/07 and he discovered Ovarian Granulosa carcinoma. He received the pathology back and he said that it was 'slow growing, I had it for 'years' and they had to 'grade' it something so they gave it a 1A, though he felt it was less than that, 1A is the lowest you can be staged. He said it was well differentiated, no atypia, all nodes came back negative, all peritoneal washings negative, the cancer was isolated to one ovary, and it was entirely contained within the ovary. He said the surgery was the 'cure'. However I have to go every 3 months for an Inhibin B and a CA125 blood tests, a pelvic every 3 months as well and a pet scan every 6mos. I do this for 2 years, then if there are no issues they advance the time between all of these tests. My concern is all that I have read . . .he said my prognosis is excellent and no further treatment will be required . . . there are alot of issues it seems with Granulosa, reoccurances etc . . . should i be as concerned as I am?
I am a GCT survivor, 21 years now (I was 30 at the time). My case is very similar to yours Parrotbay in that the tumor was well encapsulated, differentiated, etc. I also had a TAHBSO as the only treatment. They didn't have any of the blood tests to check for recurrence at the time of my incident. Recurrence can happen later than sooner with this slow growing tumor, so to this day I still worry about it. Although I'm told it's not necessary because I have no symptoms, I plan on being tested for Inhibin B in the next couple of months just to ease my mind.
I've been well since GCT until just recently. Now I'm having breast cancer isuues. I've been having biopsies, MRI's, etc. & now surgery is scheduled for later this week. Could it be related to the GCT? Could it be the estrogen I was told to take all those years to protect my bones (before Fosomax, etc.)? Could it be genetic? A combination of factors? I just don't know. I probably never will.
I do know that there is a lot more info easily available about GCT today. When I was first diagnosed, despite searching through libraries, the only good info I received was when I wrote the National Cancer Institute. They sent me a few pages of info, that's all they had. Educational & medical sites on the internet, this & other forums are a boon to me. How comforting it is to share with others with this disease! However, it does seem that there is a lot more recurrence with GCT than I was led to believe. Like you, this concerns me. My only advice is to stay on top of your health & any future developments in ovarian cancer research. Wishing you & all GCT survivors all the best.