CancerCompass message board discussion started by parrotbayRN on 1/25/2008 http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,20096,0.htm Sat, 05 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT Sat, 05 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://backend.userland.com/rss RSS.NET: http://www.rssdotnet.com/ 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? parrotbayRN Fri, 25 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT Hello Parrotbay, Good to hear your cancer was found so early, and was contained, as you do have the best chance of recovery.  Unfortunately,  Granulosa is a rare cancer (only about 200 women a year present in the UK, where I live) so there is not so much data for doctors to draw upon for information, and not as much money is invested in its research.   It is usually slow growing, though can occasionally be otherwise, but ironically the fact it is usually slow growing can be an adverse factor if the disease does take hold, because as a consequence, chemotherapy doesn't work as well against the slower dividing cells of this type.  (Chemo works by identifying the fastest growing cells in the body and poisoning them, which is why hair loss occurs, as that is another area of the body where hair growth cells are dividing more rapidly than normal.)  But your case sounds positive, so unlikely you need to worry about that.  I wouldn't concentrate on the worse case scenarios if I were you... rather on being healthy as you can, and building up a really strong immune system... lots of fresh (organic) veg, green juicing too,  if you can, and try to create an alkaline body (as opposed to acidic).  Drink plenty of water (fit a purifier?), ditch any bad habits (e.g. smoking, alcohol), get lots of healthy exercise,  and just enjoy life.  Cancer may be a wake up call about somethiing in your life - and there may be reason to be grateful for that.  I've found, since being diagnosed in 2005, and now having inoperable tumours in the pelvis - that cancer and illness generally is a metaphysical package, and if I survive, have some reasons for be grateful for the psychological changes that have taken place as a result of it paying me a visit.Wishing you a long, healthy and happy life,  Jane.  Jane f Tue, 12 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT  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?Yes,please read my response to Sparkave ! They told me the exact same thing! pammyjean Sun, 13 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT  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. greenasagourd Sun, 15 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT