Hi Meagan,
That certainly sounds very scary! I know that this is
much easier said than done, but try not to get overly worried right now. Obviously you need to get this checked out -- and sooner rather than later, given your family history and all. However, there are a lot of things that this lesion could be, and the probability that it is something harmless is high (especially since this was an incidental finding on MRI, and you don't have any clinical signs associated with ovarian disease).
Benign ovarian cysts are very common at any age. Most women have ovarian and/or uterine cysts at some point in their life, and they are usually just incidental findings (aka, not associated with any apparent clinical signs) that are exposed during routine gyn exams or other diagnostic studies. It is great that you have an ultrasound scheduled, but unfortunately, there isn't really anything more that you can do in the mean time. Worrying about
what it might or might not be right now is only going to make you upset, stressed, and even sick. Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and try to calm your mind.
As for the ultrasound itself, it's not the most comfortable procedure, but it's not horrible (just had to have one a few weeks ago, as I am having gyn problems myself). I'm not sure that it is any worse than a regular gyn exam. It's pretty quick. Mine was done in less than 10 minutes. Although the ultrasounds are usually done by a technician, and not a doctor, the techs have a lot of training and experience in ultrasonography. Mine walked me through what she was doing & finding as she was doing it, and then gave me a nice little (verbal) summary of her interpretation at the end. I really appreciated that, as although I didn't expect them to find anything horrible, I was still somewhat anxious about
what they might find (I have a family history of uterine cancer & endometriosis, and am only 25 as well). I appreciated the tech's feedback even more when it took my doctor a good 5 days to get back to me with the results, despite multiple phone calls (actually, even then the doctor never called me back, it was her receptionist or someone on her staff, which I thought was pretty rotten. had I not spoken to the ultrasound tech, I'd
still be uncertain of the findings, as the lady who called me with the "results" was pretty clueless).
Remember, your tech doesn't have a medical degree, and won't necessarily be able to give you a definitive diagnosis, but they can certainly tell you what they see/give you their opinion. If your tech doesn't say anything, I'd ask him/her what they found/what they thought of the ultrasound before leaving! If for whatever reason the tech tells you something along the lines of "I'm not a doctor, I can't give you a diagnosis," you could acknowledge that, yet still ask them if from their experience, they saw any abnormalities on the scan, etc. That is a pretty vague question, yet if answered, should still provide you with some moderately helpful answers.
Good luck tomorrow! Let us know how you make out!
Skeye
Post Edited (skeye) : 6/25/2013 9:33:20 PM (GMT-6)