Enlarged Ovaries, no pcos symptoms.

Hi, so I recently had a transvaginal US and the results came back as my ovaries are really big. However, my gp said the symptoms I have (heavy menstrual bleeding, intermenstrual spotting, bloating, urinary urgency) aren't usually associated with PCOS which would be the first thing to consider with enlarged ovaries. She said the US didn't show cyst formations so she has referred me to gynae and sent off for some blood tests. The phlebotomist refused to tell me what they were testing for (idk if that's regular standard or not). It's made me worried as I know from the recent experience that these are the symptoms of ovarian cancer. My gynae appointment isn't until may so it's a long time to be worried. How worried should I be? 

  • Hi Elsie and welcome to the forum.

    I'm sorry for the worry your symptoms are causing and for how long you have to wait for your gynae appointment.

    Many of our members know how challenging this can be so you are not alone and I'm sure you will receive some support and advice from them soon.

    In the meantime, if you'd like to discuss any of this with one of our cancer nurses, they're available on 0808 800 4040, Monday - Friday between 9a.m - 5p.m.

    I also hope the tips and advice in this article will help keep your nerves at bay until you know more.

    Kind regards,

    Steph, Cancer Chat Moderator

  • Hello,

    Sorry to hear you are going through this. The waiting and not knowing is the worst :(

    They are possibly doing a CA-125 amongst more routine blood tests to check your overall health. The CA-125 result can be a helpful indicator of inflammation for many (though not all) women. If a CA-125 result comes back raised, it may be due to a number of benign conditions (e.g. fibroids/cysts/endometriosis) and, rarely, ovarian cancer. You don't seem to have been referred to gynae for your symptoms on a two week urgent pathway (when cancer is suspected). I would take that as a positive thing.

    I have a problem with one of my ovaries, which was picked up on a recent CT scan. I am now having 2 MRI scans next week for a closer look. I first went to the GP about my symptoms back in October. Unfortunately, everything seems to move very slowly, especially post Covid!

    Be kind to yourself and try to find lots of distractions from your worries x