Re: Do endometriomas really turn cancerous?
From: Ana (anonymous@obgyn.net)
Sat Jun 29 09:46:23 2002
In response to the person who wrote "So instead of a 1% chance of getting it, your chance is about 0.7%. Big deal.". I will take that extra 0.3% chance of not getting cancer any day.
>----- Original Message -----
From: anonymous@obgyn.net
Sent: Friday, June 28, 2002 2:03 PM
To: Multiple recipients of list ENDO
Subject: Re: Do endometriomas really turn cancerous?
At Fri, 28 Jun 2002, Suzanne wrote:
>
>No, they do not. You can leave them alone (though you run the risk of
>them rupturing, which is painful), or have them treated. But the cells
>that make up endometriomas are NOT cancer cells.
>
>However, there are reports about a higher incidence of ovarian cancer in
>people with endo. We don't know enough about either endo or cancer to
>know why. It seems probable that the answer lies in the immune system
>and its inability to "turn off" unwanted cell growth. In any event,
>this means that those of us with endo should be aware of this risk, and
>should have any suspicious gynecological conditions checked out (which
>is kind of hard with endo, when you rarely feel "normal!"). It's also a
>good case for taking BCPs, which lower the risk of ovarian cancer
>substantially (but, of course, cause other problems for some women). But
>the actual masses on your ovaries are not going to "convert" to cancer.
>The above answer is not entirely correct.Yes , the masses can become cancerous, but it is so rare it's not worth worrying about. As far as BCP pills lowering the risk of ovarian cancer, be careful of your interpretation of statistics. It reportedly lowers your risk by 30%, but it's a low risk disease to begin with. So instead of a 1% chance of getting it, your chance is about 0.7%. Big deal.
>At Thu, 27 Jun 2002, Brune wrote:
>>
>>I'd like to hear from anyone re my question: I 've heard and read mixed
>>reports on whether endometriomas transition into a cancerous mass. Has
>>anyone
>>had this happen or has anyone heard any really difinitive answers.?
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