Ovarian cysts after menopause guide

There is no significant difference in the ovarian cysts symptoms that manifest based on the age of the woman. Women of all ages may have pain the lower abdomen, pelvic area and the lower back, including women who develop ovarian cysts after menopause.

One of the significant signs associated with hormonal change in a woman’s life is the stopping of the monthly cycle. Other symptoms include hot flashes, night sweating, irritability, and mood swings. When you are at an age when menstrual cycles naturally become irregular, this is sometimes due to a cyst in the ovary. In some cycles, the follicle grows larger that normal and does not rupture to release the egg, and forms a cyst.

Ovarian cysts are usually linked to menstruation and after you have reached menopause they can still develop. The ovary no longer produces eggs after menopause, but benign ovarian cysts can still occur after menopause. In fact, after menopause the most likely types of ovarian cysts are still benign cysts. However, because the incidence of ovarian cancer increases with age, any cyst or growth in the ovary after menopause should be evaluated right away with a sonogram.

There are some specialist that surmise that ovarian cysts after menopause have no relation to the menstrual cycles.

If you’re past menopause, have no symptoms, and have a fluid-filled cyst, you may choose to monitor the cyst. Normally, it resolves with simple observation (watchful waiting) over the course of days to months.

So, how are ovarian cysts found? What do you have to look for when cancer is suspected?

Oftentimes, ovarian cysts are found by random examinations of the pelvis. If your gynecologist suspects a mass, testing will be done and the specialist will be able to determine by the look of the mass if there is something to worry about or not.

One of the test is a sonogram or ultrasound that sends waves into your body that reflect the area in your body in form of an image. Then the specialist is able to tell what type of cysts it is. When the cyst is cancer the image of the ovary will rather show an unstructured mass with scattered seams.

Malignant ovarian cysts after menopause detected with blood test

Another test is to look at your blood, searching for an indicator that is called C-125, a marker for ovarian cancer that when found will appear in the blood results. This test is more routinely applied with women who develop ovarian cysts after menopause as the incidence increases with age. Also women who are past the age of 35, and the ones with high risk (family history), and where the cyst is partly solid have this blood test done.

Often, a benign ovarian cyst after menopause will be treated with hormones to stimulate the resolution during cyclical functions that normally resolve functional cysts. Large ovarian cysts that do not go away without treatment may need to be surgically removed.

Ways to remove ovarian cysts after menopause is via cystectomy where you cut them out like a clam from its shell by leaving the ovary intact. This is done usually with benign cysts using laparoscopy, a minimal invasive form of surgery. When cancer is suspected, then the growth is removed with the ovary, and other soft tissue such as the uterus via laparotomy that is a larger incision in the lower stomach.