Gynecology question

For the past year, I’ve been dealing with constant back pain and a low-grade fever (around 98.6°F) that fluctuates slightly up or down from there.
It turns out I have some kidney inflammation... which is basically being monitored now.
About five months ago, they told me I had a cyst (I ended up in the ER because of heavy, painful bleeding roughly every two weeks).
Because of all that, I’ve been going to doctors constantly; one minute there was a cyst on the left, then the right... sometimes it was bigger, sometimes smaller, you name it.
Since my ovaries are basically in constant pain, I kept going back for checkups.
Well, it turned out I had a severe vaginal infection. They gave me some medicated suppositories, and I honestly thought that was the end of it...
After finishing the treatment, I went in for an ultrasound where my OBGYN told me there is a HYPERECHOIC OVAL MASS about 2 cm on my left ovary (Dermoid).
And on the right, there's an ANANECHOIC MASS about 3 cm.
He ordered blood work for markers, so now I'm just waiting on the results.
He mentioned that it doesn't look great, but we need to wait for the labs to come back first.
I did a little digging online, and from what I can tell, a Dermoid is classified as a tumor.
My doctor wouldn't give me a straight answer—I think he was worried about how I'd react—but while he was explaining things, he seemed really hesitant and uncomfortable.
I tried telling him, "Look, just tell me the truth, I can handle it."
What I really want to know is if this actually qualifies as a tumor, and what exactly a CA-125 marker can reveal.
If anyone has experience with this, I would love to hear from you. To be honest, I’ve been through the ringer before—multiple surgeries without anesthesia, sepsis, even spent time on a ventilator twice and was hovering near death... so I'm prepared for whatever news comes my way. I just want to understand what's happening.
I'm 20 years old.
Sorry for the long vent! I hope you don't mind reading such a massive wall of text.😁

Thanks so much.👍

steelfalcon21, don't be mad at me, but I'm gonna move this thread over to the health subforum. Honestly, I think it belongs there—you've got actual doctors and med students hanging out in that section, so you might actually get some useful advice instead of just guessing here...

..If you want more info on the CA-125 marker, take a look here:
Good luck. 😘

So, I actually dealt with a Dermoid myself
Most of the time, these Dermoids are totally benign

My doctor mentioned there’s this tiny, tiny chance—like, super slim—that a Dermoid might just regress on its own. Mine kept getting bigger though, so I ended up having it removed back in the spring.

If you want me to dive into the nitty-gritty details, just let me know 🙂

Oh, and yeah, the CA-125 levels basically track those specific cells... mine was totally within the normal range

A colleague of mine had hers at 130, and everything turned out just fine

Honestly, you shouldn't let this get to you too much. I actually had mine surgically removed just two months ago. These types of tumors are generally quite benign—they aren't something that requires immediate removal unless they reach a certain size or if your CA-125 levels start climbing. In my case, they decided to take it out while they were already performing a diagnostic laparoscopy; it just made sense to handle it all at once. So, really, don't worry about it too much.

Everything is going to be just fine.
A tumor doesn't automatically mean you're looking at something malignant; benign growths are incredibly common.🙂
This specific type, a Dermoid, is a tumor that’s sometimes referred to as a "Twin Cell" tumor, and in about 2% of cases, it can be malignant.
It can actually contain things like hair, nails, or even intestinal tissue... etc. Honestly, it sounds way more gruesome than it actually is.
The doctor sent you for tumor marker testing because that's just standard medical protocol—don't let it scare you. It's better to have the data and know exactly where you stand. That said, keep in mind that tumor markers aren't always perfect indicators. For years, my own tumor marker levels have been elevated, yet despite every single test imaginable, doctors can't find a thing. In fact, I've fully recovered, yet my marker levels haven't budged an inch.🙂

dancer_girl said:For the past year, I’ve been dealing with constant back pain paired with a persistent low-grade fever—it stays hovering right around 98.6°F, rarely dipping or spiking.
After dealing with non-stop pain and a fever that spiked to 104, I ended up in the ER only to find out I have a kidney infection. So, yeah... there we go. It’s official now.
I was still dealing with those pains and running a fever, thinking it was my kidneys acting up again.
But look, five months ago, they told me the cyst was clear—I’d actually ended up in the ER because I was dealing with heavy, painful bleeding roughly every two weeks.
I was constantly going back for scans, and it was always one thing or another—one moment the left side looked clear, then suddenly the right side was flagged. One day the mass would be larger, the next it would seem smaller. It was just a constant, frustrating cycle of shifting measurements.
So, basically, my ovaries have been killing me constantly, which is why I headed back in for another checkup...
The inflammation was intense. I figured if I just used some Vagisil, the whole thing would be sorted, but I clearly underestimated how bad it actually was.
After my transvaginal ultrasound, the gynecologist told me they found a hyper-echoic, oval formation about 2 cm in size on my left ovary—specifically a Dermoid.
There’s also a 3 cm CA-125 tumor formation on the right side.
He told me to get my CA-125 checked first thing tomorrow morning. Now I’m just sitting here waiting on the results, and he wants me to call him the second they come in.
He told me it doesn't look good... but he said I need to wait for the results.
I did a little digging online, and from what I can gather, a dermoid is classified as a tumor.
My doctor wouldn't say a damn thing to me because he was clearly terrified of how I’d react. Honestly, while he was trying to break the news, he could barely even get his words out.
I tried telling him that I honestly couldn't care less what he has to say about it.
Look, he didn't actually say anything concrete; he was just circling around the point.
And now, I’m just sitting here waiting on the results.
I’m actually wondering if this could actually be a tumor—like, can you really tell what's going on just by looking at the CA-125 marker? Is that enough to know for sure?
If anyone actually knows what’s going on, I’d really appreciate some insight. To give you some context, I’ve been through the absolute wringer—multiple surgeries without anesthesia, fighting off sepsis, and being put on a ventilator twice. I've been right on the edge of death more than once. Because of all that, I’m not going to lose my cool or take things personally, no matter how bad the news is. I just want the truth.
So, I'm 20 years old.
I guess I went a bit overboard there... hopefully you guys don't mind the wall of text. 🙂

Thanks a million. 👍

Don't go thinking CA-125 levels are some kind of foolproof diagnostic tool when you're dealing with women of childbearing age. It’s honestly misleading half the time. You can see these massive spikes in the numbers that would make anyone panic, but they don't necessarily point to something malignant. Take endometriosis, for example—it can cause significant cellular changes and growths that send CA-125 levels through the roof, yet there isn't a single cancerous tumor in sight. Context matters.
Look, I’m no doctor, but I’ve dealt with my fair share of ovarian issues and spent way too much time digging through the research. To be blunt, I have this nagging feeling that you're looking at two separate things that, when lumped together, look like some massive red flag—but in reality, they aren't actually indicative of anything sinister.
Those kidney infections you're dealing with could very well be triggered by Escherichia coli. It’s a nasty little thing that’s notoriously difficult to shake once it takes hold. While it plays its part perfectly fine in your digestive tract, things go south fast if it wanders into your urinary system or reproductive tract. If it migrates there, it can cause sepsis within those organs, which is no joke. To rule this out as the culprit, all you really need is a urine culture. Just head to your primary care physician and ask for a referral. In the morning, catch your first urine sample in a sterile cup—you can pick one up at any local CVS or Walgreens—and drop it off at the lab for testing.
Another thing you might be dealing with is chocolate cysts, which could very well be popping up because of those constant bouts of inflammation you've been fighting.
Have you had any swabs done, a Pap smear, or anything like that?
Look, if you want an actual diagnosis, you can't just sit there waiting for one answer. You have to hunt for the cause in multiple places. Too often, doctors just stop looking too early—honestly, that’s exactly what happened with my own case. You simply have to go out and seek second, third, even fourth opinions. Don't just take one person's word for it; go ask around.
Have you had a color Doppler ultrasound done yet?
Honestly, my take is that you need to push for a referral to see a specialist at a major hospital. I’d highly recommend heading over to Mayo Clinic and seeking out Dr. Miller. Just show up there with your referral and all your previous test results and ask him to take a look. If he can't fit you in, any of his colleagues will be just as capable; they are all top-tier experts.
I suspect your primary doctor hasn't given you much info because, frankly, they probably don't know. Most gynecological diagnoses aren't 100% certain until they perform a laparoscopic exam right before the actual surgery.
You’ll likely need some kind of procedure, but right now, the priority is clearing up that infection you've been dealing with.
As for the Dermoid, it's basically a tumor that grows from skin cells. It frequently has actual hair growing on its surface, and from what I understand, it isn't dangerous.
A user named User2 on an old medical forum—who I believe was a physician—wrote this:
A Dermoid, or dermoid cyst (presumably on the ovary), is a type of hamartoma, which are essentially nature's "glitches." During embryonic development, a cell from the ectoderm—the foundation for epithelial tissues and their derivatives (like skin, hair, sweat glands, sebaceous glands, nails, teeth, and even neural tissue)—gets misplaced and settles on a different organ, most commonly the ovary, where it develops in isolation.
In the vast majority of cases, a Dermoid is benign and won't come back once it's removed. The only thing is that multiple cysts can occur; if they found and removed one, there might be others lurking nearby.
By the way, dermoid cysts also show up on the scalp or face quite often—they look almost identical to an atheroma, but when they are opened, you find more than just sebum inside.
Basically, your little "alien" is a peaceful little pet, a total sweetheart... there is absolutely no reason to be afraid of it.

So, go get that specialist referral from your doctor! That is my strongest advice to you!

Is the issue actually sorted out? I went under the knife for that recently, though my surgeon insisted the whole thing was pretty much unnecessary... He basically said it was just a formality to rule out everything else and confirm the diagnosis.