Brief Answer:
You need a CT scan to rule out cancer in your abdomen and fluid in lungs

Detailed Answer:
Hello, and I hope I can help you today.

There are many potential causes of feeling "bloated", because bloating is a very vague symptom that people use to describe both feeling that their abdomen is enlarged or that it feels swollen. An enlarged abdomen can be due to many factors including obesity, gas, fluid, enlarged organs, tumors and body habitus. Regarding your Churg-Strauss syndrome and sinusitis, I really do not think either are relevant to your current symptoms.

However, in your case I am most concerned because unfortunately, ovarian cancer can present as a rapidly enlarging abdomen in a postmenopausal woman. The most common presenting complaint of women with ovarian cancer is a rapidly enlarging abdomen out of proportion to the rest of their body. The enlargement of the abdomen can due to both an ovarian tumor and the belly filling up with fluid which is produced by the cancer. There are other types of cancer that can also cause fluid in the abdomen, like colon or liver cancer, however because ovarian cancer is so aggressive and because you are female, I am most concerned about that possibility for you at this point. Furthermore, because you are short of breath, I am concerned that you may also have fluid in your lungs or that your abdomen has become so large that your lungs cannot expand properly which is causing your difficulty with breathing.

I strongly recommend that you consult with a physician or go to an emergency room where you may have a CT scan for evaluation. There are other potential causes for the symptoms you describe, however I am very worried that delaying evaluation could be seriously putting your health at risk. I do not mean to scare you, but this could be a very serious situation and I strongly urge you to take my recommendation seriously. It would be wonderful if they were other causes of your symptoms found after evaluation that are benign, however I have to stress the urgency of the situation, especially because you're describing shortness of breath.

I sincerely hope I was able to adequately answer your question today and I hope you take my advice seriously and seek appropriate medical care. If you have any further questions or I can be of any additional assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Best wishes,

Dr. Brown

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Brief Answer:
I would not wait until August

Detailed Answer:
Hello again ma'am.

Unfortunately, ovarian cancer can be extremely aggressive and if that is truly your diagnosis I really do not think you should wait another two months for medical evaluation. If you feel short of breath at this time, it may be a sign that there may be fluid in your lungs, which is already quite advanced. I hope whatever is causing your symptoms does not turn out to be a malignancy, but a delay in diagnosis could ultimately affect your prognosis if it is.

If you develop increasing shortness of breath, you absolutely should go to an emergency room for evaluation. In the meantime, it would be prudent to try to get an evaluation by your doctor sooner or at a local hospital.

I sincerely wish you the best of luck in getting the proper evaluation, and i hope things do not turn out to be anything serious.

Warm regards,

Dr. Brown

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