Ovarian Cancer

Hi

I am so sorry to hear of your mum's illness. My mum Lynda was diagnosed with stage 3 ovarian cancer in April 2007. My mum also is now in the laters stages of the disease. My mum also was inoperable. Mum was 59 in September just gone. When mum's cancer was detected she was stage 3c, ie the cancer had spread to the surface of her liver and also to her bowel. I can empathise so much with how you are feeling. I am sure that we are experiencing similar emotions. It is so difficult to know what to say, and what to do. Enjoy time with your mum, and be there, that is all that we can do, myself and my sisters are struggling with so many emotions and what to say. We just do what we can and try to make anything happen for mum that she wants to do, as practically as is possible Please do message back.

HI
I am devastated. My mum (65) has just been diagnosed with ovarian cancer - they mentioned stage 3/4 and we know its spread but at the moment they say they can operate. How can i cope? What will they do? How can I help her? How can i stop feeling so sad? x

Hi
Im confused. How do they 'stage' the cancer- how come sometimes it can be inoperable, and sometimes people survive? Mum is on a stage 3c but they have told her surgery and chemo will be the next steps. Will this be cureable? how will i know? If she is past stage 3 does that mean its it?

hi, sorry to hear about your mum, My mum (aged 78)was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in may 2007 it was in- operable as it was too advanced it had spread to her chest and lymph glands her ca125 levels were 292. She was told that she had a few months without chemo but with chemo they could try to prolong things for her. We, as you are, were so devastated and were expecting her to go down hill very quickly. She opted for chemo and tolerated 4 cycles of it. Her tumour markers returned to a low 19 in october of last year and the hospital said they would not need to see her until feb 2008 (now).Her CA 125 levels have increased to 87 and she will have a ct scan on 21st Feb to tell where the cancer is now and what stage. She may be offered more chemo.
As to answering your question.....I do try to make her time left with us memorable, take small trips out, update photo albums, etc, but I think the most important thing is having time together. It has been a long road to get to this point and still is a long road ahead.

just be yourself. my husband has colon cancer,very advanced, he was told 6 to 12 months back in october. We have a seventeen year old daughter, so she asked me the same question. my husband said, be yourself,talk to me about your hopes and dreams, and your fears. Dont grieve for your mum while she alive, you have the rest of your life to do that. tell her what you think, tell her yur thoughts, give her time. xx

Hi
I think maybe you should be thinking in terms of palliative rather than an actual cure. It's hard but that way you will not put off till tomorrow what you can do today. Surgery is the first line method to reduce the cancer load. The more that can be removed the better chance the chemo will have to reduce the rest. I have had a full hysterecomy but there is a smallish mass (but still bigger than 1cm) on part of my intestine making it technically hard to remove. I also have an enlarged lymph node. And today I managed to take in the news that I have a sprinkling of my sarcoma in both lungs. I am only 47. It's hard to accept but it's the only way to see it now: my 3rd chemo was today, so I am due for an MRI after the next one. Only then will I know if the regime is having any effect. Here in Sweden we have a 3 prepartion regime: Taxol, Doxyrubicin, Paraplatin. Not sure what the concesus is in UK.
Whatever you do for your mum will be right. Just let her take the lead. My dad died of cancer 4 years ago, I didn't know how I could get through it at the time. If your mum wants to hide from it, just let her. If she wants to talk about dying, let her. Give her what you have. But look after yourself too.
Kind regards, Sara

I too have bowel cancer and so does my husband. They stage the cancer usually only after they have cut it out and its on the pathology table. They sometimes can take biopsies beforehand too. You can find out all about staging and what it means on this website.

I just want to say that my husbands oncologist told him that he knows people with very early stage A's who can die within 2 years, and he also knows people with very late stages, past stage C3 for example, who can live for years. We have also been told that nobody has ever given a chemotherapy drug to a cancer patient and cured them. They don't talk about cure, only remission. But one can be in remission for 25 years, as my neighbour was.

It's an unknown, and that's the worst part of it - never knowing, but havign to accept it anyway.

Good luck and I wish you well.

Hi Liz,

Firstly I do hope you receive this reply OK as it is 'some time now' since your posting.

I am sorry to hear about your Mum's diagnosos it is so devastating when Cancer is diagnosed no matter which Cancer, we always ask why don't we?

The 'staging' of cancer is very involved and often cannot be 'staged' until a sample of the cancer is tested in the laboratory, and as your Mum has been given a stage 3c diagnosis it can only be 'assumed' at this stage at least until 'actual' surgery and removal or possibly a biopsy of a tumour is completed.

My wife for example was diagnosed as a stage 3c tumour but as it was a 'large' tumour it was removed successfully and without any spreading, however other ladies we are aware of are given a stage 3 or late stage 2 and they may have a spread into other organs, bowel, liver, lymph nodes etc.

So as you can see Liz it is not easy to draw a conclusion until ALL tests are successfully completed.

You can read my wifes story on the following website which may be of interest. She is in Clinical Remission but sadly there is no CURE as such but maybe in the future, we'll see.

Best wishes.

Peter Dobson
Ovarian Cancer Support Group
www.ocsg.co.uk

i was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in april 2006 stage 3/4. i had chemo then surgery and three lots of further chemo finishing in october 2006. I was in remission until august 2007. I have been on chemo since last september. I have had 10 lots of caelyx or doxirubicin so far. My tumour markers have been in normal range since november last year. I have just had my fortieth birthday. It is not easy copying with something like this as many of you know. It very difficult not being able to plan too far ahead. Not knowing what the future holds scares me and sometimes people close to me do not understand. I am fit and healthy and still work. I have two children aged 15 and 12.

I just wanted to wish you well. You sound as though you are doing very well with your treatment, which is fantastic. There are other ladies on here in similar position, and I am sure you will get a message soon. In the meantime, take care, hugs xxxx Penny

Hi catherine, welcome to the site.I was diagnosed in november 2006 after a hysterectomy to remove a mass on my ovary.It was stage 3c.explanations from the doctors sounded terrifyingly grim.I had 6 cycles of chemo.Originally my ca125 were over 9000 but after op went to
250 and down to 10 after chemo.6 months later however another tumour had grown but ca125 had remained the same.i was selected for a trial drug and was told the cancer was now terminal.I had 6 cycles of chemo and for 12months now it has held things back.I feel quite well and am at work.The future is still very uncertain but i live for the day and try to make the most of life. i am a single parent with a 13 year old and my first priorities were to ensure things stay as normal as possible for her. If i have the money i will spend on holidays and trips rather than save,its all about enjoying and building memories for her.In many ways i feel more confident about many things but still hold back on plans too far ahead.I hope all goes well for you and that you will keep us posted. join us in the chatroom sometime for support and a lot of laughs.xx

sorry Catherine , I was diagnosed in 2005 not 2006 in case you thought id crammed alot in!!! Chemo brain!!!Still ,hehe.Lesleyxx

Hi Catherine

Not sure if you'll see this, response probably a bit late. I was diagnosed with this cancer in March this year. Had hysterectomy. about to have my 6th chemo and on a trial drug,ICON 7 trial.Receiving the diagnosis was difficult and the outlook didn't seem great. I have 2 sons aged 12 and 15.Like you i feel scared about what lies ahead. I try to keep as positive as i can, but sometimes that is difficult.If you'd like to chat sometime, it would be good to hear from you. Take great care.
Angela

Just wanted to wish you all the very best with this new drug. I hope that the side-effects aren't too debilitating, and above all that it keeps you going a long, long time. I think Lesley is away at the moment (see post above yours) and she told me her computer is playing up, but I'm sure you will get a response from her sometime soon as you have a lot in common. With very best wishes xxx Penny

Hi, my mum (aged 58yrs)was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in June 2006 after her incompetent GP missed it for 18 mths, it got to stage 3 in both her ovaries and the omentum, she had 6 litres of ascites removed from her stomach by the time we almost carried her into the hospital after battling. She had 4 lots of chemo followed by an op to remove everything and then another 2 chemo's. She did great recovered really well and has been fine for 2 yrs, til last few months kept getting ill with viruses, and not feeling right, long story, lots of obvious symptoms, too many GP visits once again!!!! Not listened too, not believed, fobbed off with depression, migraines, bell palsy!!!! We found out on sat just gone that she has 2 small areas of cancer in her brain, they think secondary to ovarian, really unusual, so awful, breaking our hearts, she is so brave bless her!