How's this for a survival story!

Question

I have a habit of reading obituaries of distinguished and/or exciting people in my daily British newspaper - I'm not morbid, really, just interested in people's lives especially if they have lived a long time.  You get lots of stuff about world war 2 heroes/heroines at the moment due to their ages, pop stars who dabbled too much in illegal substances, as well as boring industrialists etc and you can read between the lines sometimes about how awful some people were although it's never said outright of course!  

Today, there was an obituary of a woman pianist who had an international career, although not terribly well known.  I quote - "Diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 1970 (!) she spent the final third of her life oscillating between recovery, relapse and recording (music)."  She essentially retired in 1979.  Obviously the writer of the obituary had no knowledge of ovarian cancer and its poor survival rates - why would he? - and had no realisation of what she had achieved.  If I could have 36 years of recovery and relapse I'd think it pretty miraculous! Though I'd be 99! What's a bit depressing is that so many years on things haven't improved dramatically.  Thought I'd share this woman's survival from age 42 to 78 with you all!  Jenny

turtledovemom · Answer

There are more than a few of us long-term survivors, with a variety of stages between us.  If we continue to do our best to get the word out about the symptoms of ovca, we'll see our numbers increase.  The biggest challenge, in my opinion, is getting the word out to our regular ob/gyn's and pcp's.

LindaF · Answer

It's true that cancers of all kinds are becoming more manageable diseases, I just wish it was such a sure thing in that regard that the worry would be stripped out, much like some of the diseases now that people just medicate for for the rest of their lives but live long lives regardless.  My doc friend remembers back when he was 15 and his father died of colon cancer. This was over 30 years ago and chemo back then was experimental. He feels somewhat heartened that the treatments have gotten better however it breaks his heart to know people still have to deal with it.

newlifegal · Answer

That is just so encouraging and stories like these keep my spirits lifted up. Thanks for sharing,ladies.  It just goes to show that our lives are not finished when we get the diagnosis. Take heart, all!

Christa

gah_70 · Answer

How interesting that you posted this.  Just today, I was speaking with one of our vendors at work.  I hadn't seen her since my bout with OvCa last year.  She asked how everything was going with my treatment, chemo, etc., and then said she was diagnosed in 1987 with stage III.  Although 19 years is no where near 36 years, I still find it encouraging.  She was diagnosed while pregnant, and didn't have any treatment until after the baby was born.  Dealing with a disease that is so cruel, these stories are both "diamonds in the rough".  Thank you for posting that.  I hope none of us 1%ers ever give up.  No matter how bad it seems, there is always hope!

Gail :)

How's this for a survival story!

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