Stage III (debulking a chemo for 74 yr old? Im scared

[LILLIAN577]

Now the oncologist says its stage III for my mom. He is referring her to a surgeon to do a full debulking and then chemo. Can she withstand chemo??? Im so scared. My dad says we cant just let her die, so the surgery it is. We have an appt with a surgeon on Thurs. What should my questions consist of?

[gls2824]

Hi Lillian.  My aunt was 83 when she was diagnosed with gall bladder cancer.  She had a very bad heart (over the years she went through bipass and valve replacement surgeries) and uncontrolled blood pressure and had gone into congestive heart failure more times than I can count.  She came through chemo just fine and had an excellent quality of life until she passed away at 86 (not from the cancer).

Your mom should do just fine.  Good luck on Thursday.

[crecco]

  Lillian,
   That is standard treatment for that stage of ovarian cancer. If your mom is in fairly good health, she should not have much problem with the chemo. Really it sounds much worse than it really is. You have every right to be scared, as that is normal reaction. I do hope that her oncologist is refering her to a gyn/onc to do the surgery. If he doesn't ask that he does. As far as your questions, any thing that you can think of. Do not worry about how any of them sound, that is their job so they are used to questions of every kind. Sit down before you go and write out a list of every question that you want to ask, that way you will not forget anything.
  This is all very new to you and your mom and it can be overwhelming at times. Just try to take a deep breath and relax a little. Let us know what you find out on Thurs.
    Chris