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History of Ovarian
I recently had a lymph node removed in my superclavical area - the biopsy came back as cancer of the gynological area. I have a history of primary ovarian and primary vaginal. I also had surgery due to a blockage in my colon and at that time 3 of my pelvis lymph nodes were found to be cancer - again they couldn't pin point if it was ovarian or vaginal - they just said of the gynological area but they ruled out colon cancer. It has always bothered me that they couldn't tell me for sure which cancer was in my pelvis area and now i have 2-3 clusters of lymph nodes enlarged. Is it that hard to tell what type of cancer is spreading? I'm being treated at a hospital in Chicago so i know i have excellent Doctors but it makes me nervous that they can't give me a definate answer. Any insight, thoughts, ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!!
sorry again. my post didn't go through the first time so I did it again and they both went through. Not very good at posting today
Danielle
Danielle
I had surgery in July of 2005 for my hysterectomy which they found the tumor and it burst in my abdomen. I had to wait two weeks to find out what kind of cancer it was because they thought it was Ovarian or Colon. The reason they were so confused was because the cancer was of a mucinous origin. Most colon cancers are mucinous. Most ovarian cancers are serous.
My Gyn-Oncologist is one of the few that treat mucinous ovarian cancer differently than serous ovarian cancer. I just had my 3 month checkup and the resident that was there for my surgery was there again at my Oncologist office. She told me that the surgery I had was very advanced (Intraperitoneal Hyperthermic Chemotherapy). We discussed the fact that Mucinous cancers need to be treated with different chemo agents. My second opinion at the University of Michigan was to treat my cancer with the normal carboplatin, cisplatin or taxol. My OBGYN doctor who was the Chief OBGYN Oncologist at Walter Reed Medical Center (retired from the army in 2004), treats mucinous ovarian cancers with Mitomycin C (This is a colon cancer chemo agent). He told me this form of ovarian cancer can be resistant to the normal chemo used for the serous ovarian cancer.
When I first had my surgey I could not find this treatment on the internet. My surgery the second one was performed September 21, 2005 (only 8 people in the US perform it, maybe more now). Since that date there are at least a hundred articles on the internet regarding the Intraperitoneal Hyperthermic chemotherapy with mitomycin C. (not just the intraperitoneal chemotherapy, these are two different techniques)
Because they have never been able to tell what kind of cancer it was and maybe had it confused with colon cancer like mine, I am thinking yours could be a mucinous ovarian cancer, I am not a doctor but it is a possibility.
I had a regular OB-GYN perform the first surgery in which the cancer burst in my abdomen. He said that he had never seen anything like it and couldn't believe it came back cancerous, I think because of the mucinous origin. Mucinous ovarian cancer tends to grow bigger, I think, hits women ten years younger and is more often caught early.
I hope in any way this might help you or give you more avenues to find what your cancer is. email me if you like at ***@****.
Take Care,
Danielle
My Gyn-Oncologist is one of the few that treat mucinous ovarian cancer differently than serous ovarian cancer. I just had my 3 month checkup and the resident that was there for my surgery was there again at my Oncologist office. She told me that the surgery I had was very advanced (Intraperitoneal Hyperthermic Chemotherapy). We discussed the fact that Mucinous cancers need to be treated with different chemo agents. My second opinion at the University of Michigan was to treat my cancer with the normal carboplatin, cisplatin or taxol. My OBGYN doctor who was the Chief OBGYN Oncologist at Walter Reed Medical Center (retired from the army in 2004), treats mucinous ovarian cancers with Mitomycin C (This is a colon cancer chemo agent). He told me this form of ovarian cancer can be resistant to the normal chemo used for the serous ovarian cancer.
When I first had my surgey I could not find this treatment on the internet. My surgery the second one was performed September 21, 2005 (only 8 people in the US perform it, maybe more now). Since that date there are at least a hundred articles on the internet regarding the Intraperitoneal Hyperthermic chemotherapy with mitomycin C. (not just the intraperitoneal chemotherapy, these are two different techniques)
Because they have never been able to tell what kind of cancer it was and maybe had it confused with colon cancer like mine, I am thinking yours could be a mucinous ovarian cancer, I am not a doctor but it is a possibility.
I had a regular OB-GYN perform the first surgery in which the cancer burst in my abdomen. He said that he had never seen anything like it and couldn't believe it came back cancerous, I think because of the mucinous origin. Mucinous ovarian cancer tends to grow bigger, I think, hits women ten years younger and is more often caught early.
I hope in any way this might help you or give you more avenues to find what your cancer is. email me if you like at ***@****.
Take Care,
Danielle
Thanks Pamnyc and Tybear. Yes i am seeing a gyn/onc - one of the best in Chicago that's why i'm so frustrated - even with them bringing up my case to a tumor board they still can't tell. I had a borderline tumor on my ovary removed 12/03 but told it was nothing to worry about everything was confined to the ovary - considered pre-cancerous. Then diagnosed with vaginal cancer 11/04, had a hysterectomy and then colon resection 01/05. I've had radiation with a low dose of chemo for the vaginal cancer along with radiation implant surgery then a higher dose of chemo for the cancer in the pelivs lymph nodes. I see the doc tomorrow but i think they are thinking about chemo for the cancer in my lymph nodes which is a reoccurance I'm worried that the cancer will be resistent to chemo even if it is a different mix. My last chemo was 11/05 so just over 7months ago.
I posted but it didn't work so I will try it again. My ovarian cancer was of a mucinous origin and they were not sure if it was ovarian or colon cancer. I was treated with Mitomycin C via intraperitoneal hyperthermic chemotherapy which is very advanced (my oncologist performs this and treats mucinous ovarian cancer differently than serous ovarian cancer).
My OB-GYN surgeon who performed the hysterectomy and dissection said he had never seen anything like my tumor before. Mucinous ovarian cancer, I have read in an published article should be treated as a separate entity because it does not respond well to normal ovarian cancer chemo as serous (more common)ovarian cancer does. I also have read that it is caught early more often, it is more prevalent in younger women and tend to grow larger.
Anyway, here is something that maybe you could chat with your medical team about. I hope you are doing well. I will pray for you.
Thinking of you,
Danielle
My OB-GYN surgeon who performed the hysterectomy and dissection said he had never seen anything like my tumor before. Mucinous ovarian cancer, I have read in an published article should be treated as a separate entity because it does not respond well to normal ovarian cancer chemo as serous (more common)ovarian cancer does. I also have read that it is caught early more often, it is more prevalent in younger women and tend to grow larger.
Anyway, here is something that maybe you could chat with your medical team about. I hope you are doing well. I will pray for you.
Thinking of you,
Danielle
You know, I used to think pathology was so black and white, but I discovered the hard way, that it's not. My own biopsy yeilded so many different answers from two different hospitals (neither of them cancer) that you can imagine my surprise when I was told after my surgery that it was, indeed, cancer. How could they not have known? I really don't understand how your Dr's can't tell exactly where your cancer is originating from - maybe it makes no difference to them, but if your anything like me, you just need to know. Ask more questions - don't back down. Get a hold of your pathology reports if you have to, and find out all you can. Good luck to you,
Becky
Becky
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