I just don't know..

[JamieLee24]

My Grandma, 65, was diagnosed with stage 3 ovarian cancer a few weeks ago. On 9/25 she received her first chemo treatment. They had complications with her veins, so the other day she got a port in her chest. She'll get her second treatment tomorrow. After her first treatment she told me that there's an 80% chance of a "cure." but i know there isn't a cure for cancer. So what did she mean? And also, I was wondering why she didn't undergo surgery.. why they couldn't just remove what they could.. because she doesn't have a tumour. She also told me that one of her ovaries broke off into her stomach and is "floating around in there." Is that even possible? I read that women in stage 3 usually have 5 years to live. Is that the least or most amount of time she has? She won't tell our family much.. doesn't want to scare us. I know I will never get the straight honest answers out of her, and I've been reading about it, but I'm not coming up with the answers I'm looking for. So can you, or anybody, please help if you know the answers to these questions? Any information will help. Thank you so so much.

[rmarie]

Is there any way your grandmother had a biopsy of fluid in her abdomen?  If her abdomen got large, it could be she has ascities and that is the fluid she is talking about her ovaries floating around in.  They could put in a needle and biopsy the fluid and determine if there were cancer cells.  The 80% could relate to they are 80% sure that she is a stage 3, based on CT and ultrasound.  Surgery may be later.  Is she seeing a Gyn/Onc?  You or your mother really needs to go with her to ask the questions and hear what she is being told.  This is a tough diagnosis, I don't go alone to the hard treatments, I need the 2nd pair of ears to hear and think of other questions.  When they told me I had cancer I went on autopilot and depended upon my husband to check things out.  Here for questions.  Good luck, and go to chemo and the appointment with her.  Someone needs to be her contact person, regarding health care information anyway.  

[EchoUK]

There is a difference between being a long term survivor and being cured. I don't believe any doctor would claim to have a cure for OVCA but some women do survive for a long time and eventually die of other causes - we all aim to be one of the fortunate ones!!

Quote ''cured' is defined as surviving for five years after the first diagnosis'.

http://www.aicr.org.uk/OvarianCancer.stm

[Jan214]

Oh, I definitely agree that there are many many long term survivors of this disease.  It is what keeps me going.  I just don't think you can call something a "cure" until you know what causes a disease and have developed a specific treatment for it.  If I die of a heart attack at 92 than I guess I will consider myself cured of OVCA.  LOL  Yes, I have a warped sense of humor, another thing that keeps me going.  I don't think in terms of percentages or statistics either but if someone asks I will tell them.  If I went by stats I would be picking out the urn for my ashes but that is not happening anytime soon.  You just have to do everything you can to not be a statistic or in your case JaimeLee your Grandmother.  
Jan

[SimplyStar]

I guess my main question is how can the doctor dx stage 3 without surgery?  What proof do they have that she actually has cancer?  How did they determine what chemo to give without knowing the type of cancer , if it is there?
This lady needs to have someone go with her  to get straight answers that we all know must be answered.  As far as the cure thing goes,  I will not accept the facts of percentages, I too have talked with many who have lived long past the perdictions given them by doctors.  The states have the highest rate of survivors in the world, just read there are over 10 million right now.  My heart goes out to this grand daughter, she cares and is being shut out of knowing what and how she can help.

[nyc lady]

I have to disagree with your statement of there is no cure of OvCa....there are many women that have beat this disease at various stages.  I know of a women that is 20 years 8 months out stage 3...I recently read of another woman on a different board that is 12 years out Stage 4.....this disease is not 100 percent terminal and the statics do improve every year.  There are people on the winning side....that is important to remember.

Never give up hope.

[Jan214]

1st off the port is a good idea because veins can't usually take chemo drugs well. 2nd, the numbers 80% and stage 3 don't usually go together but if her Dr told her that than he is referring to her chances,  not statistics.   When they talk about a 5 year survival rate they are talking about the amount of women who are still alive 5 years after diagnoses. Stage 3 is between 15 & 35%. The numbers vary due to many different factors.  I personally don't believe OVCA is ever cured.  Some people get very long remissions though.  The only time I know of that ovaries self detach is in plants (yes, some plants have what they call an ovary), and I tried to look it up but found nothing.  Sometimes they do debulking surgery after chemo, but it is usually done before.  You need to sit your Grandma down and explain to her that your lack of knowledge is scaring you more than not knowing.  Maybe you could go with her to the Dr and ask some questions yourself.  I would definitely find out about that free floating ovary thing.  The following is a link to Johns Hopkins and should answer alot of your questions.  Good luck honey and keep us posted.
Jan
http://ovariancancer.jhmi.edu/

[EchoUK]

Hello Jamie,

I am sorry to hear that your grandma has joined our 'club'.  I am sure that you have surfed the net and already know that there is no cure for OVCA - certainly at Stage 3.It is regarded as terminal but treatable and the response to treatment is different for every one of us. Any of the cancer sites will give you the life expectancy by stage but again it is all about averages. Chemotherapy is sometimes given before surgery if there is a need for a tumour to be shrunk in order to remove it more successfully at a later date or to dry up ascites if it is presenting a problem but sometimes surgery is not possible depending on where the cancer is located. Unfortunately unless your grandma tells you what is going on you can only guess which is sad really as it is probably more stressfull than knowing the truth.  Does no-one go to the hospital with her - is she really listening to what the doctors say ? It is not easy to absorb all that is said and having some else with you helps a lot.

I hope your Grandma responds positively to treatment but it will only prolongue life not cure the disease.

Best wishes from Ruth in the UK