Aa
Some good news...
Hi All,
I'm new to the forum, but just wanted to share my story with you.
My mum was diagnosed with Stage III ovarian cancer in October this year. She had huge ascites, a CA125 of 1470, two masses on her pelvis and deposits in the omentum, detected on a CT scan.
We were all devastated, this had come completely out of the blue. We pulled together as a family, but we all really struggled with the news.
The plan was to begin with chemotherapy, followed by surgery, followed by more chemo. My mum is very strong and set about preparing for treatment, buying a wig and putting her affairs in order. She was very positive externally, but I know inside she was terrified - we all were.
She had an overnight stay in hospital to drain the fluid in her abdomen - 9 litres in total! They sent the fluid away for analysis to obtain the cancer cell type, in order to tailor the chemo accordingly.
The results came back that there were "insufficient cells" in order to confirm it was ovarian cancer. My mum had previously had colon cancer (some years ago) and they could not rule out that this wasn't a recurrence of that, which had spread to the pelvis. Therefore, surgery was deemed the only option (biopsy was ruled out due to the location of the tumours). We asked the Consultant if it was a good thing that there were not many cancer cells, but he said no, it was just one of those things.
My mum was very upset because she knew the preferred route was chemo first to shrink the tumours - the surgeon predicted that due to the cancer having spread to the omentum, it would not be possible to remove all the cancer at surgery.
My mum coped admirably with the operation and bounced back very quickly. I was, and still am, so very proud of her. We received the good news after the surgery that he had got all of the cancer - he even downgraded it to Stage II. We were over the moon, it gave my mum such a boost and I'm sure helped towards her quick recovery.
She was due back in clinic 3 weeks after surgery, but received a call a week later to say the histology report was back and that the tumours were benign!!! We could not believe it - the news was more than we could've ever hoped for or dreamed of. No further treatment was required, just to recover from the hysterectomy.
The tumours being benign had not even been presented as an option, it was all doom and gloom. I understand why medical professionals do this, as they do not want to give false hope - it is, I guess, better to prepare for the worst. With all the medical evidence though, this had seemed impossible - the huge ascites, the dramatically raised CA125, the deposits in the omentum, plus obviously the two tumours. What had seemed impossible had become possible. I still cannot quite believe it - our tears of despair have become tears of joy.
I read through many forums when my mum was first diagnosed, frantically searching for information and answers. It is such a terrifying time - all you want is something positive to focus on and something to give you hope. The trouble is, there are not very many positive stories on here - it seems that once people get some good news, they put this behind them and get on with their lives. I just wanted to say that there are some positive stories out there and that there is always hope. Statistics are just that - everyone is individual and everyone has their own battle.
I wish everyone going through this awful situation the very, very best. Stay strong and never give up hope.
Kate
I'm new to the forum, but just wanted to share my story with you.
My mum was diagnosed with Stage III ovarian cancer in October this year. She had huge ascites, a CA125 of 1470, two masses on her pelvis and deposits in the omentum, detected on a CT scan.
We were all devastated, this had come completely out of the blue. We pulled together as a family, but we all really struggled with the news.
The plan was to begin with chemotherapy, followed by surgery, followed by more chemo. My mum is very strong and set about preparing for treatment, buying a wig and putting her affairs in order. She was very positive externally, but I know inside she was terrified - we all were.
She had an overnight stay in hospital to drain the fluid in her abdomen - 9 litres in total! They sent the fluid away for analysis to obtain the cancer cell type, in order to tailor the chemo accordingly.
The results came back that there were "insufficient cells" in order to confirm it was ovarian cancer. My mum had previously had colon cancer (some years ago) and they could not rule out that this wasn't a recurrence of that, which had spread to the pelvis. Therefore, surgery was deemed the only option (biopsy was ruled out due to the location of the tumours). We asked the Consultant if it was a good thing that there were not many cancer cells, but he said no, it was just one of those things.
My mum was very upset because she knew the preferred route was chemo first to shrink the tumours - the surgeon predicted that due to the cancer having spread to the omentum, it would not be possible to remove all the cancer at surgery.
My mum coped admirably with the operation and bounced back very quickly. I was, and still am, so very proud of her. We received the good news after the surgery that he had got all of the cancer - he even downgraded it to Stage II. We were over the moon, it gave my mum such a boost and I'm sure helped towards her quick recovery.
She was due back in clinic 3 weeks after surgery, but received a call a week later to say the histology report was back and that the tumours were benign!!! We could not believe it - the news was more than we could've ever hoped for or dreamed of. No further treatment was required, just to recover from the hysterectomy.
The tumours being benign had not even been presented as an option, it was all doom and gloom. I understand why medical professionals do this, as they do not want to give false hope - it is, I guess, better to prepare for the worst. With all the medical evidence though, this had seemed impossible - the huge ascites, the dramatically raised CA125, the deposits in the omentum, plus obviously the two tumours. What had seemed impossible had become possible. I still cannot quite believe it - our tears of despair have become tears of joy.
I read through many forums when my mum was first diagnosed, frantically searching for information and answers. It is such a terrifying time - all you want is something positive to focus on and something to give you hope. The trouble is, there are not very many positive stories on here - it seems that once people get some good news, they put this behind them and get on with their lives. I just wanted to say that there are some positive stories out there and that there is always hope. Statistics are just that - everyone is individual and everyone has their own battle.
I wish everyone going through this awful situation the very, very best. Stay strong and never give up hope.
Kate
That's such wonderful news. Thank you for sharing it. I can't begin to imagine what a relief and joyful day that was when you and your family found out.
Debbie
Debbie
That's wonderful news I'm happy for your mom. One thing I would do is to get a second opinion on the pathology of the tumors....just to be certain. Ovarian cancer pathology is a tricky pathology as there are many many types.
Just in case a second opinion on the pathology might be a good idea.
Just in case a second opinion on the pathology might be a good idea.
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