ovarian cancer stage 3

[chappo]

my mum was diagnosed with stage3 ovarian cancer 3 1/2  years ago. after having numerous amounts of chemo none of it has worked. it has only prolonged her life. she is suffering from shortness of breath dur to the pressure of the tumors and the fluid they produce. she is on permanent oxygen and also suffers from constant nausea. i have googled for any information to tell me what the stages are for her since death is unavoidable but i can't find anything anywhere, i know that all patients cancer and stages before death will differ but i am just looking for someone that can give some sort of information so i can understand what is going on and as the disease progresses i might not be as shocked when it does change and progress. i don't want to know how long she has her doctor has already told us we are looking at months not year. can anyone please help me with the uncertainty a little please
cheers chappo

[Annekathryn Goodman, M.D.]

Dear Chappo,

What a tough situation. Thank you, Bridget , for your excellent reccommendations.

As a general statement, as a person becomes sicker, several things can happen:

-fatigue: it becomes harder to stay awake for long periods of time. It is exhausting to do the smallest tasks such as dressing, bathing, talking.

-nutrition: ovarian cancer commonly covers the intestines and the stomach. This causes a blockage of the intestine. It is not possible to eat.  As  person gets sicker, they lose their apetite. As they become more malnourished, they develop swelling in the dependent parts of their body. So they will get swollen legs, buttocks, and back

-anxiety: for some people, this time can be frightening, lonely, and existentially painful. Some people have trouble sleeping because they are afraid they will not wake up. So even though they are exhausted, they are sleep deprived

-pain:  usually pain is not a big problem for women who have ovarian cancer. But there can be pain from abdominal distention or tumor involvement of the lungs.

Interventions:
It is really important for family and friends to have lots of help. Family can become very sleep deprived and exhausted. It is important to rotate shifts so that everyone can have a break.

It is really helpful to have help from professionals who do hospice care if that is available in your community.  

Simple comfort measures such as bathing  your mother by sponge bath, foot massage with lotions, and frequent turning in bed  help alot with discomfort

There are good , rapid acting pain medications if needed. They should be purchased to be on hand so that if therre is a crisis at 3 am, you have something in the house.

Anti anxiety medications are very important. You should get advice about these from your mother's doctor .

Shortness of breath can be a tough problem. Morphine and lorazepam, an anti-anxiety med is very helpful for this.

I hope that this journey will be gentle for your mother

[bridget335]

My mom is dying of ovarian cancer, too.  She's at home and I too have been trying to find guidance about what these last weeks will be like for her.  I did find one book that you can download (free) from the following site:

http://www.acponline.org/public/h_care/download/index.html

It's got some good things in it.  Also, the hospice people have a pamphlet called something like "Gone from my sight" which describes some stages of approaching death.  You can google it and I'm sure you'll find it.  

Not sure where you are, but the hospice people are great, and were more straight forward with us about mom's remaining time than the doctor could be or was.  I highly recommend getting in touch with them if that is an option for you, even if it seems early days.  

My heart goes out to you,
Bridget

p.s.  I found a candid description of the care provided to one ovarian cancer patient with bowel obstruction (does you mom have?  many do) over the last weeks/months of her life. You might have to register for medscape (free) to read it:

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/459580_7