CLEAR CELL OVARIAN CANCER

[Silver]

Hi , I was diagnosed with1a clear cell ovarian cancer in april 2005 ,I had 6 cycles of carbo / taxol which finished in oct 2005 . I was told that  there was no tumor  but pathology found cells only and it was my choice wether to have chemo or not . I was told that the cancer was caused by the endometriosis that i had .i also had 16 large fibroids and 2 complex cysts . I had a total hysterectomy but no lymph nodes or omentum removed during surgery . my question is , what are my chances of a cure ?  I  have only found very gloomy articles on this particular cancer . I  had the cells inside 1 ovary only that was encapsulated and the peronetal washings were clear . My ca125 before  surgery was 500 and the last one was 8 . I would be very grateful if you could tell me if there are any  women that have been cured of this type of cancer . I am 43 years old . Thanks in advance for your help ,

[sistertwo]

Hey Silver, that you for your concern. I am truly doing great now. It was tough going as you are well aware, but I feel good now. You are so right...sometimes it feels lonely having this monster of a disease & you develop a kinship with others who have gone through the same hell. I too, like Jane39, feel like I have a shadow following me even though I am remission. That was the perfect way to express it! Gotta keep living though. I also learned to let others help me. That's not always easy, but I try to remember that it makes them feel good & sometimes we need a bit of help. Big hug to you.

[Silver]

Hi there ,  thanks for your sensible words as I really do need to calm down , you are right about living my life as it is still on hold at the moment , its almost like I am waiting for the magic 5 year number to pass . There are so many brave women on this forum but I am not one of them as I worry constantly which I know is completely pointless and won,t change anything . I have my next checkup in 11 days and am praying everythings ok . How are you ? have you got many side effects from the chemo ? I am just left with weight gain , type 2 diabetes (due to large weight gain from steroids ) and slight numbness in the bottom of my feet . Please let me know how you are getting on and thanks again . Best wishes Angie

[Silver]

Hi there , thanks  for your response , cancer feels such a lonely buisness to deal with especially when you have this rare type as we do . I only had chemo in my arm when I had it but the type you are having is supposed to be even better . It is 18 months since I finished the chemo and I have another check up in 11 days  which is making my stomach churn and I can,t sleep . I have recently been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes as I gained so much weight during the chemo as I was on a lot of steroid medication , I seem to spend so much time having checkups for this and that I should  move in at the blood lab !! .When I had the surgery they did,nt think I had cancer it was only when they got the path lab report back that they saw clear cell cells under the microscope . I do worry that they did,nt remove my omentum or lymph nodes during surgery which they seem to do with this monster disease to everyone whatever the stage . How are you coping with everything ? I hope you are doing well , I will have to learn to get some courage from some where like a lot of women on here have . Take care Angie

[Jane39]

Hey Silver, you can read thru this forum around May 2006/July 2006, (What the Future Holds) I was diagnosed with Stage 1A Clear Cell (actually if you google that, it takes you to my post here on this forum) back in 3/2006, had full surgery, 6 cycles of carbo/taxotere, and so far so good.  It's just been a year that this nightmare started, but WOW what I've been through in this past year.  All we can hope for is this beast is behind us. Just do your quarterly check ups/scans etc.  That's all you can do.  Live Life.  It's taking me a bit to do that myself, it feels like you always have this shadow following behind you.  There are so many statistics out there, you will overwhelm your self reading all of them.  Just be thankful and Hurry Up and get living!!  Take Care.

[sistertwo]

Hey Silver, I was diagnosed with clear cell, stage 3a in Aug. 06 & just finished 6 grueling rounds of cisplatin/taxol (I had uncontrollable N/V). I had intraperitoneal chemo as well as the intravenous. Did you get intraperitoneal chemo too? If you did, do know anything about it increasing our odds? I ran into the same problem as you did when trying to find info on clear cell. I asked my doc about it & he said, "well, I sure wish none of my patients had it." All that did was scare me more *#$%less than I already was. lol I hope you are doing fabulously well. I am so far! Life is good!

[Annekathryn Goodman, M.D.]

Dear Silver,

It is very hard to carry the diagnosis of an ovarian cancer and not worry. There will always be a risk this cancer could return. However there are many factors  about your experience that are reassuring.

There are factors that can help us predict who is at risk for a recurrence. these include:
stage
grade of the tumor
extend of surgical resection
age of the person
rate of drop of the CA 125

Early stage, complete resection of the tumor , age younger than 45 are good prognostic factors.

There is concern that the clear cell subtype has a more aggressive behavior. However when women with ovarian cancer are compared stage for stage (that is stage I clear cancers are compared to stage I serous and so on), there is not a big difference in rates of recurrence.

Clear cell cancers are associated with endometriosis. I would definitely recommend that you stay away from any estrogen. estrogen can stimulate the growth of endometriosis.

There are women who have experience what you have gone through who have not had their cancers recur
best wishes