Refractory Cancer

[horselady1]

Hi Dr. Goodman,

In response to your question. I had thorough biopsing done during surgery.(stomach, lymph nodes, etc). They seem to agree that the staging was correct as Stage 1. The diagnosis was always a little questionable as to the exact type ovarian cancer other than to say epethial, mixed serous,undifferentiated, transitional cell carcinoma. The presence of HCG has never been understood. They all term me as "most unusual".
I am now going to switch from Doxil to Topotecan, since they state a drop of 15 points in my CA125 is not considered a positive reaction to Doxil.
Although nothing has shown up on any other tests, they do rule out anything else as the cause for the elevated CA125 other than cancer.
I am feeling quite alone, even though I have family support.
These decisions regarding my treatment are pretty much my own since this has become nothing more than guess work.

[nyc lady]

I lived in Queens most of my life.  A very good friend friend of the family had stage 4 throat cancer, told by MSKCC nothing could be done....well that was 7 years ago, she is alive and well, treated at NYU.

I had a friend treated by a ONC in Queens that never ever gave up.  She is an amazing doctor that was always looking for different chemos and combos.

Stay strong and keep fighting.....something will work!!!

The people on this board are amazing and the support and love will help you get through this.  Read some of the old posts, there are many chemo options and trials out there.

Good luck - keep us posted.
Pam

[horselady1]

Thank you so much for responding. I assume you live in NYC or in its surroundings. I have just switched over to NYU for treatment. They seem to be more aggressive towards my treatment. My other doctor was pretty much giving up on me to a certain degree. She had that wait and see approach. I'm not ready to sit on the sidelines and let the cancer get a better hold. As long as I can deal with the effects of chemo, I'm going to go forward with it until they find the magic drug and/or I get my numbers down.
Again, thanks for being there. It feels good to speak with others that are fighting and understand the frustration that we are all going through.

[nyc lady]

You have responded on the patient to patient forum.  I do not know if Dr Goodman reads these posts.  There may be some of the people on this forum that will come along and share your experiences.  I know what it is like to feel alone.  The good thing about this group here, you are never alone.  Many of us have been through what you are feeling.  

This disease is horrid and there is no clear cut chemo that works for anyone.  Like you have said, the doctors keep trying and trying and to be honest, what works for some doesn't work for others.  

I am sorry to hear that even being diagnosised with early stage that you are dealing with a recurrence.  I truly hope that they find the right chemo cocktail to rid you of those cancer cells.