Treating OC as a "Chronic Disease" How to Cope..

[Nancybib]

Hi Ladies. Thank you for your help. My question the other day was regarding platinum resistance. I did great and have been clean since the third cycle BUT within a few shorts months of ringing the 6th cycle bell I recurred with two small markers in my left pelvic. I felt so discouraged and felt like I was handed a death sentence. I already did 6 cycles of taxol and Cisplatin. Now I'll be starting Doxil and then next month Doxil/Avastin. My team told me this is a chronic illness like heart disease, diabetes, etc.... I'm so scared. Can I be NED after treatment or will I live with hopes of "controlling" this disease??? THANK YOU. SCARED IN JACKSON, NJ USA

[Daniellafriman]

Hi! My dr told me that nobody can be cured 100% of cancer but you can live with it. If they said the cancer is chronic it does not mean death. You can live long happy life with chronic disease

She said tha ALL women with oc or any kind of cancer have stem cell what never can be destroy. It can be activate or not. Nobody can tell.

Xxx Daniella

[Nancybib in reply to Daniellafriman]

Thank you so much!!! This is still so new to me my head is spinning!!!! I appreciate all the beautiful people I'm meeting on this site. I'm sorry we are all in this boat but at least we have each other.

[Daniellafriman in reply to Nancybib]

You're welcome ! But one thing what I like is '' when you are alive , feet on the earth there is always hope .''

Doctors really dont know prognosis ,they can only think with the statics . example women with IV oc are usually "no hope"- women but they can live M-A-N-Y years , so , dont listen doctors when they tell you about prognosis , they cant really know. Only what you have to think is YOU and your health .xx

[Katmal-UK]

Hi Nancy. When I had my first recurrence after nearly four and a half years from initial diagnosis I fell apart in the consultants room. I thought oh well thats that. But Im still here despite 2 recurrences in total, 38 months in remission this time, NED and working full time. A total of just over 9 years surviving with stage 3 advanced OC. i can totally emphathise exactly how you are feeling right now, the fear etc. I wanted to run away but I couldnt outrun this but sometimes you can keep it at bay. There are loads of treatments out there. Stay positive and enjoy each day you have. Also stay off google, statistics are just that, they cant tell you what will happen to you. I wish you well. do stay in touch and let us know how you get on. Sending you a bug hug. btw I love America, go every year! lol xx Kathy xx

[jools53 in reply to Katmal-UK]

Omg so so good to here news like this! Was thinking I only had months 😘😘😘

[Hidden]

Hi Nancybib, my oncologist told me I had a chronic illness six years ago and I am here. I have a good quality of life in between treatments. I agree stay away from google because the stats and the topic threads are rather scary, yes we can see the american threads too. How long can you live with Heart Disease, quite a long time so they treat Cancer now this way too, they put the lid on before the damage is irreparable. So all is not lost, good luck with your treatment and post here anytime

[LesleyGreengran]

Hi. I'm on doxil. It's the easiest chemo I've had to deal with so far, mostly some fatigue and red blistered hands but not the nausea that some cause. I hope it works for you xx

[Nancybib in reply to LesleyGreengran]

Thank you so much.!!! I start next Monday so I'll let all know how I'm doing. I did fine on front line and never expected to recur so quickly but they said chemo is like antibiotics. We need to find the right one for these new cells. The taxol and Cisplatin seemed to do the job on front line so I'm hoping Doxil helps with this.