Another cancer

[trg3]

Hi im new here in january i found out i had stage4 breast cancer which i had 6 chemos and shrunk it the doctors told me the cells had spread to my lung and stomach ,in march i had a gene test done which came back i had the brca2 gene they also said i could get ovarian cancer nxt after my 3rd chemo it was discovered i had a mass on my ovary which the hospital said was a cyst not the case in august i went in for an op to remove my ovaries as a preventative ,which was discovered too late from that op and a biopsie ,last mth i had a full hysterectomy to remove it all since ive had my op ive been told it wasnt a cyst they removed but a massive tumour which had spread along with lots of spots ,a lot of them have been removed the remaining ones are to be treated with chemo just waiting on a start date for it ,saw the oncologist last wk and got told when i got fluid removed from my lung it was tested and my hospital had told me it was from my breast cancer ,but because i have ovarian now all my biopsies and other samples along with the fluid have been tested again its now come back there connected to my ovarian cancer not the breast ,i have now been told i didnt have stage4 breast c but only stage 2 but the ovarian is stage4a it was never discovered ive had both since december but only treated for one and the other one was dormant so annoyed ive been worried gone through so much and thinking i had incurable breast cancer as the doctor told me that when i didnt ,im due to start another chemo 6 sessions this time its carbo/paclitaxol also avastin not sure im going to be with these last time i was on EC and wasnt well from it

[Yoshbosh]

Oh you’ve been through the mill haven’t you?! What a rollercoaster these past few months have been.

Almost all of us have carbo/taxol as our first line treatment for OC, and from my perspective, it wasn’t as bad as I was expecting it to be. The hospital will give you all the meds you need for home, and hopefully that’ll keep on top of things for you.

If sickness is a problem, why don’t you try those travel sickness acupressure bands (you can get the in Boots)? My local hospital recommends them, and I’ve worn mine religiously. Nausea hasn’t really been a problem for me luckily.

You’ve found us now and we’ll be here for you.

Vicki x

[Hidden]

Oh my goodness what a time you have had. It sounds like they have now got to the bottom of it and can now at least start you on your road of treatment.

So many women here with lots of advice. I tried all of the advice until I found what worked for me.

Keeping hydrated I think is vital. Drink lots of water and try and sleep/rest as much as you can. But also taking gentle walks.

Will be thinking of you. Sarah x

[Lyndy]

Good grief! You really have had a terrible time.... even though you're BRCA status can mean that you are high risk for both you don't expect them to turn up together! The good- ish news is that we BRCA ladies tend to do well on platinum based chemo and we do have more treatment options. Please make sure you have lots of support online and offline xx L

[kat98116]

Jeez! So sorry for the physical/emotional roller coaster ride you've been on! I've had 5 rounds (15 treatments) of the regimen you will have (4 before surgery and so far one after). The beginning was the hardest, but now I've got all my "tricks" in place. The thing I wasn't doing in the beginning, which has helped the most, was hydrating and eating enough protein. I consult with a naturopath and she's got me drinking at least 54 ounces of water a day and eating 50 grams of protein; 20 at breakfast. It's made a huge difference in my energy and overall well being. I do use the sickness bands for the nausea, and I really think they help. I also used the anti-sickness drugs in a pinch. I also find that eating regularly helps keep the nausea at bay; I always have some sort of food in my purse. Here in the state of Washington cannabis is legal so I'm also using CBD oil (oral drops) to help me sleep and take the edge off the nausea. For me, the constipation is still the biggest problem. I take magnesium tablets at night (about 500 mg), and use Miralax (I think it's called Movical also) and Milk of Magnesia for a few days during and after the carbo/taxol combination. There are tons of suggestions here - good ones - but you have to experiment and find what works for you. Keep us posted!

[Sailorsue]

Dear trg3

What a lot to have to deal with at once.

Like all the other replies suggest we none of us know how we will react to the chemo as our bodies are all different. But if it helps ...my experience was in some ways similar to yours in that I was an emergency A&E admission with breathing difficulties which turned out to be fluid on the lung. After my chest drain (some weeks after) I was told that the analysis identified ovarian cancer. I had a 17cm tumour which I was told was inoperable...I started on carbo/taxol/avastin and after 2 sessions my CA125 count had dropped almost 50%. By the third session the tumour had shrunk to 7cm and was therefore operable. Hours of surgery and 3 more sessions of chemo and a total of 18 months of Avastin later I am happy to say that 3 and a half years down the line I am still here.

I consider that I have been incredibly lucky to respond so well and hope you do as well as me.

In terms of what to expect, because I was having all 3 infusions at once, the first chemo session was very long as they run the infusion very slowly in case you have an adverse reaction...as I recall almost 9 hours...so take plenty of things to entertain and distract you....books, crosswords, DVDs to watch....and a good supply of snacks to nibble. I often slept quite a lot as the anti histamines they gave me made me quite drowsy. Don't panic though....this was the first session...each one thereafter was quicker as I did not have an adverse reaction and once the front-line chemo had finished and I was just on Avastin it only took about an hour each time.

Like the other ladies who replied I did not suffer from vomiting and the slight nausea was dealt with with the occasional Metoclopramide. What I did experience though was extreme fatigue which would kick in about 2-3 days after the chemo sessions...ie. when the steroids I was prescribed for 3 days each time stopped. We improved that by taking them for longer...about a week each time and tapering the dose. This improved things but I was still too tired to do much of anything the middle week between treatments and felt fragile as though made of porcelain. I also, and found this more difficult to deal with, had serious chemo brain where much of the time my brain felt like it was no longer attached to my body and thinking was a struggle. ...plus the usual sore mouth (no curries or chillies) - a spray called Aequasyal really helped; the constipation - Laxido and trying to walk as much as possible to keep things moving :); red tea for hydration; and I did temporally have visual disturbance from session 3 onwards...just for a day or two and no pain. Okay once i knew to expect it.

I know that this sounds like quite a lot of possible side effects....but personally I would have found it easier knowing what to expect... I was warned about the nausea and sore mouth but not the visual disturbance. Once I knew it was normal I could cope. And I'm sure you will as well.

Very best of luck and bon courage.