Stage 3c ovarian cancer Nov 2016

[Kayto77]

Hey everyone. Good to get on this forum & hear of other people going through the same experiences.

I had debulking surgery Dec 2016. The cancer had spread further than the CT scan showed so they had to remove my sigmoid colon, consequently I ended up with a colostomy bag. Started chemo in Jan 2017 & then a few days after ended up in oncology with a bowel blockage. 2 weeks of Ng tube & no food apart from a saline drip they decide to operate. It was scar tissue & adhesions that they sorted, but left me very weak & under weight at just over 6st. Continued with my chemo & there was no sign of cancer at my CT scan in June 2017. I am currently having avastin every three weeks until June 2018. Most days I feel quite positive other days I feel very down. The first thing my oncologist said after my operation was "there is no cure for this" a bit of a bomb shell really! I understood the impact of ovarian cancer as my mum & nan had both had it, but still a tough thing to hear.

Sorry for the huge essay!

[Unlockes]

Hi Kay. Keep your chin up and happy thoughts I think it's a bit harder to look at the big picture instead I take things day by day. I too had a bowel blockage. Luckily my surgery went well

I'm thankful for every day I get yup spend south the ones I love. Take care and best wishes xx

[Yoshbosh]

Hello!

Welcome to our forum - I hope you are able to get lots of support from us 😊 Don’t worry about having down days - we all have those. I’m a 90% glass half-full person, but I have days which are hard for me too.

If both your mum and Nan had OC, have you been tested for the BRCA gene?

Vicki

[Kayto77 in reply to Yoshbosh]

Hi Vicki

Thanks for your message. Yes I tested for the BRCA gene in 2016. I had the results that I was negative in June 2016 & that my risk was not that much higher than anyone else so there was nothing more they could do for me. I was then diagnosed with OC in Nov 2016!

I have had further tests for other defective genes, but all still negative. I have now been offered onto a trial that will do a full geno map to see if they can identify a defective gene that hasn't been discovered yet.

I also try to keep positive most of the time, but there are days when you just wake up & feel like poo!

Thanks

Kerry

x

[julia8163]

Hi Kay welcome to the club. My story kicked off Dec 2015 , chemo and then De bulking. All clear Sept 2016. Reactivated April 2017 chemo again gem/carboplatium responded well to chemo, on a vastain since last august. The only side effect is high blood pressure. I keep active and walk every day. Live every day and don't worry about the future. Take care

[Lily-Anne]

Welcome to the party

It’s great news that you had a good scan. Positivity rules with OC. They often tell us things we don’t want to hear but really I found that to get on the key was to worry about the bits that affect me today rather than the maybe one day

LA xx

[Seasun36-uk]

I wish the Oncologists wouldn't SAY these things at a vulnerable time (or ever!). How do they know for sure?? One said to me, "You know we can't cure it". I thought "Thanks!!" What do you say to that?! I agree with the previous ladies...live every day, be happy, positive & strong. 💜💚

[Hidden]

Trouble is one size doesn't fit all patients!

Since my first recurrence, when I first was told "not curable but treatable" I've always felt that, at the outset, the very low chance of staying clear of it was not made clear.... so I think they can't really win!

[Cheryl4677]

I think everyone involved in trying to understand this disease and it’s variances must have ups and downs. There seem to be so many influences not controllable by our oncologists or ourselves. I’m sure every diagnosis must affect them too and they have to cope with both the good and bad news knowing the effect it has on their patients and families lives. There has been so much progress with new drugs and new thinking maybe one day most will get treated at an earlier stage.

Wishing you all the best.