SHOULD I have chemo for Stage1C2 Grade 1

[Bambi62]

I have been given the OPTION of carboplatin chemo for Stage1C Grade 1. I m NED . Before the op when the cyst was found following a fall and a CT scan. CA125 was 12 and no symptoms at all . I have had very successfully TAH on 16 April with brilliant recovery. . They say benefit is only 3-4% if I have it? I will be closely monitored at the same intervals after the op. if I do or do not go through chemo. I'm nclined to just see what happens rather than go through the trauma of chemo? What experiences do others have please?

[CallmeMum]

Hi,

I would take the option of chemo just to wash away any lurking cells that you can’t see with the naked eye xxx

[Maus123]

Hi Bambi. Grade 1 means low grade tumour cells. That's what I've got too (but stage 3a not 1c). Chemo is the standard go to treatment for high grade OC. For low grade, it's not that clear cut as those cells behave differently. That's where the < 4% response rate to chemo comes from.

I didn't do chemo after my initial debulking surgery, since mine was mostly borderline at the time and treated as such i.e. watch & wait. A bit more than 2 years later, it recurred in my pelvic lymph nodes as 'proper' low grade ovarian cancer.

After my second surgery for that recurrence (again successful/with an optimal outcome), I've now decided to have Carboplatin/Paclitaxel chemo + Avastin, to see if I can stretch the time I'm NED. Also, because Avastin in combination with Carboplatin seems to offer good results for low graders (better than chemo alone).

It's your decision and there is no certain outcome.. not with low grade. Who knows... you could go on watch & wait and never be bothered by it again. But my approach would be to ask your oncologist about the combination of Avastin (Bevazicumab) with Carboplatin, and consider the chemo path just to be sure.

Whatever your decision, don't fret over it too much. As said.. there are many posisble pathways for low graders.. all of them valid choices.

All the best. Maus

[Ge0rg1na]

Do it! In 2010 I was diagnosed Stage 1a with high grade serous fallopian tube cancer, found by chance. My CA125 was just 8 but the oncology team in Amsterdam took no chances and I was given full debulking surgery following which I was NED. However, they were divided on whether I should have chemo or not, so it's a tough call even for the experts! As it turned out I did have carboplatin at that point and boy am I glad! Recurrence happened 18 months later, and again in 2013, and again in 2014. and again in 2016 and in 2017. I'm now on my 5th line treatment and I think my history shows that you have to fight the b*gg*r with all the tools you can. Remember, I was Stage 1a to start with. Hope this helps although our bodies are all different, I don't think you will regret having chemo. You might regret not having it down the line. Good luck with your decision and listen to your oncologist. If you're not happy you have time to get a second opinion. Gina xx

[Lily-Anne]

I would hold off on chemo. If you recur and you haven’t had it before, your cells won’t recognise it and therefore won’t have built a resistance to the platinum

LA

[Neona]

Chemo didn't work for me but has left me with kidney damage which is causing problems on my clinical trial. However, if I had not had the chemo I would have thought that was the reason the cancer came back. I believe that the technology exists to test the tumour to see what might work - worth looking into although you will have to pay for it.