Will I be offered surgery?

[Guilane]

Hi All, I have HGSOC stage 1V and when I was diagnosed just over two years ago my abdominal tumour was 15cm x 11cm with a side mass of 4cm. I had spread to the lymph nodes in my neck and chest which have now gone. After two years of chemo the tumours had reduced but are now back to square one. I was never offered surgery due to the spread, which I don’t have now. My onc is looking for a clinical trial at the moment. Do you think I should push for surgery now? Do you think I will be offered it? Do you think it would be worth it? Please help if you can. Gill X 🤗

[Caleda4]

Hi, Nit sure where you live in the UK, but you could seek a second opinion at one of the Cancer hospitals. Christina Fotopoulo at Royal Marsden. I wish you luck with whatever your decision.x

[Lyndy in reply to Caleda4]

I think CF is at UCH London but agree that you should contact her 😊

[Guilane in reply to Lyndy]

Thank you both. I’m in Berkshire so can get to London. Hers is the name I see mentioned most here. Gill 🤗X

[Boot1947 in reply to Lyndy]

Isn’t CF at Hammersmith Hospital?

[Caleda4 in reply to Boot1947]

That's what I thought.

[win_56 in reply to Boot1947]

Yes she is

[Morini]

I would also suggest requesting a referral to Christina Fotopoulou. She's at Queen Charlottes Hospital part of Hammersmith under Imperial College NHS. I had an enlarged lymph node, which turned out to be a reaction and not cancerous, but she was prepared to consider surgery when it had responded to chemo if had had been cancer. Also you'd be with one of the specialised teams.

[Guilane in reply to Morini]

Thank you Moroni. Can I get in touch with Christina myself or do I need a referral? If I can I would like to keep open the option of a clinical trial, if there is one out there for me. I’ve never been offered surgery. Can anyone tell me about the procedure, recovery time, complications, anything to help me make a decision should I be offered it. Thank you. X

[Morini in reply to Guilane]

I think that you could self refer to Christina privately or request a 2nd opinion under NHS, but others may know more because I didn't have to do that. I am in Oxfordshire, it was just where all operations were being done at the time. There were warnings before my op but I had a positive outcome from it, happy to share my experience, but I think Christina would go through everything as it relates to your situation so you could make an informed decision.x

[OvacomeSupport Partner My Ovacome Team in reply to Guilane]

Dear Guilane

Thank you for your question. I can see that some forum members have kindly shared their experiences with you about this and I hope this has been helpful.

I just wanted to share with you an Ovacome information resource about getting a second opinion which can be found here on our website: ovacome.org.uk/getting-a-se... . This outlines some potential advantages and disadvantages of getting a second opinion before explaining more about the process of a doctor-to-doctor referral.

I hope this is useful and that a conversation with a member of your clinical team can provide personalised guidance in relation to your individual circumstances. If you would like to talk anything through with a member of the Ovacome support team or if you would like help to plan or prepare for any future appointments, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. You can message us directly through this forum, email us via [e-mail] or call our friendly support line on 0800 008 7054. We’re here Monday – Friday, 10am – 5pm.

Best wishes

Annie – Ovacome Support

[Guilane in reply to OvacomeSupport]

Thanks Ovacome that’s very interesting and informative. Gill X