WHAT TO DO AFTER FINISHING MY LAST CHEMO SESSION ?
Hi, Your Oncologist will check you regularly probably every 3 months after chemo, provided all is clear. Your ca125 is brilliantly low, and was never high. The rupture of the cyst (if I'm understanding you it was not the tumour that ruptured) is not a problem, and you've had chemo as an insurance policy, too.
Look after your health and fitness, and give yourself time to recover. They will check you for 5 years at least, and after that, if you are worried you can go to the GP or hospital.
You and I have exactly the same cancer type, same stage and the same experience. I was terrified that this rupture would make things worse. However, it is six months on from when chemo ended and so far I am still clear.
I was told by my oncologist that CA125 does not work as a marker for clear cell cancer so, as far as I am aware, there is no point worrying about the CA125 levels. Are you on Carboplatin and Paclitaxel?
Don`t worry it sounds as though you in a good situation, Ovarian cancers are not usually diagnosed until they reach a stage 3 or 4. So yours was caught early. I was a stage 3 when I was diagnosed the cancer had already spread to my bowel. I had an invasive operation. before surgary my CA 125 was 1,008. I belibe some ladies are higher than that and still suvive. After surgary mine dropped to 54, then a lot more after 1st first chemo, Now six months after the chemo I am at a steady 11. This indicates that the CA 125 is a good marker for me, so this will be used as a guidence when checking me in clinic every 12 weeks. Remember this blood test is not a measure for cancer, it is a measure for protein in the blood which rises in most ladies with ovarian cancer, it can also be raised in other conditions (not cancer) so it can only be used as a guide line not a diagnosis, so don`t worry if it does go back up a little. Anything 35 or under is a normal reading. Hope this helps answer this query. best of luck from Tina
The fact that your cyst ruptured in surgary is not too bad. This does sometimes happen. My cancer had already spread to the bowel which put me at a stage 3. I consider myself in a good place because the cancer was just caught in the nic of time. The Ct scan showed the cancer had spread all over my omentrum which was also removed during surgary, along with the appendix. Staging a cancer means what stage it is at. Most ladies are stage 3 or 4 before diagnosed because of the limitations of symptoms before a satge 3. It becomes a stage 3 once the cancer has spread. I had a lot of cancerous cells swimming about my abdoman but they had not attached themselves anywhere at the time of surgary. But because it had already attatched itself to the bowel it gave me a stage three diagnosis. A satge 1 c is not just good its fantasic, hope that puts your mind at rest. Next query . . . . . .
A grade 1 c tumour is FANTASTIC, Grading is all about how serious the tumour is. You stated that grading was not defined this is because mostly ALL cancers are graded at a grade 3. I was worried about this because I had read up about it on the internet and a grade three said it was an aggresive tumour which is more likely to spread and more likey to come back quickly. My oncologist explained to me that this is not the case that most cancers thewy see are grade 3, she told me they hardly ever see a grade 2 and a grade 1 is mostly unheard of. So for you this is fantastic, you are in a good place. The ongologist clinic will kepp a close eye on you, you will be seen every 12 weeks in clinic after your last chemo. Here they will do the CA 125 blood test or you may be able to have it done at your GP then take the results with you to the hospital, this is what I do, it saves time. They will also check you over with an examination, here they are looking for any new occurance, Ask and ask all you need to know and they will explain it to you. This is what they are there for. Well done, you doing great. I lost my hair too and wore some fabulous wigs, six months after chemo my hair is back and grwoing fast, its about 3 inches long now and curly!!!!
Just keep taking the ginger root, i'm now 5 yrs down the line after a diagnosis of stage 3b, we can survive!! good luck and always know there's us lot on here to help you xxx
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