Hi 👋

[BluePanda7]

Hi - I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in August after it was found accidentally during a keyhole surgery. I am 45 and had a total abdominal hysterectomy with ovary removal 2 weeks ago and am waiting to hear the pathology results for the Stage and next treatment steps. I am struggling with low mood (I'm not allowed HRT as my tumours were oestrogen dependent) and feeling exhausted, isolated and disconnected from family and friends. I'm looking forward to getting to know some of you 😊

[Tvam]

So sorry to hear that you're having to deal with this. The waiting and not knowing is just awful,the fear of the unknown is difficult to deal with. Hopefully you will have some answers soon when pathology etc comes back and then oncology will be able to advise you what the plan is, whether you need further treatment etc. I was aged 48yrs when I was diagnosed, that was over 9 years ago in June 2015, I've just seen my oncologist and had my annual scan and there's no active cancer on it 🎉 , it's like winning the lottery to hear those words. It's been really difficult at times and I'm sure I went through all the emotions you're experiencing, my children were young, so that was terrifying. My advice to you is to make contact with your local cancer charity, I'm not in the UK so I can't recommend anything specific but maybe the McMillan nurse would be able to advise. I found the help invaluable, I was able to speak with other women who had been through similar experiences to myself, I was offered counseling, reflexology and massage, they had a wig fitting service, but most of all it was the company of other cancer patients and survivors, they know exactly how you're feeling even though everyone has a different journey they experience the same things and emotions and offer practical help too. Best of luck to you 🍀

[delia2]

Hi. I’m so sorry you’re going through this. It’s normal to feel what you describe. You’ve been diagnosed with cancer and plunged into menopause suddenly. Finding a local support group and/or counseling would probably help a lot. You could check with the Ovacom support line or a Macmillan nurse for advice. The emotional side of this disease is often worse than the physical side, though that’s challenging too.

[Doggies221]

as the other lovely ladies said… I’m sorry you are hit with a monumental challenge. The OC diagnosis is bad enough but to be thrown into surgical menopause, in my opinion, is a horrific experience to go through:(. Hang in there and hopefully you’re early stage, as is often the case with endometriosis associated OC. Do you mind sharing the histology (the type)? According to research and menopause docs, only low grade endometrioid and low grade serous are estrogen sensitive enough to not be advisable to get HRT (and maybe granulosa cell tumors). The other types are prob not influenced by hormones. So you might want to think about this depending on your type. Wish you peace, strength and presence of mind to ask all the right questions and not blindly follow what docs say. Unfortunately, many of them are not up to speed with the latest studies, as much as we patients would like to think they’re.

[BluePanda7 in reply to Doggies221]

Hi Doggies221, thank you for your reply. I was waiting to get my pathology results before replying. I have Stage 2b endometriod epithelial ovarian cancer that had spread to the outside of the bowel but they've removed that now. That is interesting re hrt but as mine has been caused by endometriosis turning cancerous, they don't want me to have it. I am waiting to start chemo in a couple of weeks but will ask these Drs about it as it's a specialist cancer hospital that does lots of research so I hope they are more up to date 🤞