Hi everyone So sorry to read all your posts and the difficulties everyone is going through but also inspired by the positive stories and attitudes.
8 weeks ago I was perfectly fine walking my dog 5 miles a day looking after my horse and doing yoga regularly. I did have pain during sex but had seen a gynaecologist who had put it down to being post menopausal. Then I suddenly started getting excruciating pain in my side and back and long story short they found a huge cyst growing from both tubes across the uterus. It was twisting and causing problems so I had a full hysterectomy and omenectomy and hoped that was the end of it. I’m now nearly 5 weeks post op and have just had the histology back, OC stage 3B High grade so chemo will start in a couple of weeks. Going in to Queens Romford for it although my op was done at Royal London. To say I’ve been knocked sideways by it is an understatement. I thought I was fit and healthy and the last 8 weeks since the pain started has come out of nowhere. I have a wonderful husband and two daughters who couldn’t be more loving and caring and the rest of my family and friends have been so supportive and kind so I’m lucky from that aspect. I turn 60 this year and we had plans for a big holiday. I’m normally bright and bubbly with as I’m told a good sense of humour but I seem to have lost myself these last few weeks and am finding it hard to put on a brave smiling face for my many visitors. A couple of my friends are health gurus teaching yoga and reiki and are very much into self healing and the power of the mind over body. One of them has given me the book by Chris Wark about how he rejected chemo and healed himself through diet and positivity. I’m quite a healthy eater but don’t feel I have the 100% commitment to give to this and that is making me feel a failure. I’m so scared about my hair and lashes falling out but how ridiculous is that when my life could be in the balance?! I think it’s all happened so quickly out of the blue that I’m still in shock and can’t quite believe it’s all happening.
I would be interested and grateful to hear any of your comments or opinions re the self healing path or any advice on getting my head around it all. Apologies if I sound sorry for myself, that’s not how I am, it’s just that everybody on here sounds so positive and coping with their unbelievable situations and I need to get to that place of accepting it and helping myself through it.
Many thanks x
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Barmycharm
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I care for someone with OC she’s just had her 4th birthday since diagnosis (we call it Birthday because it taught her to live life to the fullest) she’s 3c high grade.
The first thing I will say is EVERYONE is different don’t rely on the stats found from google you’re an individual that’s the most important thing to remember!
Self healing it really depends if you believe in that type of thing or not it has to be your choice my special person has taken the medical route because it’s been her family’s wishes she take that route. We’ve all told her a lot of it is mind over matter and she knows she wouldn’t be here without chemo when she was diagnosed she got told she’d live six months with chemo, her surgeons face when he saw us back in that office the following November from diagnosis in the March was an absolute picture!
You can get some lovely wigs from Macmillan and some fancy head scarves or chemo hats so if you ever fancied a new look what a better time to try? Use Vaseline for your eyebrows they will still thin but my special person was on a mission to keep them so she did that several times a day!
Yes it is a shock when first diagnosed as, like you, I was probably the fittest I had been since I was at school many years ago and had a wonderful active life. You will get your head around it and you will get used to the new normal. Your world will shrink a bit but you can still get plenty of enjoyment. You find out how wonderful your friends and family are. I am a believer in positive thinking but in conjunction with the surgery and chemo that I am recommended. Some people are very lucky and their cancer disappears for no known reason but lucky people like that are very few and far between.
You have to do what you feel is right for you - we are all different and we all react differently to medication. Whatever you choose we are all here for you and will support you all the way. Lots of love and hugs. Jenny xx
Welcome to our forum - no one wants to be here, but we’re glad we are!
I can’t speak too much for self-healing, and to be honest, most of us here have had surgery and chemo. One thing I’ll say about Chris Wark, is that whilst he rejected chemo, he did have surgery, and in many types of cancer, surgery can be enough to do the job, without further intervention being required... A stage 1 ovarian cancer can be an example of that for a lot of women. Chris has a message that he wants to share with the world, and he does it very successfully, but that message may not apply to all people at all times.
I also think that if positivity cured cancer, I would be healed and well and living my life. I guess in many respects I am, but I am as living with cancer as happily as I can, but I am not cancer free.
Good luck with whatever you decide, and do keep us posted!
I am a super positive person and was already a vegetarian, with a diet that mirrored the recommended antiangiogenic anti cancer diet, but I am BRCA1 positive and got cancer anyway.
After first line, I became Vegan and doubled up on anticancer foods and curcumin, convincing myself that my cancer was never coming back.
Healthy as a horse, walking 2 miles a day 6 months down the line, my cancer recurred!
So yes, if attitude and diet could cure me, I wouldn’t be finishing my last infusion on Carbo/Caelyx tomorrow.
Those chemicals knocked the cancer right back and put me on track for Niraparib, the peer reviewed targeted therapy for women like me.
Hi lovely, welcome to our lovely gang. I’m so sorry you’ve had this rubbish diagnosis, we all know exactly how you feel. It is not unusual to feel like you’ve lost you in the middle of all this but you’re in there somewhere and you will come back, you’ll be a slightly different you but you’ll be there.
I spent a great deal of time researching Chris Wark when this book from him was brought to our forum a couple of years ago and I concluded that he is a charlatan, his ethic is to eat yourself well, he recommends certain very expensive food stuffs and equipment that, funnily enough, he promotes and sells. He decries traditional cancer treatments and suggests you can make yourself ‘better’ by following his methodology and by ignoring the medically qualified experts, he does, however, neglect to tell you in his book that he had radical surgery to remove his own cancer. I believe this man to be dangerous and that he prays on people who are vulnerable and at a time when they will grab onto any hope, however spurious, that is offered. He has no medical qualifications nor is he a dietician, I believe he is somebody who has seen an opportunity to ‘cash in’ on other people’s illness. Obviously you have to form your own opinion but please research him in depth and his dubious claims before you consider rejecting traditional medicine methods in favour of a salesperson who cannot in anybody’s wildest imagination have had the same cancer we have, some cancers do not require chemo and maybe his didn’t, but many do.
Without my surgery I wouldn’t be here now. My surgeon confirmed this to me post op, my cancer was very rapidly growing, it ruptured during surgery and it was under his direction that I went on to have my chemo with a view to mopping up any possible stray cells.
We all need to eat really healthily at any time but especially now, our food is the fuel which keeps us working and which promotes cell renewal and healing and anything we can do to promote our own health is vitally important but we have to do it alongside the treatment our wonderful doctors can provide.
I cannot tell you what is best for you and I’m sure your friend is doing what she thinks is best for you by giving you this book and without cancer there are plus points in his book but with cancer there are many dangerous claims made too. Please take a step back and speak at length with your medical team before you consider rejecting proven medicinal methods in favour of unproven claims. Perhaps you could consider including some of his nutritional methods alongside the recommendations of your doctors?
I hope you get some clarity soon, once you decide on what is the best path for you to take I believe you take some control back and are able to deal with things much better when an actual plan is in place. Take lots of care lovely ❤️Xx Jane
Thank you for doing that research for us. One in a million folks do get well for no reason in particular, but they are the exception and advice like “you can heal yourself “of an aggressive cancer such as ours is simply dangerous.
People like this man really annoy me, they are just so damned dangerous and are possibly complicit in people dying unnecessarily due to giving them false ‘supposed’ medical claims and false hopes. We were presented with his self promoting ramblings around 2 years ago, the only things I could agree with him on were that good food and nutrition is vitally important and that chemo is toxic, I really believe in good food at all times so obviously I researched him and looked into his claims and couldn't find any shred of evidence to support his claims, I e mailed him for medically proven information to support the claims in his book and funnily enough I got no reply. Just confirms there are bad people out there who pray on us 🤬
Very well said and I totally agree! My friend contacted Rick Simpson site re cannabis oil to treat my OC instead of chemo as she was against me having chemo and to be fair the reply she got was that I needed to hit this beast with chemo but to perhaps look at alternatives alongside with consultation of my medical team x I didn’t go down the cannabis oil route but I’m never saying never x friends and relatives are scared too and we get lots of advice thrown at us I tried the keto diet and all sorts but it made me miserable so I now eat well and go with what feels right for me x
It’s a rollercoaster ride we are swept up on and this group helps us all to stay on track .
Good luck with your treatment and choices Barmycharm your head must be reeling but speak with your team until you feel you have all the information you need xx
I know that this is not what you imagined for yourself but please please take the treatment that your oncologist has outlined for you. I do know some cancer patients who have taken the ‘alternative ‘ route (not on here) I am afraid none of them survived...
I was dx with advanced stage 4 in 2015 and I am still enjoying my life. I had chemo and TAH plus Avastin and it worked very well. All best wishes. Lyndy xx
Welcome though sorry that you find yourself here. I just wanted to echo what others have said about Chris Wark. During my 3 years since diagnosis, I’ve come across his name quite a lot. Yes he had extensive surgery for I believe colon cancer. Keep in mind that surgery alone is often enough to cure colon cancer. Wish it were the same for ovarian, but unfortunately it’s not. IMO as a nurse and as someone living with OC, it is completely irresponsible to advise people with other types of cancer to follow his route. And yes there seems to be profit in it for him! Your decision is your own to make but please beware of the many people out there seeking to profit from cancer patients at their most vulnerable. I wish you all the best.
If only it were that simple! Beware of ignoring your medical team they have years and years of experience and would not put you through an operation and chemo if they didn't truly believe you would benefit from it. A healthy diet and positive attitude can go hand in hand with conventional treatment but really doesn't have to be instead of. None of us liked loosing our hair, I personally found loosing eyebrows and eyelashes much worse, but at the end of the day its not forever and is a small price to pay. I finished chemo at the end of November and my hair, brows and lashes are all back, admittedly the hair is a bit short! but incredibly easy to manage..........wash n go!! Good luck with whatever path you decide to take. xx
Sorry that you have had to join us on here. A lot of people have their own diet and nutrition regime which may or may not help but healthy eating is always good- have always meant to try it myself 🤪.
As Jane said the Wark regime has made loads of dosh for him without any scientific backup. Her original post on him was excellent. A lot of people can reject chemo as it is not the regime for their type of cancer. Please do not dismiss the conventional protocols even if you choose to add “alternative” or “natural” treatments to it.
Hi sorry to find yourself here it is very scary at the start is that Chis from Chris beat cancer on youtube I watch it often and follow some of the health options. I was stage 4 on diagnosis and chemo did make me loose all my hair but I had a wig and also had lost my lashes and brows. I bought benefit precisely my brow pencil and maybelline brow tattoo these products were very good and natural. I started reflexology during chemotherapy and used frankincense oil, I started yoga after I finished chemotherapy I still had disease and was on avastin but found the yoga journey inside very healing. I also did reiki and I have crystals. I also listen to yoga nidra apps to help with sleep or mindfulness meditation.
Sorry you have to join us on here - there’s a lot of support on here from women who get how you are feeling - I see nothing wrong with using complemtary treatments ( our local cancer care charity and the likes of Maggies offer various things like reiki and massage etc) alongside chemotherapy and surgery - I had aromatherapy throughout chemo and it was relaxing and nice to have some soothing touch at a time when I felt emotionally and physically vulnerable - I’m sure some people and some cancers are amenable to just buggeung off whatever option we take but I wouldn’t include late stage ovarian cancer in that bracket - take the surgery and chemo and add on whatever bits of other stuff you feel help you cope - don’t beat yourself up if you can’t live on green juice and marathon running - not many can or want to x
Everyone has already given you great advice re accepting treatment, so I shall advise you on coping with Chemo.
First of all, it is not a bad thing to research chemotherapy and it’s side effects, and there is a lot of great up-to-date information from Macmillan, with fantastic books and booklets often available in your Oncology waiting room.
If you are really lucky, they will also have an office there and when you are ready, they can help you purchase and fit a wig, as well as help you apply for any benefits you may be entitled to, including that vital blue badge.
Most likely, you will be given the usual big guns for first line treatment, carboplatin and Pacitaxol, Carbo/Taxol.
Like you, I was super active and healthy before being knocked sideways by the cancer.
I was very ill when I started Chemo and was basically bedridden throughout.
Fortunately, I had an amazing support system, with my sister coming from California to hang out with me and guide my husband and daughter in what to expect and how to deal with my side effects, as well as purchasing a lovely Sony TV to put at the foot of my bed, where we could snuggle together and watch Netflix.
We also moved me near a bathroom, as ours is an ancient house with a toilet on the lower ground floor and the top floor, so we moved me into my husband’s study on the lower ground floor.
Once you start Chemo, you have to pay attention to your extra meds to guard against the inevitable nausea and constipation.
For the first week, I start with Ondansetron (to prevent nausea) and Omeprazole ( to keep food down) first thing in the morning, eat something like Cheerios or toast, 30 minutes later, then take Cyclizine (just in case of more nausea) and Ducosate Sodium to prevent constipation. Cyclazine is not as strong as Ondansetron, but is not constipating and you can take it all day.
Ondansetron us extremely effective, but VERY constipating.
And you must drink plenty of water. We keep small bottles of filtered water in the fridge and I always have one by my bedside.
This is a lot of info, so the last thing I will say is, I was delighted to lose my hair, because it meant that the Chemo has coursed through my whole body and all the way to the very top of my skull.
On the other hand, I hated being bald, but I was too sick to worry about it. As I got better , I got a great wig from MacMillan and wore it from dawn to dusk.
Everyone reacts differently to the very same Chemo, but for most of us, it destroys those aggressive cancer cells and that’s what you want.
So sorry you find ourself here but you’ve come to a wonderfully supportive and friendly place, where everyone on this site ‘gets it’. I found myself exactly in your position one year ago, feeling in tip top health yet also diagnosed with stage 3b Ovarian Cancer. Mine was clear cell which is classed as aggressive, so I admit I spent a good few months feeling tearful, fearful and scared for the future...at 49 and not menopausal I was so shocked at this diagnosis.
I’m not sure when but after a few months I stopped crying and focused on the positive aspects of my situation. I had good surgery which got it all and the chemo was just to mop up any stray cells. I’m in remission now and generally feeling well, and I have tried to incorporate some healthy elements into my life ie juiceing, lots of walking, supplements and doing meditation.
But in terms of shunning chemo in favour of alternative therapies that was not an option for me. I knew the chemo would be harsh (although honestly I didn’t find it that bad at all) and the hair loss difficult, but unfortunately we need this chemical intervention to give us the best chance of a long remission. I’m all for trying to be as healthy as possible but without the chemo who knows what those pesky cancer cells might get up to in our bodies!
I know that unfortunately the risk of recurrence is high, but even if it does happen there are so many different treatment options out there that we can get through it!
I know it can be hard to stay positive but you can get through this, especially with loving family and friends around you as you say 💕 I’m sending you big hugs and lots of luck through your treatment, do let us know how you get on,
Well....I wanted to comment on that charlatan chris wark but I see I've been well and truly beaten to it
I'd say eat a common sense healthy diet - we all know what's good and what isn't without people like Chris. Get used to never being without a bottle of water, in your bag, by your side, in your bedroom. Find a good moisturiser you like. Carry on with your yoga- you may as well be calm and flexible if nothing else! Get used to logging in here - there is always someone to talk to who will have experience of whatever question you come up with - and there are always questions.
There is nothing wrong with 'complementary' therapies as long as you do the conventional stuff as well. Get the chemo done and dusted and then you'll be free to explore anything a little more 'off the wall' if you want to
Barmycharm, My heart goes out to you. We all understand the flood of emotion following diagnosis. I can only speak for myself: If self healing worked I would NOT EVEN HAVE CANCER! Before diagnosis I got plenty of exercise riding my bike 25 miles a week. I am slender, don't drink ANY alcohol, don't smoke anything, have a healthy, happy family, a truly warm, marvelous husband and can find multiple silver linings in just about anything. I am BRCA-. If all that clean, positive, nutritious, loving living couldn't protect me, self healing is not an option. I was diagnosed 3C hi grade serous epithelial November of 2015. I've had one recurrence and two remissions. There is much data regarding ovarian cancer. One source for the latest in peer reviewed research is Biomedical Publications. Reading the abstracts and conclusions will probably help you to feel more comfortable with your choices and options. With love and compassion. T
So much wisdom and shared experience pouring out from so many on this site! And everything they say is right! Chemo as a treatment is a strange and difficult journey, and folk react in different ways. It's also a bit of a blunt instrument, but is continually being refined and refined and improved and improved over the decades thanks to the wonderful work of organisations like Cancer Research, not to mention the courage and determination of all those who sign up to be volunteers for new treatments. Absolutely agree with all the comments regarding 'self-healing'. You're in a process in which you AND your medical team, along with your family and friends, are working together to get the best possible result for you, and positive physical, mental, and spiritual attitudes are all important. All your new friends and companion travellers on this site will contribute as well! Healing in this instance I believe is a process of dealing with all the fear and negativity so that you can appreciate and enjoy all the good bits (and there are lots!) that will be part of this journey, yes, along with side-effects from the treatment. I was diagnosed, Stage IV, in 2010, had surgery, chemo, and Avastin, clear until 2017, then a recurrence, so chemo again (same course of treatment) in 2018, and now managing another recurrence with local radio-therapy. One of the challenges for me is that I find it confusing to work out what is actual tiredness from treatment, and actual tiredness because I'm in my 70's and should expect this from the basic fact that I'm getting older! Every blessing to you on your own journey of treatment, Marie
Hi , echo everyone’s words above about the need for chemo and surgery in ovarian cancer. Exercise and healthy eating will enhance your treatment and well being but will not ‘cure you ‘ .
Hair loss during chemo can be prevented using s cold cap - here’s a link to a blog I wrote on it -
What a lot of fantastic replies, all of which back up what I wanted to say. I was diagnosed with 3b OC (BRCA -ve) in 2011 and although I'm still having treatment, I'm here and enjoying life. I take regular breaks in Lakes, eat a very healthy diet, juice and have reiki and honestly feel that this has given me great foundation on which to tolerate conventional treatment. After a sustained blast of treatment all my blood counts are holding up well.
Most of the people pushing alternative cures - like your friends here - are not personally affected by cancer so haven't had to make that choice themselves. Things look very different when you're staring down the barrel of a gun!
I do wish there could be more balance between chemo and other choices though. I am due to start my second line chemo shortly and have already been told I will have six sessions at the same dosage. I think there could be more flexibility according to a person's response, to allow the immune system to help with healing. Carrying on blasting away seems counter intuitive at times. I would feel much happier if I thought the course of my treatment would be tailored more specifically to me and how my body is responding.
Hello and welcome, I absolutely echo everyone else.
My advice for what it’s worth is use both traditional and complementary treatments to achieve optimal quality of life. I’m sure we would all like longevity but quality is so important, reiki, super healthy eating and mindfulness will I’m sure help you deal with this in a more positive way and enable you to feel some sense of control.
I was diagnosed 3c high grade serous 3 years ago, I absolutely know I would not be here if it were not for traditional medicine. This bugger is tenacious, those pesky cancer cells are like spilt glitter in a kids toy box!
I wish you all the very best with whatever you decide is the treatment for you, this is a fantastic group offering friendship and support.
Hi Barycharm, I'm sorry to hear your news obviously a big shock for you. My oncologist told me she had seen plenty of vegans and people on healthy Mediterranean diets etc over the years, so much so that she had come to the conclusion that there was no sure fire way to prevent cancer if you happen to be susceptible? And who is susceptible? They don't really know the answer to that either except having relatives who have also succumbed to the disease. I agree with other members on here, eat healthily for your body but don't expect it to work miracles. Strangely despite everything said above some people are helped by a different but it looks like most are not and I would certainly not rely on diet for a cancer cure. One book I have found inspiring is Radical Remissions by Kelly A. Turner. It contains stories of people who have successfully beaten cancer, or at least have put it into long term remission. Almost all the people who's stories are mentioned have one thing in common - a positive upbeat attitude to life with some of them not prepared to give house room to the fact that they had the disease despite going through all the chemo regimes. The ability to feel self love appears to also be a common theme. By all means indulge in whatever alternative therapies that you feel may help you but my advice would be the same as others on here, do the standard chemo treatments. I was fine on Carboplatin and Taxol, tiredness and hair loss being the only side effects. One day all the chemo treatments will be targeted for our particular DNA, some people are already recieving this approach now. Stay positive i know its difficult right now, it will help.
I just realised you recommended the same book I have! On the subject of diet, vegans get cancer too - but then a vegan diet isn't necessarily healthy, they eat lots of sugar and rubbish too. Whole food plant based is better, but the fact is, half of us now get cancer in some form or another, whatever we eat or drink...
I’m generally a positive person but my diagnosis knocked me sideways. I think it’s because I didn’t feel that unwell and to discover I had stage IV cancer seemed unbelievable. I’m not a religious person but I am spiritual and ifnothing else I appreciate that good things around more and don’t take my life for granted.
I certainly don’t think I would still be here if it wasn’t for the surgery and chemotherapy. It’s not been plain sailing by any means and I’m currently sitting in chemo now with my fourth cycle for my 1st recurrence. It wasn’t such a shock as I know the chances of recurring are high.
You have choices to make and it’s very personal but I wouldn’t refuse this chance to get some remission. I have too much at stake and I’m needed by my family.
I’ve had breast cancer before and had surgery and radiotherapy. As others have said different cancers require different treatments. I wish you good luck with your decision. Take care. Cheryl x
Being diagnosed is such a shock and searching for the best way forward is natural. Advice and suggestions can be overwhelming because friends and family are invested and want you better. Once you decide on your plan, you will feel more in control. Nutrition, positivity, self love, etc can be helpful additions to your medical treatment, but are NOT a replacement.
Anyone who tries to convince you otherwise should be firmly turned away.
My brother-in-law was diagnosed with a low grade local tumour of the prostrate in 2010 and chose the self healing route, with nutrition and Reiki. He died rather horrifically in 2018 with cancer in every bone and in his brain. At the end he was desperately seeking chemo, radiation and surgery, anything that would help him to live. It was a hard time. His slow realisation that it was too late for real treatment was painful to watch.
Please take care of yourself and follow good medical advice!
Steve Jobs decided to cure his pancreatic cancer with alternative treatment. He might still be with us today if he'd had the primary chemo followed by surgery.
I know about Chris Wark and its a very impressive story - and he's not the only one who's been successful in getting rid of his cancer,or at least not getting it back again after only having surgery. I'd recommend you also read Radical Remission by Kelly A. Turner, and maybe The Cancer Whisperer by Sophie Sabbage. Take some time before you rush into chemotherapy to research and read and think- you will be bowled along like a hoop by oncology without being given time to think unless you make it clear you want the time to do that. Don't be panicked by the speed and pressure - ask to see a psychologist via the MacMillan service or the oncology department if you want to sort out what you're feeling about which way to go.
One thing to consider - Chris Wark lives in America - there are alternative therapies there which are not commonly available here, such as intravenous vitamin C, oxygen therapy, and other treatments which are easily accessible there, but sadly not in the UK. He was also young when he got his bowel cancer,in his twenties I think,and he has stuck with the programme all his life in regard to what he puts into his body, including what toiletries and household cleaners he uses. That requires discipline and dedication, and I think that's harder when you're older.
If you decide to have chemo, there's no reason why you cannot put into practice many of the things Chris Wark suggests - certainly, in other countries (Poland for example), oncology treatment at some hospitals is given along with instructions about what to eat and what not to eat, along with excluding various cleaning and toiletry products ongoing, not just while having treatment, and where that combined approach is employed, stats show that hospitals which use that approach have a significantly delayed recurrence rate. In other words, statistically, the cancer tends to recur sooner where this combined approach is not used, though the stats were primarily compiled from breast cancer patients.
It is very difficult in the UK, because the only option one is offered (quite forcibly, with the implication that its a magic wand that will eradicate your cancer completely) is standard oncology treatment; other, alternative forms of treatment are not scientifically proven to be any more efficacious than chemo is, and in some forms of cancer (certain blood cancers in children for instance), chemo does, indeed work very well; just not so well in many other forms of cancer. And yes,chemo has a significant downside,but in regard to ovarian cancer,most of the time (unless you've been lucky enough for it to be caught at Stage 1 or 2) it is treated as a chronic illness with ongoing, periodic chemotherapy as and when necessary. Which is exactly what the Senior Oncologist finally made clear to me when I insisted on seeing him instead of the more junior one - he said, and I quote 'we will give you chemotherapy now,and when it comes back,we will give it again, and when it comes back, we will give it again...'. He also freely admitted he could not say when my cancer would return after surgery, with or without chemotherapy; I was grateful for his honesty, and in the end declined chemotherapy, but then I'm stage 4b, have a very rare and aggressive form of OC, and was 67 at the time. Interestingly, he also said they had patients who were signed off after treatment with a very good prognosis who did not survive long, and others with a very poor prognosis who were still alive and kicking ten years later - and they do not know why. Some forms of OC, after a few lines of chemotherapy, might occasion being offered the newer immunotherapy drugs; (unfortunately, second and third line chemotherapy treatment is often less successful than the first because the cancer stem cells don't get killed and any recurrence is less responsive to further chemo), but you usually have to have all the chemo treatments first.
I can't stress enough that you take some time to research and think before deciding what to do next... I know you would rather not have to be thinking about this at all, its like being in a nightmare you can't wake up from, but you will get through it, difficult though it is,and you are not alone in having to face this. I wish you well on your journey
Interesting - I follow a lady GP on IG and she has bowel cancer - her husband is a bowel cancer consultant and he pretty much says the same thing about prognosis - that they see people with early stage disease who die and then some with late stage who defy all expectations and they can’t say who or why.
I still think that chemo is worth a shot especially if it opens more treatment doors - it doesn’t in my own subtype and that concerns me as only more of the same is on offer when it comes back - there seem to be far more treatments elsewhere and a willingness to requisition existing treatments for other cancers - I believe in US hormone blockers are offered for endometrioid OC but this was dismissed when I raised it though I’ll be mentioning it again.
I think that we need to do what’s best for us so your decision to forgo chemotherapy is a good one for you - as is the advice to speak to someone other than your oncologist about options - their job is to treat you with mainstream options and often you , the person, gets lost in the system - a good doctor should be willing to listen to your fears and expectations and guide you through it all with a carrot not a stick - my own oncologist hasn’t seen me for over a year and doesn’t know anything about me outside of my cancer diagnosis and I think that level of human contact and understanding is what alternative practitioners offer - the best as an adjunct support to conventional medicine, the worst as snakeskin oil peddlers who target the vulnerable and desperate. Of all the things I’ve read around cancer , the biggest and most constistent message is the role that stress plays in weakening our immune defences so anything we can to do bolster our resilience and well being seen sensible things to do - if giving up food groups or running marathons supports your well being do it, but if it just becomes another form of stress, then don’t would be my best advice.
I totally agree - what feels right for me might not be right for someone else. And stress,trauma, grief, yea... I had two major losses in my life in the almost 3 years prior to diagnosis, one of which I was still grieving from. Given that cancer cells are lurking in our bodies for years just waiting for an opportunity, I'm not in the least surprised at what happened to me. What I am surprised by is the form it took - I've smoked for years,so I thought I'd get lung cancer if I got it at all, but no,apparently not, its the other end ... nothing in the lungs at all and nothing wrong with my heart either. Talk about sod's law...
Yes Sod’s law - I had years of anxiety and endless trips to a and e with chest pain - dad had bypass after heart attack and that side of family all died from heart disease yet that was fine - tbh though I expected ovarian cancer from being 18 after consulting a book in local library when I had pain in tight side - 32 yrs later that was the side of the tumour !
We all find our own ways through his and other life traumas - the thing I hate the most is the loss of control to a system that doesn’t see me as an individual or a whole x
With you on that one too...also one of the reasons I refused chemo, though there were lots of factors at play in my decision, and being shoved on a conveyor belt in receipt of bog standard drug therapy was one of them... three weeks ago I had to explain to the oncologist (again) after she commented she thought I 'would respond well to chemo' but she 'knew I was frightened of it' that what I couldn't bear was being mucked about with all the time, in and out of hospital,especially as it's never going to cure me,I'd rather crawl into a cave and die quietly on my own, or maybe have chemo at the last knockings to help with pain (if it will) or see me out a bit quicker, thanks. I'm pretty sure she still doesn't get it... or maybe just doesn't know what to make of me, she's really quite young. Still,to be fair, she wouldn't be alone in being puzzled by me, I don't seem to fit any standard mould medically, ever have done really. And I can't say I was surprised when I was diagnosed - horrified, yes, but not really surprised because, believe it or not, I've had my palm read only 3 times in my life with 3 different readers, and on all three occasions I was told I'd got a problem in the gynae region and to keep having checks or it'd be fatal. Well, I did keep having checks and there was a problem with the cervix... but you can't check for OC, can you...so when I got the diagnosis, I heard my internal voice say, ah, there you are, you so and so...
Whatever, I've had a good 13 months since surgery so far... and I'm thankful for that. And thankful for making it to 68...and maybe to 69 in May this year!
Good advice from others on this site. If self healing worked we wouldn’t, as a nation, spend billions on cancer treatment. Where do you see recorded the number of people who didn’t make because they refused treatment? It is difficult to believe you are ill when you are feeling well but the scan doesn’t lie. Beware of charlatans as others say they prey on the vulnerable.
So sad to have another join the group but know there is a lot of great support for you here. I look back ( to 2015) when I was diagnosed and ithrew me into a complete tailspin and wish I had found a group quickly like this! I have tried all sorts of complementary therapies and no sugar plant based diets etc but sadly the cancer has never completely gone. I have just been told I’m chemo resistant now and need to eat a “white” low fiber diet so bring on everything I can now... reiki reflexology etc! Good luck in this journey and sending you strength and positivity xxx🙏
I was diagnosed 3B last August and have finished frontline chemo (which I found a miserable experience but the memory is fading . . . ). I felt shocked and horrified too but also in shock so didn't really take it in for a long while--months after diagnosis. I talk to my husband about my true feelings but when I saw how upset my grown daughters were I felt I didn't want to burden them more than necessary. I found counseling and a support group at the hospital helpful--and of course this group. I still can't always take it in. I'm in remission now and leaving for Italy today (a trip postponed from last September to celebrate my retirement). I have twinges of pain in my side and I will deal with it when I get home! You will get used to your new normal and I hope very much that you have relatively smooth sailing. xo
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Treatment Options at 2nd recurrence.
Ideas for coping with self isolation please.
Wound not fully healing -12 weeks post surgery 
When You Are Misinformed About Options
Weekly Taxol not working anymore, what other options?
