Are there any 4th stage survivors on here?

My Mom is very interested in meeting/talking to other 3rd or 4th stage Cervical Cancer Survivors like herself. However it seems they are few and far between (as in we have only found one other). If there are any on here please let me know, I would like to hear your story.

 

On 7/22/2009 ramblinrose wrote:

My Mom is very interested in meeting/talking to other 3rd or 4th stage Cervical Cancer Survivors like herself. However it seems they are few and far between (as in we have only found one other). If there are any on here please let me know, I would like to hear your story.

Hey Ramblin Rose,

There are alot of 3rd & 4th stage survivors out here...I happen to be one...don't get too caught up in the stage / level, as you have probably already discovered,(we all did the mad scramble for a internet quick answer/fix)...there are soooooo many different descriptions for EVERY stage...it's quite confusing and many times very upsetting...

I was fortunate to find a doctor who chose to deal with me personally as opposed to getting caught up in what the hell stage I was at...

Being diagnosed with cancer is scary enough without adding anymore stress...

Please whatever you do stay focused on the positive.... because there are a lot of options and choices out their for your mom. 

This is going to be are hard bumpy road for your mom and she is going to need all the support you can give her...!!!!!

Although cancer WILL change your mom's life (as well as all of her loved ones) forever...it does NOT automatically equate to a death sentence.

When was your mom diagnosed? Does she have ABSOLUTE confidence and trust in her doctor???, In my opinion that is the # one priority. If not she won't be able to make very important choices without second guessing herself.

My prayers are with you and your mom,

Daryl

I was originally a stage 1B1, but ended up with three additional recurrences.  I just wanted to share that my last treatment with Taxol and Avastin appears to have cleared up my cancer.  Most of my other tumors were removed surgically and followed by radiation treatment.  I even had, after the fist recurrence, cisplatin and topotecan chemotherapy, but still ended up with recurrences.  It was like playing "whack a mole" as they popped up.  With this last recurrence, we removed one tumor, and left a problematic one that would have been difficult to remove.  We treated it as a "measuring stick" to test the effectiveness of the chemo.  My last PET scan showed no trace of the previous tumor!  Note:  Avastin is not FDA approved for cervical cancer although a recently published study is showing it has some effectiveness.  It's also very expensive.  For me it is $8000/dose times a total of 6 doses!  I'm appealing for insurance coverage but expect to be denied.  However, my family was willing to pay the cost since it appears to be working!

Hi Cindy,

I have a very similar situation to you as well.  I had varying stages according to 3 different docs in the beginning, but averaged around 1b and 2b.  I had radical hyst, cisplatin, and radiation.  My cancer came back one month after radiation/chemo.  I started cisplatin, taxol, and avastin in Dec 08 for 4 months.  I paired it with many alternative treatments.  My cancer disappeared in front of our eyes.  I had 5 tumors before we started and after 6 treatments, they were all barely visable.  My cancer is now back, doing the same thing and I'm waiting to see docs to determine treatment.  Are you doing any alternative treatments?  I wanted to tell you that your doctor's office can apply to Genentec to give your hospital replacement drugs - they accepted me as a patient b/c I was turned down as well.  Look into it. How are you doing now and what is the status of your last scans?  I would love to talk more with you.  I hope you are doing great!