My Mother has been diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer

As the topic header states our world changed last week when my Mum was diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer.

 

Within a few days my Mum seemed to go from a healthy woman at 52 to having to go to the local hospital here in the UK suffering from ascites then being told she had a 3cm tumour on one of her ovaries with smaller tumours (< 1cm) wthin the pelvis area including within the omentum (stage 3?).

 

Obviously the first thing the family secretly did when getting home was googling this whole thing which makes depressing reading, the prognosis at this stage doesn't seem to have a favourable survival rate.

 

3cm to me sounds huge. Is this a large for ovarian cancer?

 

Also do chemotherapy drugs for this cancer have a good success rate? And what size do the residual tumours need to be for chemo to stand a chance?

 

My Mum is a healthy woman but I guess what I really am asking is what her chances of survival from this are?

 

So many questions I hope you guys can help.

 

 

Sorry to hear about your Mum.

With proper surgery and chemothapy your Mum has a good survival rate, but it is something she will probably have to deal with for the rest of her life.  My Drs. say they can't cure it, but they can maintain the cancer as a chronic diseae through various chemo therapys.  I have had it for 3 years, and for an initial diagnosis, 3cm does not sound too large to me.  The cancer marker CA125 does a good job of telling me where I stand with the cancer - I'm winning, and am on maintenance chemo.  But that marker does not always work on every person/cancer. 

Your Mum is relatively young and if she is in good health, she can live for many years.  The important thing is to develope a positive attitude, eat properly and maintain a good exercise program.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Gayle

 

 

On 8/31/2009 jonnokennedy wrote:

As the topic header states our world changed last week when my Mum was diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer.

 

Within a few days my Mum seemed to go from a healthy woman at 52 to having to go to the local hospital here in the UK suffering from ascites then being told she had a 3cm tumour on one of her ovaries with smaller tumours (< 1cm) wthin the pelvis area including within the omentum (stage 3?).

 

Obviously the first thing the family secretly did when getting home was googling this whole thing which makes depressing reading, the prognosis at this stage doesn't seem to have a favourable survival rate.

 

3cm to me sounds huge. Is this a large for ovarian cancer?

 

Also do chemotherapy drugs for this cancer have a good success rate? And what size do the residual tumours need to be for chemo to stand a chance?

 

My Mum is a healthy woman but I guess what I really am asking is what her chances of survival from this are?

 

So many questions I hope you guys can help.

 

 

 hi,am so sorry to hear about your mum,i also live in the u.k,and my mum found out she had stage 3c ovarian cancer in nov 2007,she had  3 rounds of chemo,surgery and then another 3 chemos,my mum has a rare form of o.c,and we were toldthat they would not be able to fully cure the cancer just treat it with chemo as and when it came back which it did do a year later,and she is now back in chemo and about to have her third lot.what plan has the consultants got for your mum?you have to take things as they come,every person is different with survival of things like this,we try not to think to much about it,which is so hard some days,but you have to try and be positive,to keep the fight going.try not to google it,as it does make you lose hope,i have done it myself on one of the many nights i struggle to sleep worrying about my mum.how are you coping?if you need to talk please email me,as i know its very hard to talk of your fears to family members,and if your mum would like to talk to someone in a simalar position,i know my mum would be happy to help.my mum is 61 now,and i am 29 and live in hertfordshire.stay strong,you and your family are in my thoughts.amy.x x x

I'm 23 and my mom who is 51 was diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer back in April.  What worked/works for me is just to tell myself to take one day at a time.  From what I've read and heard, there are many types of chemos and different chemos work for different people.  There are medicines patients can take before chemo to lessen the side effects of it.  Just take one day at a time and know you're not alone.  My mom's doctor said that chemo works on 80% of pts.

Hi, Sorry to hear about your mum's cancer. The prognosis will depend a lot on the type of cancer it is, and whether the surgeons do a good job at removing as much as possible during the surgery, so the chemo has a better chance of doing its job. This website has some information on the stages and treatments for ovarian cancer: http://www.ovarian-cancer-facts.com/ It would be really good for your mum to remain positive through her treatment, as i think a positive attitude goes a long way when dealing with illness. All the best for you and your mum. Maria

God Bless your Mom and your family! I am so sorry to hear of this life changeing news. My mom was diagnosed with stage 3c ovarian cancer in May of this year. She is 66 years old and had major debulking surgery. She had a soft ball sized tumor on each ovary, a tumor the size of a small loaf of bread in her uterus, several lymph nodes along her aorta. There was cancer on top of her bladder and her omentum(fatty layer in abdomen to protect her organs). She had to have a colostomy because the tumors on her ovaries were strangulating her bowel and killed the blood supply to her bowel. She has had 5 out of her 6 chemo. treatments. She gets Taxol and Cisplatin. She also gets a drug called Avastin that is suppose to kill the blood supply to the remaining cancer and prevent the formation of any new cancer cells. My mom had a test called a CA125 done prior to surgery. This is the ovarian cancer tumor marker(to let you know what the cancer is doing). My mom's was 3300 prior to surgery. It is now 6.3. My mom is an amazing woman. She is my best friend ,my kids favorite grandma and everyones friend. She has an amazing attitude. Her oncologist said It's her good outlook and attitude that is killing this beast within. I have read and heard that a persons outlook and attitude is 90% of what will cure them. The internet and different sites can be so scary,misleading and daunting. I ,like you, went to the internet when I first got home from the hospital. The first thing that popped up was " KILL CANCER WITH CRANBERRIES!! If it were only that easy! You made an excellent choice to seek this website. I have found so much honest, good and real advice and info. here. From the people who really know all about this journey. Make sure if you don't understand the doctor or their plan you ask, ask,ask!! Do not let statistics scare you. Everyone is different! They told my mom she has 2-3 years to live. Oh really? Did God tell you in person or did he text you on your cell.? Don't do the numbers game, stay strong,fight hard,ask lots of questions, you and your mom will do this!!

God Bless!! nicole

I'm sorry about your mom. I received the scarey news about my 77 yr old mom a few weeks ago. She is having surgery next week. I am so scared, worried, lost and all the other helpless feelings that I cant control. I wish we could look in a crystal ball and see the future. How does one deal with this emotionally? My mom is healthy, no drinking, smoking, eats well, has regular physical/lab work. I dont know what to do. I'm numb