Ok, Ladies, When Do I Stop Worrying That Every Headache is a Brain Tumor?

jtotten1
jtotten1 Member Posts: 21
edited March 2014 in Ovarian Cancer #1
Ladies - I am new here, and yet I feel as if I just found a huge new group of friends! No one in my inner circle has had to live through diagnosis, treatment, baldness and recovery (thankfully!), so its nice to have a group who really understands what I've been through.

I was asymptomatic when diagnosed at 39 last August. I was 1C and caught by accident during a CT scan for kidney stones. CA-125 was 1500 before surgery, and it was 12 post-debulking even before chemo, which steadily dropped to a 3 during treatments (carbo/taxol). It was 5 at my last test 3 months ago, but I'm going for my 3-month work up in 2 weeks and I am a nervous wreck.

How long will it be before every ache & pain doesn't get me hysterical? I'm only a year out from my last treatment, and most doctors say that recurrences are more likely within the first 2 years, but the strength and bravery that got me through the past year & a half is starting to wane, even though I'm told by "the best" that its not coming back.

How do you brave, strong women keep your positive attitudes? You're all my heroes - we are sisters. Please send happy thoughts and good things to think about my way....

Comments

  • Barbara53
    Barbara53 Member Posts: 652
    #2
    you have an enviable prognosis
    Oh, dear, I think perhaps you don't know that you fall into a diagnostic group with a remarkably good prognosis. Responding that well to first line chemo puts you first in line for a long remission, so chill out as much as you can and enjoy your life.

    I'm a caregiver so I don't live this nightmare IN YOUR FACE like so many of you do, but I can't count how many hours I've spent reading the scientific literature. Girl, you have reason to smile.
  • saundra
    saundra Member Posts: 1,370 Member
    #3
    Celebrate
    Being Stage 1 C is what everyone of us would wish for. Don't waste your life with worry. Go out and live it up every minute. You have had good treatment results. Saundra
  • Lisa13Q
    Lisa13Q Member Posts: 677
    #4
    Barbara53 said:

    you have an enviable prognosis
    Oh, dear, I think perhaps you don't know that you fall into a diagnostic group with a remarkably good prognosis. Responding that well to first line chemo puts you first in line for a long remission, so chill out as much as you can and enjoy your life.

    I'm a caregiver so I don't live this nightmare IN YOUR FACE like so many of you do, but I can't count how many hours I've spent reading the scientific literature. Girl, you have reason to smile.

    Barbara
    Trust me. As a caregiver we live with it in our faces, just not the same way....
  • Mwee
    Mwee Member Posts: 1,338
    #5
    those "thoughts"
    I wish I had some magic that could block those fearsome thoughts. I have been fighting with "the Beast" for 3 1/2 years and I find that when I'm stressed and feeling overwhelmed that listening to audiobooks is a real comfort to me. It's hard to think about anything else but the story you're listening to and I find that it blocks those intrusive thoughts. I download directly to my MP3 player and those books lull me back to sleep/ travel to doctor's appts/ and are sometimes my best source of comfort. You can get all you need free from your local library!
  • jtotten1
    jtotten1 Member Posts: 21
    #6
    Mwee said:

    those "thoughts"
    I wish I had some magic that could block those fearsome thoughts. I have been fighting with "the Beast" for 3 1/2 years and I find that when I'm stressed and feeling overwhelmed that listening to audiobooks is a real comfort to me. It's hard to think about anything else but the story you're listening to and I find that it blocks those intrusive thoughts. I download directly to my MP3 player and those books lull me back to sleep/ travel to doctor's appts/ and are sometimes my best source of comfort. You can get all you need free from your local library!

    Thank You To All of My New Sisters
    Thanks to those who have replied - I'll still be waiting for the other shoe to drop, as we all will, but you've calmed me down quite a bit, and I can't thank you enough.

    Keep fighting the good fight....
    xoxo
    Jayme

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