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Goodbye Mom
My Mom passed away at home this morning at 5:30. We will miss her so much. It brings me a small amount of comfort knowing that Mom had no pain, she was just to tired to continue fighting. She fought for 14 months and she gave it everything she had and then some. 24 treatments in 14 months, a clinical trial and surgery. Mom…
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Test other than CA125
I once saw something about a test for ovarian cancer, I think it is called HE4? Does anyone know anything about this? Is it available yet? I hate the CA125 test. Mine has been up and down and then up. I had second surgery in Jan. and chemo in April and May. Had 6 chemos prior to that after surgery to remove blockage in…
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How is it possible to cry everyday?
I woke up today and was just doing fine....then....boom......I realize.....oh yeah....she's gone.....it seems so unfair how she had to go........i feel selfish....kids are hungry.....people have no homes, and I am crying because my mother, who was 78, died from this dreaded disease.......that guilt I have over being upset…
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Stabbing Pain in Lung/Heart area
Anyone, I think I read in here a person who had similar symptoms. Pls help. I finished by 6th dose os cisto/taxol 8/3 and 8/7 the Dr. admitted me to the hospital with neutropenia (dangerously low wbc) even tho I was taking neuprogen shots to avoid this. We were able to bring up the wbc fairly quickly but by the time i got…
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Chemo and sleepiness
HI Ladies. I just took treatment number 3 on Tuesday (9th) I had carbo, taxol, and avaistan. I've had a few body aches, some diarrhea, but extreme sleepiness. It's like I can't keep my eyes open at times. I've already taken 2 naps today. Where's my energy? LOL! I want to give my body what it needs, but at the same time I…
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Hernia recovery
Hi Carlene, I was just wondering how your surgery recovery is doing? Joan
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Tonight I am attending my very first OVCA support group meeting.
I am looking forward to this meeting. I have spoken on the phone with 2 of the members. One of the ladies is coming to pick me up, let me ride with her. I'm a little nervous though. A social worker who works with cancer patients and their families is scheduled to speak. I'll let you know how it goes :) Carla
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when to start feeling menopause effects
Hi There. I am on the breast and thyroid boards...I have posted here before about having a hysterectomy due to cysts on my ovaries...So I had the surgery 3 days ago, and it didn't look like cancer according to the surgeon, so I am waiting for the pathology...now I am wondering how soon after the surgery did you experience…
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post surgery questions
Debulking on the 11th. Hysterectomy, omentum and 6" of colon. Doc still put in a port for IP therapy. I remember many of you saying that bowel issues were what made IP not an option. Pain medication was fairly light, morphine pump for first 12 hours but by the time I woke up it would take about 40 minutes / 4 pushes to…
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Joliet Illinois - Support Group
December meeting cancelled due to holidays Joliet Women's Cancer Support will meet the last Wednesday of each month 7pm Where: Joliet Oncology-Hematology Associates, Ltd 2614 W Jefferson Street Joliet, IL 60435 Thanks!
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Remission
Saw my onc this morning and my ca125 dropped to a 9. He said no more chemo. I will be doing blood work every month. Also looking into clinical trial at either UCSF or Stanford. My onc is not too crazy about this idea though. Thanks for all your kind words and great support. Rosemarie
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Blogs
Do any of you ladies have blogs? I started on the night I was told I had cancer. It was very personal at first and I couldn't share but now I'm ready to share. Is it okay to share links to blogs here? If so I would like to share in case anyone would be interested in reading it and I would like to read your blog if you have…
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coach pures
I don't know if it bothers anyone else but coach pures has really pissed me off. This is our website to give and receive support for all that we are going through. To have someone come on this website just to sell pureses make me mad. I guess I just needed to vent about it. Anne
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My mom's latest colostomy saga
Hi guys----looking to vent and mostly for some advice. My mom had a wound debridement last Tuesday that led to yet a second colostomy (unplanned). Her first one is now not functional but still there ( lucky her). Anyway the new one is recessed which basically means that the intestine does not peek out the hole like it is…
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Pain or symptoms with blood clot to lung/Coumadin
From recent discussions, it appears blood clots become somewhat likely as chemo treatments climb into double digits. Did you have pain or distinct symptoms ? My latest CT scan showed I had a blood clot in my lung but it seems to have dissolved on its own. My onc was surprised I did not seem to have symptoms or pain and he…
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Chemosensitivity/Resistance Assay Part of NCCN Guidelines
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) updated the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines for Oncology to include the use of chemosensitivity/resistance assays. The NCCN states that chemosensitivity/resistance assays are being used in some NCCN member institutions for decisions related to future chemotherapy in…
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Prevention Magazine on OVCA
I just read the article in Sept. 2011 issue of Prevention Magazine, which can be downloaded as a pdf. It seemed to go a little further than the usual symptoms being misdiagnosed, which seems good to me. No matter what, we still have to rely on doctors giving a diagnosis, or at least checking things out more carefully. I…
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nausea ?
I had my 3rd treatment of carbo, taxol, and avaistan on Tuesday (9th). For the first time since I began treatments I am having some nausea. So far, no vomiting. I have a prescription for promethazine (generic for Phenegran) 25 mg. Has anyone taken this? I know it can cause drowsiness. Even meds that aren't supposed to…
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Early chemo treatments most effective
I realize that early chemo (first and second line) are usuually most effective and %'s drop for 3rd and 4th line chemo. But have any of you been told that the early treatments in a round of chemo have most of the effect. I know that I have read comments where many of you had significant CA 125 drops and shrinkage on scan…
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It's done!
I get sprung tomorrow. Happy girl here, but that could just be the drugs. Carlene
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Going home around 5PM
I am so POed. This nurse-who came on duty this AM at 7-does not approve of "excessive" pain meds. I just found out, when my dr made his rounds a few minutes ago, that this idiot has only been giving me HALF doses of Dilaudid and never mentioned that the dr wrote orders for Hydrocodone for breakthrough pain. I did speak to…
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Mutated Gene
Last week I had a blood test completed to see if I had one of two genes that if they mutated my chances for a reacurrance would go through the roof. Also if they were mutated I also would have a much hight chance to get other types of cancer. One was going from a 8% chance of getting breast cancer to an 64% chance of…
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Rising CA125 during the middle of chemo
My Fiancé has Stage IIIc ovarian cancer. She is 40 yrs old and was diagnosed Feb 2, 2011. Her originally CA125 was 15,000. PET scans showed spreading to surface of the liver, some lymph nodes, omentum, part of her colon and rectum. She had six weeks of chemo prior to surgery which reduced the CA125 to around 4500. Her…
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sherbert shake recipe
Just wanted to share this recipe: 1 c. any flavor sherbert 3/4 c. lowfat milk (I use fat free organic milk) 1/2 t. vanilla extract Mix in blender. I am learning that the days following chemo (I just had treatment 3 yesterday) it's okay to eat a little differently. Thankfully, my appetite has been good throughout (some days…
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Mom is going home soon
Yesterday my mom decided to come off of the ringers lactate. She told me she knows it will shorten her time her by a few days but she is tired and sick of being sick. She has fought the good fight, one surgery, 24 rounds of chemo including one clinical trial. I am so proud of her, she has been so brave and at last she has…
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Promising new treatment
This is a very promising article my husband ran across that I wanted to pass on to everyone, the main focus is on leukemia but please read the entire article because it does mention OVCA also. ..NEW YORK (AP) — Scientists are reporting the first clear success with a new approach for treating leukemia — turning the…
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3 month check up
Hello Everybody! today was my 3 months check up with oncologist. pet scan is done, ca125- at 6 - which is great. after finishing 6 rounds of carpo/taxol back in may - i did not go into remission, good news at that time was that- no new grows and existing got smaller, this time pet scan showed the same spot - in my left…
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Question about PET/CT scans
Hi everyone, I was just wondering about PET/CT scans. Do people mostly get these scans as opposed to just a regular CT scan. I understand that they are more superior then just a regular CT scan. If anyone gets these instead of just CT scans, I'd appreciate hearing from you. I'd like to know if you got the PET/CT while…
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Slight Vent
My hair started falling out last Tuesday and I got a short haircut that afternoon. By Saturday it was so thin and my daughter pointed out to me that she could see my scalp. So, Sunday I let my mom give me a buzz cut. I had bought a beautiful $28 scarf on sale for $2.97 so I chose to wear it today. I was a little nervous…
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Topotecan
Hello, I'm starting treatment with Topotecan tomorrow. My doctor said it's fairly easy to tolerate. If anyone has experience with this drug, I'd love to hear from you. Kind regards, Shiela