Unable to remove "impressive mass"

pevvy

First of all let me say thanks to all the women on this board. I feel I have been eavesdropping as a way of processing my mother's diagnosis of cancer in August 2009. Initially, it was thought she had rectal cancer due to a mass in her pelvis. This was blocking her rectum and a "temporary" colostomy surgery was done. Following surgery we visited an oncologist and learned that the pathology came back with evidence of ovarian cancer. They also let us know at this time that she has Stage IV cancer. Plan was for 3 rounds of chemo, surgery for debulking and then 3 more rounds of chemo. Well, it took a while for the initial 3 rounds of chemo with low platelet delays. Finally, December 22 we met with the gyn/oncologist and he informed us that the mass was still too impressive and surgery would be very difficult and risky. My mother is tolerating the chemo, but it does not seem to be shrinking this mass. We do not meet with the gyn/oncol for another 3 cycles of chemo. Is there anyone else out there living with a non-operative mass? and how are you doing with this? We are trying to focus on the good times and appreciating the moments we have together and with the rest of the family but there is this lurking shadow...I hate to bring up the negative side of cancer but we can't help but think of what will happen next.

Barbara53

life goes on
P,
One of my mother's good friends has an inoperable mass near her liver, and she receives no chemo or other treatment. She has has this health status for nearly a year, and has a pretty normal life. The ball could drop at any time, but for now you are right. Enjoy each day.

My mother has OVCA, too, but she is not so lucky. Bad days are starting to outnumber the good ones. Sigh.

nancy591

Sorry to hear
Pevvy,
I do not have much information to offer regarding the inoperable mass. I believe in some countries debulking surgery is not standard treatment. i also know a lady who has falopian tube cancer which spread and now has an inoperable tumor for several years. If the chemo is not shrinking the tumor but keeping it from growing maybe they will continue with that for awhile. Is she on taxol/carbo IV? How old is your Mom?
It is so hard NOT to be negative. It comes with the diagnosis. Hopefully Mom is pain free and can tolerate the chemo to keep the cancer from growing.
Best of luck your family!!! Keep us updated.
Nancy

pevvy

Barbara53 said:

life goes on
P,
One of my mother's good friends has an inoperable mass near her liver, and she receives no chemo or other treatment. She has has this health status for nearly a year, and has a pretty normal life. The ball could drop at any time, but for now you are right. Enjoy each day.

My mother has OVCA, too, but she is not so lucky. Bad days are starting to outnumber the good ones. Sigh.

thanks for giving me more to hope for
I understand "the ball could drop at any time" but it is helpful to hear other people's experiences...it gives a little hope that maybe I have a little more time with my mother.

Sorry to hear about your mother's bad days.

pevvy

nancy591 said:

Sorry to hear
Pevvy,
I do not have much information to offer regarding the inoperable mass. I believe in some countries debulking surgery is not standard treatment. i also know a lady who has falopian tube cancer which spread and now has an inoperable tumor for several years. If the chemo is not shrinking the tumor but keeping it from growing maybe they will continue with that for awhile. Is she on taxol/carbo IV? How old is your Mom?
It is so hard NOT to be negative. It comes with the diagnosis. Hopefully Mom is pain free and can tolerate the chemo to keep the cancer from growing.
Best of luck your family!!! Keep us updated.
Nancy

thankful for a different lens
Thanks you Nancy for giving me another way to see this. All I could think was that the mass was not shrinking so now what. It was helpful to hear what you had to say about it not growing any more and the hope is in maintaining it for now.

My mother is 72 years old and is taking the taxo/carb regimen. I am thankful that she is not showing any side effects aside from being tired and having low energy. We are planning for a family camping trip this summer. It gives another positive marker to shoot for aside from the good times we had over the holidays.

At her highest, her CA 125 level was at 60, now it is at 6.... I'm not sure this is a good marker for her to hang her hopes on given how serious the tumor is.

We are nonetheless taking advantage of the opportunity to share her experiences. She has been a role model our whole life... this is just another phase where she is showing her resiliency.

Thank You All for your support both directly and indirectly. Linda

BrittanyC

pevvy said:

thankful for a different lens
Thanks you Nancy for giving me another way to see this. All I could think was that the mass was not shrinking so now what. It was helpful to hear what you had to say about it not growing any more and the hope is in maintaining it for now.

My mother is 72 years old and is taking the taxo/carb regimen. I am thankful that she is not showing any side effects aside from being tired and having low energy. We are planning for a family camping trip this summer. It gives another positive marker to shoot for aside from the good times we had over the holidays.

At her highest, her CA 125 level was at 60, now it is at 6.... I'm not sure this is a good marker for her to hang her hopes on given how serious the tumor is.

We are nonetheless taking advantage of the opportunity to share her experiences. She has been a role model our whole life... this is just another phase where she is showing her resiliency.

Thank You All for your support both directly and indirectly. Linda

Have you thought about
Have you thought about seeking a second opinion?

Second opinions are done a lot in the medical field.

My mother also had a mass that could not be taken out, only for biopsy.

Keep your head up. We are all here for you