Sister Diagnosed with OVCA Stage 3C in Dec. 10

Patti3435
Patti3435 Member Posts: 6
in Ovarian Cancer #1
Hi everyone. I have been poking around this board since this past December but only joined today. My younger sister Karen (46 years old) was diagnosed with stage 3C ovarian cancer on Dec. 4th 2011. She is being treated at MSKC in NYC. Because of the extent of the disease on diagnosis, she started with 3 rounds of neoadjuvant chemo (platinum) then was supposed to be debulked but CAT scan showed tumor hadn't shrunk enough. 3 more rounds of chemo, then finally surgery one week ago today. Because of the extent of the disease, they could not do a full hysterectomy, they only took out her tubes, ovaries, omentum, and a large tumor in her upper abdominal region. They will now continue to treat with a new chemo because she became resistant to the first one. Just looking for information on what to expect.

Comments

  • Patti3435
    Patti3435 Member Posts: 6
    #2
    BTW - In the photo, I am on
    BTW - In the photo, I am on the right and my sister Karen is on the left. I was just thinking.....one of my questions is this: My sister is a high school math teacher. She has been on sick leave since December. Do you think she might return to work during her next treatment cycle, or should we start looking into SS/Disability? I know no one can answer this specifically, but I guess I am just looking for some thoughts on this....do more people return to work than not after less than successful debulking surgery while on maintenance chemo?
  • Hissy_Fitz
    Hissy_Fitz Member Posts: 1,834
    #3
    Patti....I wish we could
    Patti....I wish we could tell you what to expect, but unfortunately this disease is unpredictable.

    I was diagnosed (stage IIIc) in Sept of 2009 and had first line chemo (carboplatin and taxol), then a year of taxol maintenance. I have been in remission since March of 2010.

    I am now in a clinical trial at Sloan-Kettering, though I live in Texas. Your sister is in a great place, as far as state-of-the-art treatment.

    It seems like Karen may be platinum resistant, but there are other drugs they can use.

    This is a great place for support and information. Welcome to the club no one wants to join.

    Carlene
  • LaundryQueen
    LaundryQueen Member Posts: 676
    #4
    Hissy_Fitz said:

    Patti....I wish we could
    Patti....I wish we could tell you what to expect, but unfortunately this disease is unpredictable.

    I was diagnosed (stage IIIc) in Sept of 2009 and had first line chemo (carboplatin and taxol), then a year of taxol maintenance. I have been in remission since March of 2010.

    I am now in a clinical trial at Sloan-Kettering, though I live in Texas. Your sister is in a great place, as far as state-of-the-art treatment.

    It seems like Karen may be platinum resistant, but there are other drugs they can use.

    This is a great place for support and information. Welcome to the club no one wants to join.

    Carlene

    I vote for disability benefits
    It sounds like all of your sister's efforts will need to focus on healing. It takes 4 months for disability checks to kick in and she may not be able to manage financially on the reduced income. Teachers (in my opinion) have a lot of stress & stress reduction is part of the anticancer game plan according to Dr. Servan-Schreiber. Look for his book to learn how to live the anticancer lifestyle.
  • Patti3435
    Patti3435 Member Posts: 6
    #5
    LaundryQueen said:

    I vote for disability benefits
    It sounds like all of your sister's efforts will need to focus on healing. It takes 4 months for disability checks to kick in and she may not be able to manage financially on the reduced income. Teachers (in my opinion) have a lot of stress & stress reduction is part of the anticancer game plan according to Dr. Servan-Schreiber. Look for his book to learn how to live the anticancer lifestyle.

    Thank you both very much.

    Thank you both very much.
  • srwruns
    srwruns Member Posts: 343
    #6
    "My sister is a high school
    "My sister is a high school math teacher. She has been on sick leave since December. Do you think she might return to work during her next treatment cycle, or should we start looking into SS/Disability?"

    I think that really depends on the individual person. Some folks are strong enough to work during chemo and really enjoy to keep their lives as "normalized" as possible. I found that my time working during chemo is when I was less focussed on cancer and I am in education also. I needed some days off around treatment but mainly I enjoyed staying as busy and active as I could at work. Your immune system is really compromised during TX so being around lots of people is tricky. Less tricky with the older students than the little ones, but still something to be mindful of.
  • jbeans888
    jbeans888 Member Posts: 313
    #7
    Welcome
    Welcome to the club. I also was diagnosed with stage 3c Feb 2011. I am taking the same chemo as your sister. You should really ask the social worker at her hospital. If you don't know who it is then ask around. Every hospital has one. I am at Shands in Gainesville, Fl. The social worker really helped me there. I believe there is SSI then Social security disability. They will know. Start now because it will def take awhile to get any type of financial assistance. Good luck to you and your sister. Keep us posted.:-)
  • Christine B.
    Christine B. Member Posts: 137
    #8
    Patti3435 said:

    BTW - In the photo, I am on
    BTW - In the photo, I am on the right and my sister Karen is on the left. I was just thinking.....one of my questions is this: My sister is a high school math teacher. She has been on sick leave since December. Do you think she might return to work during her next treatment cycle, or should we start looking into SS/Disability? I know no one can answer this specifically, but I guess I am just looking for some thoughts on this....do more people return to work than not after less than successful debulking surgery while on maintenance chemo?

    SS/Disability
    Hello Patti,
    I was diagnosed in September with stage IV OVCA the week school began for my third grade students. I was not able to have the complete surgery either as I had a blockage of the bowel that had to be dealt with. I finished six rounds of chemo at the end of February and ct scan showed a few small tumors left. I have been on a treatment break for the last three months and will see the doctors again May 31st to see what the next steps will be. I have been on medical leave for the full school year. Teachers do not pay into Social Security in California. I used up 109 sick days I had accumulated and then went on what is called Differential Pay in California. This is 1/2 pay for 100 days. Fortunately I had taken out an optional insurance plan about a year ago that pays 25% of my salary for each of these days. These days will bring me up to 16 days before my 55th birthday when I can retire with medical coverage from my school district. We have a sick day donation program in my school district and I am grateful to the teachers who donated the needed days to me. I applied for and was approved for Disability Retirement from the California State Teachers Retirement System which for me will be a higher pension than if I were to Service (Years) Early Retire at my age. This was a difficult but necessary decision for me as teaching was part of who I was, but since this disease will be "chronic" in my case, I know it would not be good for me, my family, or my students. I hope to be able to substitute teach and tutor after I retire as I feel this will help fill the part of me I have lost. I hope to volunteer tutor at the Childrens Hospital here in San Diego also. I do not know what your sister's situation with disability coverage is, or if in her case, she is able to return to teaching as others have I believe, but I hope that all works out the best for her healing. She will be in my prayers.
    Chris
  • Mwee
    Mwee Member Posts: 1,338
    #9
    Welcome to both of you
    Just wanted to add my two cents and say that I was diagnosed 3C exactly five years ago this month. The ugly fact of OVCA is that there is no early detection for the majority of us.
    (((HUGS to you both ))) Maria
  • Patti3435
    Patti3435 Member Posts: 6
    #10
    Mwee said:

    Welcome to both of you
    Just wanted to add my two cents and say that I was diagnosed 3C exactly five years ago this month. The ugly fact of OVCA is that there is no early detection for the majority of us.
    (((HUGS to you both ))) Maria

    Thank you
    Thank you all for your comments and opinions. I feel like I found a bunch of new friends to help me help my sister. Thank you.

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