Metastatic cervical cancer

Alexander79

Hello All.... I am new here and hoping to find others who may have been through a situation similar to mine. I am a little confused and pretty worried at this point. 

I am currently 34 years old. Mother of 4. I was diagnosed with 2b cervixal - adenocarcinoma in 2008. I then went on to have chemo once a week for 6 weeks and external radiation 5 days a week for 6 or so weeks. In addition I also had several internal radiation treatments. The treatments seemed to work and I showed no signs of any cancer on CT or PET scans for 4 years. 

Then, last year the cancer came back in my uterus at which point surgery was my only option, radical hysterectomy. 

Now, 18 months after surgery, we have discovered numerous nodules on my lungs and a lymph node on my spine light up on a PET scan. This is alarming especially because I have scans every 6 month which means all of this has formed in the last 6 months or less. I am having surgery Monday to have the lymph node on my spine removed for biopsy to confirm it's the same cervical cancer I started with. My doctor says he suspects thats exactly what it is and that chemo will be my only option. I always swore I would never do chemo again because it made me so miserable for so long. 

I am not finding much information on metastatic cervical cancer, and what I have read has been terrifying to say the least. Has anyone had a similar experience? If so, where are you with treatment and what kind of progress have you made? 

 

 

 

ccfighter

It's nice to meet you

It's nice to meet you Alexander.  I'm sorry that you are going through this.  I am also 34.  I was diagnosed almost two years ago with adenosquamous carcinoma of the cervix stage 2A2.  I had a radical hysterectomy and then did chemo and chemo/radiation.  A few months after I had finished treatment I had a recurrence in the lung and abdominal wall.  I had these removed and did more chemo and radiation.  I finished treatment for recurrence in May and last scan in August shows NED.  I have another scan coming up next month.  I'm quite nervous.  I have three kids.  Needless to say this has been hard on everyone.

hopefully your spinal lymph node will be benigne.  Some people have good results with Avastin to shrink and clear mets.  Multiple nodules in the lungs are often inoperable, though you could always consult with a thoracic surgeon.  Get second and third opinions.  Research treatment options including clinical trials.  I wish you the best.  Let me know if you have any questions.  Hugs.

Alexander79

ccfighter said:

It's nice to meet you

It's nice to meet you Alexander.  I'm sorry that you are going through this.  I am also 34.  I was diagnosed almost two years ago with adenosquamous carcinoma of the cervix stage 2A2.  I had a radical hysterectomy and then did chemo and chemo/radiation.  A few months after I had finished treatment I had a recurrence in the lung and abdominal wall.  I had these removed and did more chemo and radiation.  I finished treatment for recurrence in May and last scan in August shows NED.  I have another scan coming up next month.  I'm quite nervous.  I have three kids.  Needless to say this has been hard on everyone.

hopefully your spinal lymph node will be benigne.  Some people have good results with Avastin to shrink and clear mets.  Multiple nodules in the lungs are often inoperable, though you could always consult with a thoracic surgeon.  Get second and third opinions.  Research treatment options including clinical trials.  I wish you the best.  Let me know if you have any questions.  Hugs.

Nice to meet you ccFIGHTER!!

Nice to meet you ccFIGHTER!!  

Thank you for sharing your story with me.. It sounds like you are definitely on a positive path of recovery and I will be thinking of you and praying for a positive outcome with your scan next month. We are way too young to let this disease get us down!! You sound allot like me... In trying to stay strong and positive although sometimes it Is very hard to do so. I have been fighting this fight for almost 6 years Now and at times I want to throw in the towel and let nature take its course but my stubborn disposition tells me to kick this cancers butt yet again.

While I live in Ohio the rest of my family is in Texas which makes things even harder.. Not to mention I am a divorced single mom Of 4. I find myself telling my close relatives that the situation is not as bad as it is so they won't worry as much, but it's tough to keep it all inside!! I am so so sorry that you are going through this experience... But it does offer a little comfort knowing that I'm not the only one facing this situation. When I heard my doctor say metastatic I was terrified but hearing your success this far does give me hope and that my friend, is golden to me right now  

i am new on this site and would love to also talk wth people in my area, are you aware of how I could go about doing that? 

Thanks so much!!!! Hugs back at ya babe!! 

NoTimeForCancer

Alexander79 said:

Nice to meet you ccFIGHTER!!

Nice to meet you ccFIGHTER!!  

Thank you for sharing your story with me.. It sounds like you are definitely on a positive path of recovery and I will be thinking of you and praying for a positive outcome with your scan next month. We are way too young to let this disease get us down!! You sound allot like me... In trying to stay strong and positive although sometimes it Is very hard to do so. I have been fighting this fight for almost 6 years Now and at times I want to throw in the towel and let nature take its course but my stubborn disposition tells me to kick this cancers butt yet again.

While I live in Ohio the rest of my family is in Texas which makes things even harder.. Not to mention I am a divorced single mom Of 4. I find myself telling my close relatives that the situation is not as bad as it is so they won't worry as much, but it's tough to keep it all inside!! I am so so sorry that you are going through this experience... But it does offer a little comfort knowing that I'm not the only one facing this situation. When I heard my doctor say metastatic I was terrified but hearing your success this far does give me hope and that my friend, is golden to me right now  

i am new on this site and would love to also talk wth people in my area, are you aware of how I could go about doing that? 

Thanks so much!!!! Hugs back at ya babe!! 

The internet can make us all local

Alexander79, I am visitng from the Uterine chat board but can tell you I have no family in the state I live in.  They are all far away and it was my best friend who was with me throughout.  She was with me for so many "bad news" times I always felt bad when she wasn't with me when I had heard good things. 

I will say, I find very few women who have gone through my type of cancer and who live locally - actually - none.  I think if you give it a chance you will find the women on this board are great "friends" who you can ask ANYTHING!  They are honest too with answers. 

The hospital may be able to suggest a group, I know I was told I could go to a meeting, but I think it was ALL types of cancer and I was really more interested in my type as well. 

ccfighter

Alexander79 said:

Nice to meet you ccFIGHTER!!

Nice to meet you ccFIGHTER!!  

Thank you for sharing your story with me.. It sounds like you are definitely on a positive path of recovery and I will be thinking of you and praying for a positive outcome with your scan next month. We are way too young to let this disease get us down!! You sound allot like me... In trying to stay strong and positive although sometimes it Is very hard to do so. I have been fighting this fight for almost 6 years Now and at times I want to throw in the towel and let nature take its course but my stubborn disposition tells me to kick this cancers butt yet again.

While I live in Ohio the rest of my family is in Texas which makes things even harder.. Not to mention I am a divorced single mom Of 4. I find myself telling my close relatives that the situation is not as bad as it is so they won't worry as much, but it's tough to keep it all inside!! I am so so sorry that you are going through this experience... But it does offer a little comfort knowing that I'm not the only one facing this situation. When I heard my doctor say metastatic I was terrified but hearing your success this far does give me hope and that my friend, is golden to me right now  

i am new on this site and would love to also talk wth people in my area, are you aware of how I could go about doing that? 

Thanks so much!!!! Hugs back at ya babe!! 

Keep kicking butt for sure!

Keep kicking butt for sure!  You are young and strong and can fight this.  I hope that even though your family is in another state that you have a good support group of friends and neighbors and coworkers that can help you and your kids through this.  It can be a tough road, but you will pull through.  I do not have resources to find support groups in your area but your hospital will probably be able to point you in the right direction.  I am in northern virginia and there are programs here that provide resources and support for cancer and specific cancers like gyn cancers.  Keep us informed on your journey.  I love being able to talk to others going through similar situations.  Hugs and best wishes.  Stay strong.

aricca wallace

there is hope!

My name is Aricca, I am a mom of two boys.  I was diagnosed with cervical in july 2011.  I had seve ral rounds of chemo, 5 weeks of radiatio. And 6 brachytherapies - seemed to be gone.  In Jan 2013 we discovered it had metastized to lymphnodes in my chest!   I was told I had less than a year to live! After 18 more roumds of chemo - my dr found out about a new clinical trial in bethesda maryland and national institute of health - I was the swcond person to sign up with no guarantees - but I had to fight for my kids!   The treatment worked!!!!!  14 months after I started the trial - my cancer is gone!!!!! There are 2 of us out of 12 in the trial that are completely clean!!!!  I have found thru this journey that you have to be proactive and find your own trials - I am living proof that this one works!!!!!  I am more than happy to talk to you in more details about this treatment and get you the Dr name - he is amazing! Hope to hear from you!

Aricca

destroycancer

Dear Alexander,
 
my mom has

Dear Alexander,

 

my mom has a very similar situation to yours, she now also suffers from metastasis to the lymph nodes. 

CUrrently she is undergoing chemo (carboplatin + taxol 3 cycles) and then 6 weeks of Locoregional radio therapy. 

 

Combination carboplatin + taxol seems to do really well for cervical cancer metastasis (possibly adding avastin).

you can also look into something called LocoRegional Curative Intent Radiotherapy, my mom was qualified for this type of treatment which she undergoes starting next week. Alot of studies have shown that if cancer metastasized in a certain region rather than all over the body, radiotherapy has a 38%-50% chance of curing the disease. 

Add to that Curcumin, lot of research that proves curcumin helps kill cancer especially cerivcal cancer. 

 

For a full cure, it's on the horizon called t cell immunotherapy, this is the cure for cerivcal cancer it seems as per my research, but only clinical trials so i am unable to get my mom on it. a company called juno therapetics are working on setting up a commercial one, look them up. However i think it may take 3 or more years for this to release, i hope they do it earlier so we can get the cure soon.