Just one more chemo cycle to go!

Abbycat2

 

I am so glad that I joined the cancer survivor network as the members have been informative, caring, and supportive.  Thank you Hybridspirits, Dee5678, Kaleena (Kathy) and Ro10 for you responses to my very first post this week.  I finished chemo #5 and have only one more to go in three weeks.  Hurray!   As you can imagine, I am hoping to go into remission for a very long time.  I am glad to see that some of the women who have UPSC have been NED for two years or longer and others, with recurrences, are still responding to treatment.  This is beyond a doubt the most frightening experience I have ever had and I am still working through the grief process.  I learned on 11/7/13 that I have UPSC Stage IIIA and I knew immediately that I will have a fight on my hands to survive this disease.   Yesterday was a dark day for me, but today I am feeling less depressed.   Fear is what has been bothering me the most.  Today, fortunately, I am feeling good.    There are times now when I "forget" that I have metastatic cancer and there are other times when I am able to stop thinking negative thoughts about my future by forcing myself to think of something else entirely that is pleasant to think about (such as imaging that I am eating a big bowl of chocolate peanut butter ice cream!).  I am a long distance swimmer and a good trex in the local pool always brings my spirits up!  I would love to hear from you wonderful women as to how you have managed to cope with and eventually accept living with cancer.  Best wishes to all of you and have a great weekend!  Cathy

LindaFF

Good for you Cathy

I'm happy to hear you only have one more treatment!  I was diagnosed as stage IIIA in 8/09 and still NED.  It is a scary thing.  I found guided imagery to help so much and my faith has pulled me through some tough times.  I continued to walk and that helped me to deal with my situation.  This board is wonderful.  I don't check in very often but when I saw you had the same stage, I knew I could give you comfort.  Enjoy your weekend! 

Abbycat2

LindaFF said:

Good for you Cathy

I'm happy to hear you only have one more treatment!  I was diagnosed as stage IIIA in 8/09 and still NED.  It is a scary thing.  I found guided imagery to help so much and my faith has pulled me through some tough times.  I continued to walk and that helped me to deal with my situation.  This board is wonderful.  I don't check in very often but when I saw you had the same stage, I knew I could give you comfort.  Enjoy your weekend! 

Thank you for your response

Good morning, Linda,

Linda, thank you for your response. It is very encouraging to hear that you have been NED with stage 111A for close to five years. I am happy for you!   Would you share more about your diagnosis and subsequent treatment? Were you diagnosed with UPSC?  When you had surgery, was your omentum biopsied or surgically removed (mine was not as my uterine biopsy suggested a different type of uterine cancer and not what it turned out to be -UPSC). If you had radiation, please provide some details about what you had.  I want to beat this cancer if possible and I have quickly learned that knowledge is powerful.  If nothing else, it gives me some sense of being in charge of my health.  You mentioned guided imagery which I am familiar with. Did you use the techniques developed by Simonton and Simonton as described in their book Getting Well Again?    I wish you the very best!    Cathy

 

 

debrajo

Abbycat2 said:

Thank you for your response

Good morning, Linda,

Linda, thank you for your response. It is very encouraging to hear that you have been NED with stage 111A for close to five years. I am happy for you!   Would you share more about your diagnosis and subsequent treatment? Were you diagnosed with UPSC?  When you had surgery, was your omentum biopsied or surgically removed (mine was not as my uterine biopsy suggested a different type of uterine cancer and not what it turned out to be -UPSC). If you had radiation, please provide some details about what you had.  I want to beat this cancer if possible and I have quickly learned that knowledge is powerful.  If nothing else, it gives me some sense of being in charge of my health.  You mentioned guided imagery which I am familiar with. Did you use the techniques developed by Simonton and Simonton as described in their book Getting Well Again?    I wish you the very best!    Cathy

 

 

Hi

I am UPSC also and did have five rounds of radiation.  I am over 3 1/2 years clear out of chemo.  Let me know if I can help!  Best Debrajo

Kaleena

One More! Terrific!

Cathy:

That is terrific that you only have one more treatment to go!   In a couple of weeks you can get that part of it behind you too!

With regard to coping, my husband and I would always take rides (we did this all the time anyway).  It is usually a great place to talk things out about the day, etc.   After I was diagnosed, listening to the radio they seemed to always play those sad songs.  It got a habit that we would look at each other a laugh about it.   Also, my husband if he saw me getting a sad look on my face he would make the pouty look and we would laugh.   I also took piano lessons.  I had always wanted to learn to play.   I also did things that I was "afraid" to do.  Ride certain roller coasters, fly to vacation (we drove for 20 years - lol), drive myself through a large city.   I still get those "feeling sorry for myself" days and we just have to push through those.   Plus I have animals that keep me laughing.  And my husband got me a puppy for my birthday.  (Yikes!  the first month kept me very busy!)  Do whatever it is that works for you and above all - Stay Positive!

Wishing you a very long remission.

Hugs!

Kathy

artist49

upsc hope

Here's some more hope for you!   On Feb. 28  I celebrated 3 years NED from stage 4B UPSC with  substantial lymph node

involvement. You are on the right track. Do what you love and your brain will slip off the cancer fear track. This is the only

way to live with this disease.  A retired art teacher, I now paint for hours each day and  my mind can only focus

on one thing at a time - happily it's the painting. Good luck - life does go on as I've learned.