Serous Carcinoma- spots in lungs.

Kato81

Hello everyone. I'm new to the board and would like to thank everyone for taking the time to write their experiences! I cant tell you all how much it has already meant to us. My aunt was recently diagnosed with serous carcinoma stage 4. The doctor is recommending a total hysterectomy provided they did not find and spots in her lungs. Unfortunately the xrays came back today showing spots. They are now recommending chemotherapy to shrink the Cancer and have surgery in 9 weeks. I noticed that many have had hysterectomies, I was just curious if anyone has experienced chemo before surgery. And how successful it was. Thank u all for you support ❤️

LisaPizza

I'm  very sorry your mom has

I'm  very sorry your mom has to face this,  but glad she has a wonderful daughter looking out for her. I don't have experience with preoperative chemo, but I do know that the guidelines recommend considering preoperative chemo for extra uterine disease, so it's a reasonable choice.

Kato81

Thank u so much. I'm hoping

Thank u so much. I'm hoping they will be able to shrink it enough so she can go through with surgery. It's an aggressive cancer so we hate to wait any longer. But thank u so much for your encouraging words❤️

Forherself

So sorry to hear about your Aunt

That is hard to hear.  We do have Fluff who had treatment before her surgery.  She had time off from disease.  She comes on sometimes to update.  Her posts are on this page.  She is now dealing with a recurrence.   We are here to listen and understand.  

By the way, I hope things are going ok for you Fluff.  

SF73

Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy

Sorry to hear about your aunt's diagnosis. If the cancer is detected outside of the uterus the standard of care does suggest chemotherapy prior to surgery. That gives her the best chance. Chemo is a systemic drug and goes after any fast growing cells in the body including the ones in the lungs. If they start with hysterectomy, they will give the free cancer cells weeks to spread. If you want to read more you can search "Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy"

NoTimeForCancer

SF73, good to hear from you

SF73, good to hear from you and great advice. 

Kato81, please let us know how your aunt is doing and if you have any questions.  

Kato81

Thank you all so much! She

Thank you all so much! She just had her first round of chemo on Friday and it went well. She did not have any allergic reaction to the taxol. Today she is doing well no nausea and they prescribed her Claritin to help with the bone pain. But she is having a lot of needle pains in her legs. I was just wondering if anyone is familiar with what could help with that. Her CA 125 test was 322.

MAbound

Needle pains

Did your aunt ice her feet and hands during infusions? What you are describing sounds like the beginnings of neuropathy. It's not the same as bone pain and it is due to damage to the myelin sheath that protects nerves. Please inform her doctor of this development right away. You don't want this to get worse and it will with subsequent infusions because the effects are cumulative and this one can be permanent. Besides you helping her with the icing, her doctor can do other things to help such as changing to another chemo drug such as Taxotere, reducing the dose or lengthening the infusion time. If the needle pain is making it hard to sleep at night or sit in a chair with her feet elevated, cooling slippers or socks between infusions can help with that too.

Molly110

neuropathy

I strongly agree with th recommendation that you and your aunt explore icing her hands and feet. I didn't know of this option until after my first chemo, and I wish very much that I had. Her doctor will know about it, and there is also a lot of information easily available in the professinal liaterature online.

 

Good luck to you both.