A little confused

I was diagnosed at age 60 with stage 3c ov ca. The cancer was everywhere in my abdomen so I had 4 rounds of carbo/taxol followed by surgery, then another 4 rounds of chemo. My initial CA125 was 1800, then it went up to 2200. By the time I restarted chemo after surgery it was down, down, down to 4 where it has stayed. I asked my gyn/onc after the 6th chemo whether I could stop since I was "technically" in remission, but he felt it was safer to do all 8 rounds of chemo. I know every doc is a bit different in his/her approach, but I felt comfortable in completing the protocol. I have been NED since March 2011. It was a very rough time, but I got through it, as will your mom. I'm feeling great now and so grateful to be NED. By the way, the CA125 is a bit of a mixed bag. It is not considered fail proof, so I still have quarterly pelvic exams with my gyn/onc.

Please come back often. there are so many wise women here.

Susan

123Miley said:

So glad your Mom is responding well to treatment!

I was diagnosed at Stage 3C 6 years ago - and although I am not "cured" I am still here and living life!  

After initial diagnosis I think usually they will complete a prescribed number of treatments - even if tumor marker is at or below normal.  Then they will keep a close eye on for any evidence of recurrence - indicated by scans, how she feels and of course the tumor marker.  It was nearly 4 years before my first recurrence. After I finished initial treatment I went every month then gradually worked up to 3 months in between checkups.  

There are ladies who go through surgery and treatment and enjoy years of symptom free, drug free good health.  But unfortunately in a lot of cases this is a difficult cancer to completely erradicate.  The good news is if it does come back there are also a lot of good drugs out there that can help manage the disease, keep it in check, and allow us to lead a pretty normal life.  

It is a forever life changing thing but it is NOT the end of the world either.  There is life after and WITH cancer.    

Good luck to you and your Mom!  This is a great place to come and be reminded that we are not alone!

Your mom has every reason to be hopeful about the future.  I have a friend who is a 10-year (and counting) stage 3C ovarian cancer survivor.  Like Miley, she is not "cured" and has had her share of chemo over the last 10 years; however, that has not stopped her from enjoying life to the fullest.  She and her husband love to travel.  In the last 10 years, I think they've averaged about four trips a year, many abroad.  She does all kinds of things closer to home too and enjoys time with family and friends.

That's a good sign that your mom's CA 125 is coming down.  As the other ladies have said, your mom's oncologist will likely have her finish all of her sessions of chemo, even/when her CA 125 continues to drop to ensure that any microscopic-sized cancer cells are zapped, as long as she can tolerate the chemo.

Come back often to let us know how she and you are doing.

Hugs,

Kelly

Sorry about your mother's diagnosis. It's good that her CA125 dropped after surgery. Standard treatment for stage 3C is 6 to 8 rounds of Taxol / Carboplatin. If her CA125 drops before 2nd round, you will know that chemo is working. Normally if she can tolerate chemo, they will not stop even if her CA125 is in the normal range, in order to kill microscopic cancer cells left over after surgery.

You might want to ask the surgeon (or read surgery transcript) if surgery was optimal, meaning no cancer bigger than 1cm left. If it was, ask about IP (intra-peritoneal) chemo option, that is currently considered preferred to IV chemo for optimally debulked stage 3C patients in otherwise good health.

All the best to you and your mom.

Alexandra