New and scared

ccfighter said:

Hi ioanna,
welcome to our

Hi ioanna,

welcome to our lovely group.  I'm sorry that you have had to deal with this diagnosis.  It does sound like you are getting good care and are being followed appropriately.  It is hard to say what your lymph nodes are.  Your doctor is right in that it really could be anything.  A pet scan will help in figuring out if it is a met or not.  Lymph nodes can enlarge for many reasons.  When you have pelvic radiation, lymph nodes can become damaged and lymphadema can result, which could explain the swelling in you thighs.  Did you have a hysterectomy?  Do you know what type of cervical cancer you have, squamous or Adeno?  Leukopenia is not unusual after treatment and can take some time to recover.  The pelvic bone is one of the largest manufactures of blood cells and radiation can cause damage to the bone marrow.  

Prior to treatment did tests indicate spread to lymph nodes?  I was diagnosed 2a2 and had mets to my hypogastric lymph nodes (pelvic lymph nodes).  They were removed during my hysterectomy.  I later did have a recurrence but not in my lymph nodes, though it is a common place to have a recurrence.

i hope that your pet scan is clean and there is a simple cause for these findings.  Hugs.

Hello,

Thanks for your reply.

I had the pet scan today and will be getting the results on Wednesday.Yes, the doctor I have is great, not only as a doc but also human.

My back still hurts a lot and I can't walk well. I had squamous cancer2b and I did not have a hysterectomy (off protocol). Only pelvic lymph nodes were initially a bit enlarged but did not show signs of cancer in the ct scan. The doctor radiated them just to make sure.

I hope my back gets better soon because I can't work like this and I really have to... How have you been doing?

ccfighter said:

I really hope that you get

I really hope that you get good results on Wedneday.  

I also hope that you find some relief for the back pain.  Do you have some meds that provide relief?  A combo of tylenol and advil may help, or if you have percocets or diladid that may do the trick, although cause some sleepiness and brain fog.

I am doing well.  My recurrence occured in my lung and abdominal wall and I had surgery to remove them in dec of 2012, did more chemo which I finished in may of 2013 and have had clear scans since.  I sleep with my fingers and toes crossed  I am active and fully engaged in my kids (6,9,11 years old) life and loving every bit of it.  I still struggle with some anxiety issues, but...small potatoes, even though it can be quite crippling at times.

 

Let us know how things go on Wednesday.  We are all rooting for you!  hugs.

It's not good. Waiting for doc.....

ccfighter said:

Oh no!  I am sending positive

Oh no!  I am sending positive vibes for you.  Try to keep calm until you have all the info.  We are here for you.  Big hugs.

I have a recurrence in paraortical lymph nodes and one near left

ovaries.

I am starting carbo/taxol on Tuesday. Three rounds, one every three weeks. After that we'll do CT and MRI to check progress and decide how to continue.

The weird part is that apart from low whites, my blood tests are great. All cancer indicators are far below limit (????).

Hope everything turns out good:)

ccfighter said:

I'm so sorry that you are

I'm so sorry that you are having to deal with this again.  Big hugs.

my cancer is not able to be tracked through blood work with cancer antigens.  My ca-125 at diagnosis was 11.  Totally normal.

ive done the carbo/taxol route and it wasn't as bad as I imagined.  The first infusion caused some pretty significant pain in my legs, but I didn't have a problem with that on subsequent infusions.  When my hair started falling out my scalp was very sore.  I wasn't prepared for that.  It felt better after I shaved my head.  I gained weight on chemo, which it need to do.  Eating was not a problem for me.  Stay well hydrated.  Be weary of constipation.  All the premeds can cause serious constipation problems.

 

i hope things go smoothly with you and you see significant results quickly.   Keep us posted and let us know if you need anything.

Thanks a lot for your support I am sorry I didn't write earlier but I had to find the medication prescribed for Tuesday.

Cancer antigens are called indicators in Greek so I wrote it wrong. The ones I had tested were all normal.

The lump nodes near my spine are really swollen and bother a nerve. So I have trouble sitting, standing and I can barely walk.

I hope it gets better after Tuesday...

Thanks again:)

ccfighter said:

I hope that everything goes

I hope that everything goes smoothly with your treatment.  I am sorry that you are having pain.  I hope that your doctor is able to prescribe something that helps.  Consider radiation as well to the mets, perhaps cyber knife or something similar.  This should be possible along with chemo.  It should help alleviate the pain as well.  Best of luck to you.  Keep us posted.  Hugs.

Hi, I had my first chemo cisplatin/taxol combination. It's been very smooth, only a bit of nausea and some pain in back.

I suppose it could have been much worse.

But I have been doing some research over the internet on the outcome statistics and some were as low as nine months. Have you read anything;

ccfighter said:

I'm so glad your first chemo

I'm so glad your first chemo is going smoothly.  Drink plenty of fluids.

also, please don't believe everything you read on the internet.  You are you, and don't fit into general statistics, you are a statistic of one.  Though reading about recurrent cervical cancer can seem discouraging, most of the info is outdated and no one can predict how you will respond to treatment.  

I had a recurrence of my cervical cancer in two locations 18 months ago.  Right now, I am NED and plan on staying that way, despite the less than desireable prognosis I was given (10% chance of surviving this crap disease). so...stay positive and stay strong and know it is possible to beat this.  Hugs.

Thanks for your support and reply Things have been very smoothly with my first chemo so far. I only feel some burning in spine and just a bit of nausea. I didn't manage to get much sleep last night due to this burning but I did sleep today afternoon.

We spoke to the doctor again and looked into what's next. After these 3 chemos I more likely to continue with tomography machine for radiation therapy. So, so far so good. I'll probably be done much earlier than what I thought.

I am really glad you are Ned and I wish you to remain so forever:)

ccfighter said:

Hmmm...
perhaps your doctor

Hmmm...

perhaps your doctor might be able to provide some more insight for you.  Lymphadema is common for those who have had lymph node removal or radiation to the lymph beds.  Considering your recurrence is in lymph nodes and left ovary, this might cause a disruption in lymph flow or it could be a result of treatment.  

Try compression stockings and massage.  Get your doctor to take you seriously and give you an answer.

 

i hope you resolve this quickly.  Hugs.

Hello Everyone! Thank you very much for your support. I hope you all get well and stay healthy I spoke with my doctor and I was eventually prescribed with lasix for my legs as well as cymbalta for the neuropathy as I couldn't walk.. I am doing much better now! I've had four rounds of cisplatin, taxol and avastin. My legs still hurt but not as much and I can walk around. My appetite is ok. Now I am on holidays with my family and having a great time