Vaginal cancer stage one squamoys cell carcinoma any survivors?

Brigitte33 said:

Thank you for responding

They are suggesting chemo at 9am once a week and radiation every day just for 15 min for 8 weeks. So chemo will be done before radiation ... they just talk about side effects and risk factors and they say its a rare cancer so there is noone in Australia that i can talk to. 

Brigitte, at least with the

Brigitte, at least with the world wide web there is more information available at our fingertips.

http://www.mdanderson.org/patient-and-cancer-information/cancer-information/cancer-types/vaginal-cancer/index.html

I am not sure how familiar you are with US institutions, but MD Anderson in the U.S. is one of the cancer leaders.

The National Cancer Institute has this:

http://www.cancer.gov/types/vaginal/patient/vaginal-treatment-pdq

 

sunflash said:

Hi Brigitte, 
I very rarely

Hi Brigitte, 

I very rarely frequent this message board but I'm glad I did today! I'm an 8 year vaginal cancer survivor. I was diagnosed in 2007, and have had no problems at all (recurrences, side effects, etc. ) since my treatment, although I did come down with a completely unrelated cancer in 2011. I have had successful treatment with that one, also, and am completely cancer free today. 

For the vaginal cancer I was treated with cisplatin chemo and daily radiation followed by brachytherapy. The side effects were minimal and I have no long term side effects at all. Cisplatin is a chemo which is given to enhance the radiation and you won't lose your hair with this treatment. 

When I was treated for my UPSC in 2011, I was given carboplatin and taxol where I did lose my hair.

I just wanted to let you know that there are plenty of long term survivors with vaginal cancer, and you can definitely get through this!

Sending hugs! 

vaginal canceri
Hi I'm so happy to hear about a survivor I was diagnosed last summer still fighting Ive been getting so discouraged reading hour post has given me new hope thank you sunflash

squamous cell carcinoma bartholin gland

Three years ago surgeon removed what was thought to be a cyst in peices, which means little bits of cancer were left floating in the area, plus I had lymph node involvement. I had two rounds of fluorouracil via PIC line and two rounds of mitomycin. I went neutropenic and had to be hospitalized for four days. I also has 31 sessions of radiation, with 3rd degree burns after session 25. its a good thing that I am not an emotional person, it was easier to go through this with a certain degree of detachment. Three years later i still get muceous in my lungs from the chemo and have diarrhea from the damage from the radiation. The tissue in the area is so thin that I bleed very easily. But i have gotten used to the new normal. I got myself a dog and we walk 2 to 3 miles a day in the rivervalley. I have good quality of life and no sign of recurring cancer. Hope this helps. Your state of mind will make a great difference in how you experience this, try to find peace in whatever form it comes to you.

Hi Brigitte, I know that

Hi Brigitte, 

I know that chemo and radiation are scary and seem harsh, but you need to be careful about nonscientifically proven cancer "cures."

I had never heard of Dr. Rath, and a quick search brought up this:

http://www.quackwatch.org/11Ind/rath.html

Just copy and paste this into your browser and you can read what a group of doctors think about Dr. Rath's methods. 

All I know is that chemo and radiation do work.......I'm an example of it working twice on me. 

Make sure you have an expert and highly qualified radiation oncologist who knows how to target radiation on your tumor to avoid damaging healthy tissue. I've been told that if I ever go to another doctor I would have to inform him/her that I've been treated for cancer since I have no lasting side effects at all. 

You will experience temporary side effects from the external radiation (blistering of skin, diarrhea,)  but those side effects generally go away in time. 

And yes, I went to the bathroom with no problem other than wiping after a bm, but that didn't last very long. I used baby wipes instead of toilet paper and that helped sooooo much! 

Sleeping was not a problem at all. My appetite did change after chemo (lost my appetite for most foods because most food had a sickingly sweet taste) but it came back within a few days. I ate soup and cheese toast which I craved for some reason. 

BTW, my pet scan showed localized cancer also with no spread. That's great news that yours hasn't spread either!

Good luck with your treatment..........you can do this!! 

Sending big hugs and prayers from me to you!!

Brigitte33 said:

Dear Sunflash Thank you !!!

Thank you so much for your caring and detailed message!

As you i had no symptoms. My PAP showed 3A group which required a follow uo after 3 months. Ultrasound showed all is good. Gynecologist requested i come back for check up after 3months. 3 months after again ultradound was ok PAP smear showed some atypical cells. Then my gynecologist requested exlorative byopsy.

 

Even during biopsy everything was fine until the very end... As she was finishing she was pulling the area near fornix (back wall of vigana) and then she noticed a califlour like mass 1,5cm....then she took some tissue from there...It turned out to be squamouc cell carcinoma. They did MRI PEt of abdomen and pelvis and all was clear no trace of cancer anywhere. They alsi did colonoscopy and that was all clear...so really it was just local to vigana and squamous cell respond very well to radiation but they said that i am strong so they recommend chemo to top up the radiation. I am not happy about it but had no time to research the altrnative approach .

 

 

Nobody in my family had cancer. Around the same time my mum was diagnosed with vascular dementia and for me that was heartbreaking. I love my mum without hesitation. Sorry for bubbling on. The point is : Your experience, your words give me so much hope and strenght! I had a first Monday of chemo and radiation today. So far so good. Radiation lasted only 4min. it was a breeze...however anticipating the pain is whats exhausting ...they all state that that the effects are cumulative and potentially life threathening if I develop a fever. Ill just focus on your experience as reading your posts instantly uplifts me and puts me in a really light and positive/easy frame of mind. Your posts and experience of cancer lights me up. Thank you so much Sunflash.

Hugs!!! With warmth. Sorry for the typos..writing on my mobile...

 ps. There are new treatments with cancer specific viruses but they are not available here in Australia. That approach really appeals to me as they create viruses specifically to kill your type of cancer cells! Wouldnt that be AWESOME?!!

 

Hi Brigette,
Hi Brigitte,
I'm

Hi Brigette,

Hi Brigitte,

I'm with you on the "nobody in my family had cancer." Guess we're the lucky ones, eh? Lol!

Don't worry about the cumulative side effects.......this treatment is saving your life! 

I'm glad you're getting the chemo because that really does give a boost to the radiation treatment. Might as well go for the cure!

And I'm also happy that you've had your first chemo treatment. If you're like me, it's not as bad as anticipated. I think my imagination went into overdrive before my first treatment. After that it was fairly routine. 

You're right about the new research being done targeting cancer cells with molecular therapy, but unfortunately cancer doesn't wait for research to be completed........doctors have to use what they have available right now.

My doctor told me that there's really a lot known about vaginal cancer (cell type) and they know exactly what to do for it.

 

Hang in there, my friend! This will be over before you know it!