New To All Of This - Overwhelmed

Sorry that you found yourself needed to come here.  But this is a great place to be,  for advise, encouragement and information.  You will soon learn that you are much stronger than you ever thought that you could be.  Read through the posts under "ladies going through chemo'. the posts about radiation are also informative if you have to go that route.  Everyone is different and even though we all have a cancer with the same name, each of us is a little individual and cancer treatment is very individualized, which is one reason why there are so many different treatments talked about.  Also doctors are very different.

I have a strong faith in God and He  has gotten me through the last 3 1/2 years of this.  I have been very blessed with good family, friends and doctors.  I pray for peace and courage most of the time.

Hugs and prayers for you,  Lou Ann

I know how you feel.  Just being diagnosed with cancer is a shock, and then to be facing a hysterectomy and then the unknown...  yes, it all seems overwhelming, because it is.  Many women here, including me, will tell you that right now, before surgery, before staging, before you have any idea of what the heck will happen next, this is the hardest part, simply not knowing.

So take a deep breath.  I found that taking one step at a time helped a lot.  First, getting through surgery.  After that, during recovery, and after staging, you'll have time do more research, become more informed, and most importantly, become your own best advocate in regards to what happens next.  And then, you'll deal with it.  We did it, we are doing it, and you can do it, too!

So, welcome to this board.  I'm sorry you have to be here, but it's a great place for information and support.  Ask any questions you want, vent, scream, whatever. You don't have to feel isolated... we are here for you.  

Chris

Welcome to this board where you will find wonderfully supportive people happy to listen to you and answer questions.  Going through this cancer journey is a very personal experience, but many of the challenges we face are the same. I have learned more about cancer in the last six months than I ever wanted to know, but I've also learned I'm really strong and you will too. Cancer is like a shadow, lurking over my shoulder. But to have a shadow you must have light.  Instead of trying to make the shadow better, I live in the light.  I choose to not worry about things I cannot change, like rapid cell division, and instead focus on healing my body from cancer / chemo w nutrition,  exercise and rest, all the while living to the best of my abilities.  You can too. One foot in front of the other,  one step at a time. Best wishes for a successful surgery;  please keep us posted. Breathe. :-)

molimoli said:

NH25 I can only say you need to be here,welcome

All the words that I know have been already written by the wonderfully Cancer brilliant sisters here, I agree and second their every word.Sorry you are overwhelmed and feeling isolated , I/we vow we will fix that in time. We would love for you to hang with us as we have some fixing to do. You won't be heavy, we will carry you  over the rough patches,you'll see, You are our sister now and we are hugging,just imagine us there where you are, all the time , everytime.

You may not find peace or consolation in a hurry but it will come. You are alive today and that's a good thing.Take deep breaths, cry if you must, just tell us if you are falling ,no complete falls will be allowed, hang tough our sister and keep a clear head ,you will need it for decision making.

I am Moli , I am hoping that calm will find you soon.

The ladies here have given you wonderful advice.  Do you know what kind of uterine cancer you have?  When I had my uterine biopsy, I was told that I had a grade 2 cancer but not much else.  It is overwhelming and terrifying to be diagnosed with cancer, but eventually you will gain some level of acceptance.  It is not easy and I would not want to go through it again.  If I have a recurrence, it would still not be as terrifying as it was in the beginning of my cancer journey.

Uterine cancer, like other cancers, comes in varieties.  The endometriod, or garden variety type that 90% of the women are diagnosed with is usually a non-aggressive form.  Uterine cancer is both staged and graded, most often after a hysterectomy when the female organs, lymph nodes, omentum, and pelvic wash are analysed in the lab.  A low stage and low grade are always better in terms of prognosis. There are four cancer stages with stages 3 and 4 considered advanced stages.  Grades are 1 to 3 with 3 being a cancer that looks the most bizarre and spreads quickly (metastasis).  I was diagnosed after surgery with uterine papilliary serous carcinoma, stage 3, grade 3.  Surgery was almost 2 years, 4 months ago and I am still here in spite of the lousy diagnosis.  Initially, I obtained both my pathology report and my surgical report for my records.  I sought two other opinions regarding treatment before I started on 6 chemotherapy rounds. After careful consideration of my particular situation and much research, I chose not to have radiation, including brachytherapy. 

I wrote all my questions down before I saw the gynechologic oncologist and had someone else with me each time initially for support and for a second set of ears. Hopefully, you are having a gynechologic oncologist do your surgery as these specialist are the experts and know what they are doing.

Please keep us posted.  I wish you the very best outcome, NH.

Cathy

 All I ever did was follow my oncologist's orders.  I had the standard treatment for my cancer, which was 6 rounds of chemo, 3 weeks apart.  I had carboplatin and paclitaxel ("Taxol") given to me in a port that was put into my chest.  I had to go back weekly for bloodwork, and at one point, my blood count was so low, I had to have a transfusion.  My cancer was the highest stage possible, stage IVb and my cancer was grade 3, a very aggressive one called Uterine Papillary Serous Carcinoma (UPSC).  In spite of the high stage and grade of my cancer, I have had no evidence of disease since my surgery and chemo ended, and that was 5 years and almost 5 months ago. I figured I'd die from my cancer in all likelihood, but here I am, alive and well.  There is hope!