worried and wondering

reid16 · May 2016

so I came to this site because I'm worried and wondering. Hoping to gain some insight while I either wait, or figure out what to do. In early 2011 I had an abnormal pap. In June 2011 I had a cancer positive colpo. I became pregnant with my second son in Oct 2011 and my prenatal exam revealed that my pap was clean. I didn't have another pap until I became pregnant with my daughter in 2013. It was clean. She was born Aug 2014 and since some time after she was born...the last six months? Year? I've felt pain and cramps in my lower back and pelvic area. I've also noticed bowel changes and go through phases of pure fatigue. All of this can be explained away by diet, alcohol, lack of exercise, etc. Everything can be explained away. Guess that's why they call ovarian cancer the silent killer. I've been trying for over a year to get in to see my ob (which prompts me to say that my symptoms must have been going on for that long..?) and so far have been unable. All of my symptoms point to ovarian cancer, though they're largely general for many reproductive issues...cancer fits best. Then, recently, I noticed getting full faster or not having an appetite. Again, I can blame that on a lot of stress and diet, etc. Then, the last two months, mt periods have been 13 and 15 days long. NOT, I mean 100% NOT normal for me. I also feel pressure in my pelvic/bowel/rectum areas. Everything as I said, I can explain away. But I've also been under a lot of stress facing a possible divorce and drinking moderately for a week or two straight. But this isn't the only time I've drank a bit or been under stress. Seems my life is mostly a **** storm and I also lost my mom. My stress has never seemed to affect my period or my appetite, let alone caused abdominal and back pain or bowel changes. I'm really beginning to worry, with so many symptoms, and new ones seeming to add on, that I may potentially have ovarian cancer. Any insight on experience or on my symptoms or worries would be greatly appreciated. Don't worry about scaring me, you can't. I've accepted that it could very well be that and am prepared to handle it. If you know something or think something, please give me all you've got. I needed to find people that I can talk to about this, especially while I'm in the dark and only suspecting at this point. Tia

LorettaMarshall · May 2016

Please Don't cross over the Ovarian Cancer bridge till Uget2 it!

My Dear Tia:

It’s the wee hours of Sunday morning where I live Tia. I was just preparing to go to bed shortly after midnight. I thought I would check the cancer site before doing so. And here I find you, by the sounds of your letter, “stressed out” big time. Many of us are “stressed out” when we suddenly find that we have Ovarian cancer and had non-descript symptoms. Let me say “welcome”. Secondly, let me say you’ve listed symptoms, but I, and I probably speak for others here, couldn’t begin to tell you that you have Ovarian Cancer.

After reading your letter, I’m left with many questions. Tia, I don’t know what a “colpo” is. Was it a cancerous colon polyp? If so, what medical procedure did you have to take care of it? So I’m in the dark as to what that is. You would have to enlighten me on that? If it were a cancerous polyp, have you been tested since June of 2011? I really don’t want to suggest that you have cancer PERIOD. That’s certainly above my pay grade. Moreover, I would get thrown off this site if I told you that you had Ovarian Cancer. Different women on this site will have different experiences and different stories as to how they came to be diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer. When someone writes in and tells us of a specific diagnosis, then someone with a similar experience can give helpful info.

You’re telling me that you have 3 young children—that you’ve lost your mom—and that you’re facing a possible divorce. Tia that qualifies you to be stressed out. However, you say that you’ve been drinking “moderately” for a couple of weeks straight.

On top of that you say you’re beginning to worry that you might have Ovarian Cancer. The best way to “handle” that is to make an appointment with your gynecologist, describe your symptoms to him/her and let them take it from there. I dare say a person here would “confirm” your worries at this point. We are patients, but not doctors.

You want us to “give it to you straight” because it won’t scare you. With all due respect, Tia, it would scare you. Some here, including me, would say, when we were diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer, we were “blown away” and wondered how we were going to handle it. That would be a normal response, and it would give “stress” a new dimension. So I would say, please don’t diagnose yourself. If you’ve been trying to be seen by your ob, is that strictly an obstetrician or does your doctor take care of all gynecological problems as well. You know doctors are branching out into separate fields today. I would say that you definitely need to be seen as soon as possible by a gynecologist. They will be the ones to determine tests that you should have to determine why your periods are lasting for unusually long periods of time.

Tia, the most help I can be right now is to say that I know what it is for your mother to pass away. There’s plenty of times I would like to call my mother but she is no longer here. And how often do I recall the wise words of wisdom and comfort she gave to me during her lifetime. When do any of us no longer need a loving mom? I wish your mother were still here to help calm some of your fears, but life goes on, and with it much grief and sorrow as things happen over which we have no control. The solace I do have is that I know she’s in Heaven and some days when she is on my mind, I just say to the Lord, “Tell Mama hello for me.” But she left me a legacy of love and the strong example of how her faith enabled her to endure untold stressful situations throughout her life has been an “anchor” for me.

So Tia, I could be wrong but somehow I get the feeling that perhaps you are trying to drown your sorrows with drink and it’s not working. But that’s something that only you can handle. If you’re already stressed out, and now you’re almost certain that you have Ovarian cancer, the only way to alleviate that fear for certain is make an appointment this coming week. Don’t let anything stop you from making the call.

There are some web links that have doctors on call. I’ve never used them, but I see that there is a web link that is called “justanswer.com”. They say they have doctors waiting to answer your questions. Their site says, “Connect One on One with a Doctor who will answer your question.” The most I could do would be suggest you check out this site or some others that are similar. I have never used one myself. Also there are websites like Mayo.com and WebMD that have “symptom checker” sections.

I suggest you go to the web and type in “WebMD’s symptom checker.”

Type in “Mayo Clinic symptom checker” as well.

I normally type in the link or copy and paste it in my letters so the person can simply click on the link and bring up the site. However this site has recently changed the way our page looks and works. Every time I put in a precise web link, it kicks out my whole letter, and says there is a security problem and it blocks my whole letter. So I have come back in and just told you how to find these links. I’ve notified the site, and I hope this gets fixed soon. It’s a problem that actually stresses me out when I spend a long time searching for helpful sites, and then my response gets blocked.

Now I am in no way endorsing these sites, I’m only making some suggestions. But the best way is to either make an appointment with your gynecologist, or go to your primary care doctor and schedule a complete physical. One of these two will most certainly be able to diagnose and prescribe treatments that are best for you.

Tia, I’m sorry if my response sounds like advice from “Dear Abby”. How I wish I could help you, but at this point, I feel helpless, except to listen. My only advice is, “Please don’t cross the Ovarian Cancer” bridge till you get to it! For anyone who has ever crossed an old “swinging bridge”, it swings as you walk across it, and it stretches over some deep water. Coping with Ovarian cancer can be a lot like that—shaky and scary and you pray you’ll make it safely across--believe me!

Hoping you can soon find relief,

Loretta

Peritoneal Carcinomatosis/Ovarian Cancer Stage IV

caf132 · May 2016

LorettaMarshall said:
Please Don't cross over the Ovarian Cancer bridge till Uget2 it!
My Dear Tia:

It’s the wee hours of Sunday morning where I live Tia. I was just preparing to go to bed shortly after midnight. I thought I would check the cancer site before doing so. And here I find you, by the sounds of your letter, “stressed out” big time.   Many of us are “stressed out” when we suddenly find that we have Ovarian cancer and had non-descript symptoms. Let me say “welcome”. Secondly, let me say you’ve listed symptoms, but I, and I probably speak for others here, couldn’t begin to tell you that you have Ovarian Cancer.

After reading your letter, I’m left with many questions. Tia, I don’t know what a “colpo” is. Was it a cancerous colon polyp? If so, what medical procedure did you have to take care of it? So I’m in the dark as to what that is. You would have to enlighten me on that? If it were a cancerous polyp, have you been tested since June of 2011? I really don’t want to suggest that you have cancer PERIOD. That’s certainly above my pay grade. Moreover, I would get thrown off this site if I told you that you had Ovarian Cancer. Different women on this site will have different experiences and different stories as to how they came to be diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer. When someone writes in and tells us of a specific diagnosis, then someone with a similar experience can give helpful info.

You’re telling me that you have 3 young children—that you’ve lost your mom—and that you’re facing a possible divorce. Tia that qualifies you to be stressed out. However, you say that you’ve been drinking “moderately” for a couple of weeks straight.

On top of that you say you’re beginning to worry that you might have Ovarian Cancer. The best way to “handle” that is to make an appointment with your gynecologist, describe your symptoms to him/her and let them take it from there. I dare say a person here would “confirm” your worries at this point. We are patients, but not doctors.

You want us to “give it to you straight” because it won’t scare you. With all due respect, Tia, it would scare you. Some here, including me, would say, when we were diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer, we were “blown away” and wondered how we were going to handle it. That would be a normal response, and it would give “stress” a new dimension. So I would say, please don’t diagnose yourself. If you’ve been trying to be seen by your ob, is that strictly an obstetrician or does your doctor take care of all gynecological problems as well. You know doctors are branching out into separate fields today. I would say that you definitely need to be seen as soon as possible by a gynecologist. They will be the ones to determine tests that you should have to determine why your periods are lasting for unusually long periods of time.

Tia, the most help I can be right now is to say that I know what it is for your mother to pass away. There’s plenty of times I would like to call my mother but she is no longer here. And how often do I recall the wise words of wisdom and comfort she gave to me during her lifetime. When do any of us no longer need a loving mom? I wish your mother were still here to help calm some of your fears, but life goes on, and with it much grief and sorrow as things happen over which we have no control. The solace I do have is that I know she’s in Heaven and some days when she is on my mind, I just say to the Lord, “Tell Mama hello for me.” But she left me a legacy of love and the strong example of how her faith enabled her to endure untold stressful situations throughout her life has been an “anchor” for me.

So Tia, I could be wrong but somehow I get the feeling that perhaps you are trying to drown your sorrows with drink and it’s not working. But that’s something that only you can handle. If you’re already stressed out, and now you’re almost certain that you have Ovarian cancer, the only way to alleviate that fear for certain is make an appointment this coming week. Don’t let anything stop you from making the call.

There are some web links that have doctors on call. I’ve never used them, but I see that there is a web link that is called “justanswer.com”. They say they have doctors waiting to answer your questions. Their site says, “Connect One on One with a Doctor who will answer your question.” The most I could do would be suggest you check out this site or some others that are similar. I have never used one myself. Also there are websites like Mayo.com and WebMD that have “symptom checker” sections.

I suggest you go to the web and type in “WebMD’s symptom checker.”

Type in “Mayo Clinic symptom checker” as well.

I normally type in the link or copy and paste it in my letters so the person can simply click on the link and bring up the site.   However this site has recently changed the way our page looks and works. Every time I put in a precise web link, it kicks out my whole letter, and says there is a security problem and it blocks my whole letter. So I have come back in and just told you how to find these links. I’ve notified the site, and I hope this gets fixed soon. It’s a problem that actually stresses me out when I spend a long time searching for helpful sites, and then my response gets blocked.

Now I am in no way endorsing these sites, I’m only making some suggestions. But the best way is to either make an appointment with your gynecologist, or go to your primary care doctor and schedule a complete physical. One of these two will most certainly be able to diagnose and prescribe treatments that are best for you.

Tia, I’m sorry if my response sounds like advice from “Dear Abby”. How I wish I could help you, but at this point, I feel helpless, except to listen. My only advice is, “Please don’t cross the Ovarian Cancer” bridge till you get to it! For anyone who has ever crossed an old “swinging bridge”, it swings as you walk across it, and it stretches over some deep water. Coping with Ovarian cancer can be a lot like that—shaky and scary and you pray you’ll make it safely across--believe me!

Hoping you can soon find relief,

Loretta

Peritoneal Carcinomatosis/Ovarian Cancer Stage IV

Ovarian Cancer

Hi Tia-

Welcome to this wonderful supportive site, hopefully you will not need to be a member for long. You must listen to Loretta's voice of reason and experience. you cannot self diagnois. There are so many other possibilities out there for your symptoms. I was just diagnoised with Ovarian cancer. I had a lot of vague symptoms that i could explain for any number of reasons. I went to my OBGYN and had surgery less than a week later. My sister in law had similiar symptoms and she had surgery for fibroids, so please do not worry yourself to death about a what if. You must keep your young children in mind and stay strong for them. Don't waste time worrying for an unknown. Go to your OBGYN tomorrow and tell them you need to SEE them today!! Don't let them put you off. The sooner you know the sooner you can get on with your life.

You will be in my prayers as well as everyone else here. Stay strong!!

Carol

Mteergal · May 2016

Ovarian Cancer

Anyone who is questioning the health of their body needs, in my opinion, to be seen as soon as possible for an accurate diagnosis by the appropriate health professional. My primary physician diagnosed my cancer. I had no idea and thought I just had a touch of food poisoning. Two days later she ordered a CAT scan and a week later I had surgery for Stage 4 Ovarian Cancer. The tumor was the size of a lemon. 1 foot of my large intestine was also removed which was causing the vomitting and diarrhea. If your current health professional can not see you right away, find one who can. Be your own advocate and take action. My last CAT scan shows I am now cancer free.

worried and wondering

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