Diagnosed with stage IVB Endometrial cancer

I think they can test your tumor before you get chemo for which kind of chemo would work best for you. Unfortunately they didn’t do that for me. I got the standard carbo/ taxol but only could finish 14/18 because of a stroke. 8 months after finishing radiation I reoccurred so I consider the chemo a failure. Only 50/50 chance of working and I guess I was on the wrong side of 50. Fortunately Megace is working to keep reoccurence in check. But i wish I had had a little more info on the front side on which chemo might have been more effective for me and not just got the standard treatment. 

LadyMox said:

I have a question for those

I have a question for those who did chemo. How many rounds of chemo did it take before you were told the chemo was working or not?

It was a long time ago when I had my first bout of cancer, but I vaguely remember having a CT scan partway through my six rounds of chemo which showed it was working.  I'd say it was after three or four rounds of chemo, but that's just a guess. 

Yes, Roswell Park is pretty well known for being a great place to go.  I remember their having sent me ads about getting a second opinion there.  If I hadn't trusted my GYN/onc. in Albany, I might have taken them up on their offer.

Your indigestion might just be reflux esophagitis. Your excess weight may have given you a hiatal hernia.  If you're not already taking it, ask your GP for 40 mg. of Omeprazole or some Dexilant if your insurance will cover it.  I've tried both, and they've done wonders for me.  I remember having had reflux so bad that I questioned whether or not I was having a heart attack.  I no longer have to worry about it.  I've been on the pills for years.

I think it's safe to say that anyone who receives a cancer diagnosis goes through a myriad of feelings. I know that I did when I got the news that I had cancer, especially an aggressive kind. But the intensity of my emotions did lessen over time as I continued treatment, although I still have my ups and downs.

Armywife had some excellent advice. I'd also like to suggest that you investigate what support resources your cancer center may have as well. While I didn't take advantage of the wig fitting service (as I already wore wigs before cancer) and the cancer support groups or counseling, I did participate in many of the exercise classes that were specifically geared for cancer patients and survivors.

Now I am by no means an exercise fanatic – that's why I've always found it easier to join a class rather than rely on my own initiative to walk or exercise at home. The cancer survivorship center allowed me to sign up for one or more classes a week – depending upon how I felt. And if I wasn't sure that I'd feel okay enough to go, I could wait until the day before to actually register for the next day's class. I stopped going to the classes when I was in the second phase of chemo, which was a lot tougher than the first phase. But I started up again after I finished radiation.

So there may be some activity or support service that your own cancer center offers that would help you during this period. All these services at my cancer center are free.

I don't know how much reading of past threads you've had the time or emotional stamina to read since you've joined, but you may want to read posts written by an amazing lady on this board by the name of Takingcontrol58. She's been on this forum since about 2016, I think, so you wouldn't need to go back further than that, but you can also get to some of her posts by typing her name into the keyword box of the the search engine above.

There are a lot of us who have employed complementary medicine into our treatment with the support of our gyn-oncologists and she is a font of knowledge, first-hand experience, and expertise for metastatic endometrial adenocarcinoma strategies using complementary medicine. Her past posts can give you hope when you feel low about what you are dealing with and give you a means to keep helping yourself after you are done with the treatment plan you are on now.

The one caveat I have regarding complemetary medicine is to not do this on your own. You'd need to get the expertise of a naturopath who specializes in oncology along with the ok of your gyn-oncologist or the team treating you at Rosewell. Somewhere I have the URL for a website that helps you find a NP oncologist that our dearest Editgirl pointed me to. I'll post it if I can find it. Otherwise, maybe Rosewell has such a person available for you to work with. NY unfortunately does not regulate its naturopaths, so odds are this won't be covered by insurance. 

Another suggestion if you decide to try any of this, working with a naturopath or not, is to subscribe to consumerlab.com for guidance on which brands of supplements you can trust. It's like Consumer Reports, except it focuses on vitamins, minerals, and supplements in its testing. Without regulation, the supplement industry is not always trustworthy and this site is the most unbiased source of information I've found so far. It hasn't tested every brand on everything available out there, but it keeps building and updating its library.

I know it's hard not to let the battle you are in get you down sometimes; it gets to all of us as we go through it, but you don't have an expiration date stamped on you yet. Those down days just give you a chance to let go of some emotional baggage that's weighing you down so you can keep moving forward. Cancer these days is not the cancer that we grew up hearing stories about. The science for treating and beating it has made tremendous leaps and bounds in just recent years, so ignore out-dated statistics and focus on doing what you have to do to live with it like you would if you were diagnosed with some other chronic disease. It's hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel because treatment seems to go on forever and it takes so much out of us, but it is doable and worth it when you reach the other side.

Best wishes

Pat (formerly of Orchard Park)

LadyMox said:

That's my natural curly hair,

That's my natural curly hair, but I do color it. Ok so it's gone now, I got a decent curly wig but it's not as nice as my real hair. Hopefully I'll get past this and it will grow back someday.

I never thought that I would like my hair short when it grew out. For over 30 years I had long blond wavy/curly hair and when my hair finally grew back I have gotten more compliments than having it long and it is so easy to manage. I think I will keep it this way for awhile. You may be pleasantly surprised. This picture is of me wearing a wig. I need to update it but it did give me a sneak peek into how I might look with it short. 

LadyMox said:

Likley a good indicator on my

Likley a good indicator on my second chemo day. My CA-125 dropped from 120.9 to 36 between the first and second chemo. Will probably get a CAT scan to see if/how the tumor is shrinking after 1 or 2 more chemo of Taxol/Carbo.

I just had blood tests throughout chemo and then I didn’t have a scan until my six rounds of chemo were done. I know you are anxious as we all were, but unfortunately I find the cancer journey to be a marathon, not a sprint. My treatments including hysterectomy, radiation internal and external took a whole year. I have been clear ever since, so that’s 3 years since diagnosis grade 3 3 C stage. Keep the faith! We are all pulling for you!