Very Probable Recurrence (Update about my mom)

Rebecca, I remember you. And, I'm sorry to hear that you and your Mom are having to deal with this again. I sure hope she doesn't have a recurrence. Please come back and let us know what you find out after the scans. I don't have any experience to offer up and I'm hoping someone else can provide you feedback. I do know that they have made significant improvements with immunotherapy. There are more options now than when your Mom went through her initial treatments.

Love and Hugs,

Cindi

As others have noted, there are new treatments available now that were not available when your mother was first diagnosed. And since it's been some years since your mother received her initial treatment, her doctors may recommend the same chemotherapy that worked the first time to put her in remission. Genetic/genomic testing is always a good idea now to determine what other options may be available.

But Alicia gives me too much credit – the value of this site results from the contributions of many women and family members sharing their experiences. We're especially grateful to women like MoeKay, No Time for Cancer and other members who continue to respond to questions and comments from others long after their own treatment has ended.

However, a lot of the valuable information shared here can be hard to find later since the searching function is not as robust as we'd like. I wasn't successful in locating a past discussion about a possible recurrence in the lymph nodes in the areas where your mother's are located. (Although that doesn't mean this wasn't written about here – someone else may remember the particulars).

But one thread that I did come across while looking that you may not have seen before talked a lot about supplements to support a patient during and after treatment. This is not a subject that I have any experience with, so see https://csn.cancer.org/node/321092 for what others have to say about this.

And should chemo be necessary again, see the link to the discussion on "Icing" in the FAQ at the top of the forum. There has been a lot of conversations about icing the hands and feet during chemo to prevent neuropathy in the past couple of years.

Keep us posted on what happens after your mother's PET/CT scan.

alicia2020 said:

MANY/ALL women

deserve credit here! You are right, cmb! )

The contributions of many and all have helped me tremendously. That said, I want to give a special shout out of gratitude to CMB. While many women, including the amazing women who have departed us, have been exceptionally helpful, I feel like CMB is the shepherd of this good flock. Thank you to all the women. That said, tremendous gratitude to the shepherd. CMB, your dedication and commitment to the board deserves a high 5, for sure. 

When the outage happened I was in the throes of treatment, out of my mind due to chemo, fatigue, brain fog, depression and despondent. I could not remember what my login name was, not functioning well at all. There are many angels here like cmb and others too numerous to mention, who guide us and help us along. I think that many of us so appreciate those who reached out to us to help even if it was something as mundane as a login ID, or supporting us in our final journey. Coming up on three years after my initial dx and looking forward to three years NED in October, my appreciation of cmb, NoTimeForCancer, Eldri, and those who are no longer with us, is immeasurable. It is a strange place to find oneself missing people I have never physically met, but have bonded with, who are now gone, like Fluff, Pinky, Lulu, dermaus, Cheese and Donna Faye, I miss their thoughts and wisdom everyday. (and where is Army Wife?) among others. The point is that we are here for each other for a point in time, but the collective thoughts, experiences and wisdom live on. 

xxoo

Denise 

Rebecca, I'm sorry to hear about your mother's recurrence. I was originally diagnosed in April of 2014 for stage 3c UPSC. I finished 6 rounds of Carbo/Taxol, 25 rads and brachetherphy in November of 2014 and was NED until late August 2020 when severe abdominal pain sent me to the ER and 3 cancerous pelvic lymph nodes were discovered. My CA 125 was in the 600s. Since it had been so long since I had chemo and it kept me NED for so long, my gyn/onc had me back in chemo on Carbo/Taxol within 2 weeks. They did still have my original tumor and sent a part of it for genomic testing. So your mother's tumor will not be too old. I've found that there are a lot of new discoveries in the battle of this terrible disease since my original diagnosis. I completed nine rounds of chemo in March which managed to shrink two of my tumors and annihilate the third one. My CA125 was in the twenties. i do admit that the nine chemos left me depleted. I've been on a break to build up strength. My recent CT scan showed no new tumors and a very slight increase in the two remaining tumors and CA125. I'm feeling very well right now with energy! And it feels so good to feel energetic again. My CA125, which is very accurate for me, will be tested every 6 weeks. I'm sure I'll be back in treatment by fall.   If I can remain fairly stable long enough my doctor said that going back on the same chemo may be best since it does work for me. Another option he discussed was Keytuda with Lenvima. I've been reading about how well it's worked for many women giving them several more years at this point. So don't give up hope. There are lots of options for your mother. Good luck!

For your Mother Rebecca.   You are such a gift to her.

Hi Rebecca

sorry to hear of your mom's possible recurrence.   Is there any chance that the vaccine caused some lymph node swelling?   What arm did she get it in?   They have had cases where lymph nodes were swelled on the same side where getting the shot.  I realize she received it in March but didn't know if it could last longer as they indicate you shouldn't get a mammogram for at least a month from getting the vaccine.    Just a thought and praying it's not a recurrence

As Jan has indicated I too have had several recurrences, although my cancer was not the same.  

Keeping you both in my thoughts and Prayers

Kathy