My mom was diagnosed with Stage IV ovarian cancer and I am terrified.

ChrisMcG said:

Hello
I am very new here and do not know how to private message anyone, so i'll just do it here! I'm sorry to hear about your mom I'm sure you're as nervous and as scared as I am. I agree that a positive attitude is a great thing in this fight. It just sucks, the whole situation. Just hope both of our moms can beat it and get past this. Keep posted! You can private message me if you would like...maybe I'll figure it out that way. Thanks! -Chris

Hissy_Fitz said:

Dear Chris....
My mother's
Dear Chris....

My mother's heart goes out to you. You are so young to have this terrible burden thrust upon you. I hope there are other family members available to help you and your mom get thru the months ahead. Chemo can be tough, but so is childbirth, and look how well that turned out for all us moms!

To answer some of your questions, although neither I nor any of the others here are physicians, Ovarian Cancer is staged according to its location, primarily. Stage IV is what they call it when the cancer has spread outside the immediate (abdominal) area. Here is a cut and paste that might help explain it better.

Stage IV: In this stage the cancer has spread to the inside of the liver, the lungs, or other organs located outside of the peritoneal cavity. (The peritoneal cavity, or abdominal cavity is the area enclosed by the peritoneum, a. membrane that lines the inner abdomen and covers most of its organs.). Finding ovarian cancer cells in the fluid around the lungs (called pleural fluid) is also evidence of stage IV disease.

Since your mom had a hysterectomy over a year ago, her primary cancer is probably in the peritoneal cavity, in which case there is no single tumor, but instead what they call "caking" - a splattering of thousands of cancer spots that most often cannot be completely removed surgically. My doctor described it as looking like "someone threw a handful of mud into a shoe box," and another said it appeared like someone had poured black Jello into the patient's abdomen, and it set up.

The chemo kills fast-growing cells all thru the body. It will kill the cancer cells, too - not because they are cancer, but because they are fast-growing cells, just like hair and fingernails. It will shrink the tumor on her colon, as well. And that one can perhaps be removed surgically. If it's "on" her colon, rather than "in" it, then that's good news.

I was diagnosed last Sept with Stage IIIc (just a hair away from Stage IV). I had the big surgery (complete hysterectomy and de-bulking, plus bowel re-section because I had a couple of small tumors in my bowel.) After 6 treatments (Carbo/Taxol) I am officially in remission, which is great, but 85% of us respond well to first line treatment, and of that 85%, most of us will have a recurrence within 12 months. So I am cautiously optimistic at this point. I am doing a year of what they call "maintenance" chemo (low dose of Taxol), which we hope will push back any potential recurrence.

I'm sure your mom has had a CA125 test. That is a tumor marker that gives the doctors an idea of how active the cancer is. Mine was 4000 before surgery, and is now 6. Normal is 0-35.

Some people say don't read the statistics, they will just drive the despair that a cancer diagnosis already brings with it. I can't help it, though. I read it all.....good and bad. And I take what I feel is helpful and factual and leave the rest. Women die of Ovarian Cancer. There is no denying that. But not ALL women die from it - even women diagnosed at Stage IV. But I'm not going to die today, or next week, or next month, and neither is your mom. Today I am happy and healthy and more alive than I was this time last year, because I got a huge wake-up call, along with the cancer diagnosis. However many days I have, I want them to all count, whether I die of cancer or a falling meteorite. This is the day the Lord has made......let us rejoice and be glad.

Carlene

Hissy_Fitz said:

Dear Chris....
My mother's
Dear Chris....

My mother's heart goes out to you. You are so young to have this terrible burden thrust upon you. I hope there are other family members available to help you and your mom get thru the months ahead. Chemo can be tough, but so is childbirth, and look how well that turned out for all us moms!

To answer some of your questions, although neither I nor any of the others here are physicians, Ovarian Cancer is staged according to its location, primarily. Stage IV is what they call it when the cancer has spread outside the immediate (abdominal) area. Here is a cut and paste that might help explain it better.

Stage IV: In this stage the cancer has spread to the inside of the liver, the lungs, or other organs located outside of the peritoneal cavity. (The peritoneal cavity, or abdominal cavity is the area enclosed by the peritoneum, a. membrane that lines the inner abdomen and covers most of its organs.). Finding ovarian cancer cells in the fluid around the lungs (called pleural fluid) is also evidence of stage IV disease.

Since your mom had a hysterectomy over a year ago, her primary cancer is probably in the peritoneal cavity, in which case there is no single tumor, but instead what they call "caking" - a splattering of thousands of cancer spots that most often cannot be completely removed surgically. My doctor described it as looking like "someone threw a handful of mud into a shoe box," and another said it appeared like someone had poured black Jello into the patient's abdomen, and it set up.

The chemo kills fast-growing cells all thru the body. It will kill the cancer cells, too - not because they are cancer, but because they are fast-growing cells, just like hair and fingernails. It will shrink the tumor on her colon, as well. And that one can perhaps be removed surgically. If it's "on" her colon, rather than "in" it, then that's good news.

I was diagnosed last Sept with Stage IIIc (just a hair away from Stage IV). I had the big surgery (complete hysterectomy and de-bulking, plus bowel re-section because I had a couple of small tumors in my bowel.) After 6 treatments (Carbo/Taxol) I am officially in remission, which is great, but 85% of us respond well to first line treatment, and of that 85%, most of us will have a recurrence within 12 months. So I am cautiously optimistic at this point. I am doing a year of what they call "maintenance" chemo (low dose of Taxol), which we hope will push back any potential recurrence.

I'm sure your mom has had a CA125 test. That is a tumor marker that gives the doctors an idea of how active the cancer is. Mine was 4000 before surgery, and is now 6. Normal is 0-35.

Some people say don't read the statistics, they will just drive the despair that a cancer diagnosis already brings with it. I can't help it, though. I read it all.....good and bad. And I take what I feel is helpful and factual and leave the rest. Women die of Ovarian Cancer. There is no denying that. But not ALL women die from it - even women diagnosed at Stage IV. But I'm not going to die today, or next week, or next month, and neither is your mom. Today I am happy and healthy and more alive than I was this time last year, because I got a huge wake-up call, along with the cancer diagnosis. However many days I have, I want them to all count, whether I die of cancer or a falling meteorite. This is the day the Lord has made......let us rejoice and be glad.

Carlene

Trusting in God said:

Dear Chris,
I wanted to send
Dear Chris,

I wanted to send you a word of hope. I am now 35 years old but when I was 18 my Mom was diagnosed with Stage IV and not given long to live, it had spread to other areas. I was terrified. My Mom and I have always been very close. She went through 6 months of chemo and the cancer was completely gone. The Lord had healed her. She is still alive 17 and 1/2 years later. She was there to see me get married and give birth to my daughters. All the things I thought she was going to be gone for. 3 1/2 years ago her CA125 started going up again and she has been on chemo again for that 3 1/2 years. Every chemo known to man but she is still fighting. Actually she ended up having Primary Peritoneal Cancer (they used to just lump it in with ovarian and sometimes still do) it is almost one in the same, many of the same symptoms and treatments but tends to be harder to catch and beat. I tell you all of this to encourage you that ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE WITH GOD. Doctors continue to look at my Mom and say "WOW, you are a miracle!" Don't give of hope. It is scarey, I think sometimes it is harder for those of us supporting our loved ones. I pray the Lord will give you strength and peace as you walk through this with your Mom. God Bless you! Your family is in my prayers.