Did you know anyone with Ovarian Cancer, BC?

yes
My first cousins Grandmother died of ovca in the '80s. I knew this woman but I was a young teenager at the time and don't remember her story.

Also a mother of a co-worker of mine died of ovca years ago.

Yes
My aunt had it. But the strange thing is, it seems like something was going on in my neighborhood too. There were 3 of us that had it. Our subdivision was only about 30 houses and 3 out of that seems really high to me.

Linda

NO
I had never even heard of ovarian cancer. I was completely in the dark as to it even existed. Silly to think I lived 65 yrs and had never even heard of it or knew anyone who had it. My sister is a doctor and of course she had heard of it but knew know one that had it. After I was DX my BFF told me her mother had died from ovarian cancer. I know on one now who has OC except my teal sister here. I make it a point to tell everyone I meet about OC and I sent for cards from Teal Toes that tell the symptoms of OC and I pass them out. The cards are free.

((Joan))

beth1465 said:

No
Didn't know anyone, or know anything about it before my Dx. There's no cancer in my family either. I had just heard of famous people with it, like Gilda Radner. I was really clueless.

Beth

I was not aware of it!
Sad isn't it. I didn't know it existed and certainly did not know the symptoms. I have found out a friend of mines mum died of it about 6 years ago after a very short battle. I remember hearing about the said friends mum dieing but it was never mentioned what she died of, she only inboxed me after seeing posts about awareness on my face book page to ask if I was ok. We need to shout!

childofthestars said:

YES, my mother was diagnosed
YES, my mother was diagnosed with ovca in 1997 at the age of 53 but up until then i didn't know of anyone with this disease. I was diagnosed with breast cancer at 35 (i was born when my mum was 20) and for about 4 weeks my mum and i were going thru chemo at the same time!!! My 1st cousin died of breast ca 5 years ago at the age of 40 leaving behing 4 children (she was my mother's neice). My best friend was diagnosed with breast cancer 18 months ago and is now NED.
My beautiful mother lost her battle just after her 57th birthday in 2001 I miss her every day.
M x

children
WOW, that is a lot of cancer. How old were your cousins children and how are they now? I am the mother of 3 kids two of which are 7 and 5.

srwruns said:

yes, one young woman that I
yes, one young woman that I worked with had OC when she was only 20. Went into full remission (now about 15 years). Scarier, however is that where I worked was in one of the primary agricultural areas of Calif. central valley...primarily strawberries and lettuce. I drove to work through miles of agricultural fields and my office bldg was in the middle of ag fields. There was barely a day went by that I didn't see workers in haz mat suits spraying, or low flying aircraft dusting. Until I worked there I only knew one person that had cancer. Working at that job I recall telling one of my co workers: I have never met so many people directly or once removed (like a sibling, child, parent) that had cancer. That was before I got cancer. In fact there were four other offices in my hall way: here's the rundown: office 1 and 2: breast cancer; Office 3 (me) OVCA; Office 4: storage. These all within 5 years.

Yes
Carlene, My Mom had ovarian 4 years ago. Right after she passed I had breast and ovarian. Breast cancer does run in my family..aunts, cousins. I have met more people who have had breast and/or ovarian in the past 3 years than I ever knew existed in all my life. Maybe it's because I am more open to listening to what people are saying. Or maybe it is because there is so much more of it and people are more open about it now. I have had grandparents who passed from colon/stomach cancer, my Dad from lung cancer. Cindy

childofthestars said:

children
Hi Nancy
My cousins children were 15, 13, 10 and 6 at the time of her passing. Unfortunately i haven't seen them for about 4 years as they live in Israel but they are doing well although obvioulsy miss their mother terribly. The third child, Talia, has been the worst affected and is very quiet and apparently quite difficult but i suppose this is not too surprising. My 2 children were 10 & 7 when i was first diagnosed with breast ca and it was a really awful time and when i was diagnosed in June last year with ovca it really affected them terribly, especially my son and husband, my daughter was nearly 3 months pregnant at the time! However, we are a very open and close family and struggled our way through. I now have a beautiful granddaughter called Summer who is 6 weeks old. I finished treatment on 8 Dec '10 and am really suffering with joint pain all over and terrible hot flushes.
How are your children dealing with your disease?
Bright blessings.
Michelle

Thank you for asking...my daughter is 23, in college, boyfriend, working. Very much into her own life but we are very close. My youngst is 5 and doesn't really understand too much. I worry about my 7yr old. He is very much a mommy's boy. He is afraid I am going to die. He crawls in my bed every night. He won't go to the bathroom alone. He cries when family/friends leave after a visit. It's like he wants them to stay and sleep over. He once asked me if I died would he and his younger brother have to drive themselves to a relatives house. I do my best to reassure him that no matter what happens he will never be alone and will always be taken care of.

1 Person
Good Morning Carlene,
20 degrees, 12 inches of snow on the ground, and waiting for an ice storm. Wild and Wondeful West Virginia. The only person I knew before I was diagnosed, was my mother. She died 13 years ago at 53. Since I was diagnosed, I have only met 2 other people in my area. My oncologist says he only has 6 ladies that he has ever treated in the eastern panhandle. They are all currently NED, but 1. She is doing Avastin and is stable. I am the only Stage 2, he has ever had. Now , I do not live in a big city like you do and some of the girls may be going to Baltimore for treatment. Thank-You, Paula

Knowing people with ovca...b/c.
Dear Carlene,

Cancer has been a part of my life through friends and family. Two friends have had ovca (they have passed). One was a dancer, and she kept on dancing for a long time after dx. She was quite energetic, until the last 3 months of her life. She fought for 3 years with stage IV. She never had remissions, just a lot of constant chemotherapy and treatments. Her personality was very no nonsense, and somewhat stoic. I wish she had talked about her trials more. Nobody really knew what she was going through. The other friend was really more of an acquaintance, but she went to great lengths to find answers. She was a professor who traveled to distant places to try new ways to fight her cancer. She was so busy opening up a charter school and writing books, that people were shocked when she died. It was like she went from busy bee to bedridden in a month or so. She fought for over 5 years.

In my family, myself and my ex-stepsister both have ovca. She has had it for over 6 years and is still fighting. I saw her up the canyon a month or so ago, walking her dogs. The is very thin, but otherwise is stable. I am fairly new to the diagnosis (Aug, 2010). I had symptoms for awhile, that I believed were IBS. I knew I had a cyst on my ovary, but it grew larger over time. I was surprised with a cancer dx on the operating table to take it out. I am still learning about my disease, and I have learned a lot from people like you who are knowledgeable and willing to share it with others. Sometimes I feel like I should have known more with so many people around me having this diagnosis, but I am catching up now. Good luck to you!

Thanks,
Nan

My neighbor
from Canada was dx ovarian cancer 3C, 6 months before me. I went with her to all her appointments as the interpreter and note taker. (I live in Japan for those of you who don't know.) Until then, I had only read Gilda's story, and didn't know anyone with ovca. 6 months later, I ended up in the same doctor's office with the same dx. My dear friend died last December, almost 3 years to the day of her dx. There were several times we were in the hospital together and were often in the out patient room together.

I have no history of ovarian cancer or breast cancer in my family. I do have several uncles (my dad had 11 brothers and sisters) that had cancer. Lukemia, lung, and kidney, I think. No cancer on my mom's side at all.

kathleen