Short Remission

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cfont11
cfont11 Member Posts: 115
in Ovarian Cancer #1
I guess I just need a little pep talk. In June I had a clean scan and the dr. said I was in remission. Since then my CA125 kept going up so I had a scan last Friday. The scan showed some small growths in my abdomen and there are 2 enlarged lymph nodes. The gyn/onc wants to do a needle biopsy on one of the lymph nodes. My medical onc is talking about starting me on Gemzar. She wanted to do Doxil but that is the drug that is in short supply now. The news really knocked me for a loop but I am trying to stay positive. Any advice for dealing with recurrences and handling the stress? Usually I am in a fighting mood but I guess today is just one of those days........

Chris

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  • poopergirl14052
    poopergirl14052 Member Posts: 1,183 Member
    #2
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    Pep talk
    sorry you have had a short remission, but what ever you choose to do will put you in another remission. I also had a short 6 month remission last year and had to start carbo/taxol again. I just finished in April. I too felt sad and defeated and I always agrue with myself...should I bother etc...give it a shot, you beat it before..etc. Going back on chemo won and it seemed to be very difficult the second time around, but I made it and I am still here. Have you ever been on carbo or taxol?.Chin up,chest out ,one foot in front of another, big girl teal panties on and ready to battle and win...val
  • Cafewoman53
    Cafewoman53 Member Posts: 735 Member
    #3
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    Hang in there
    My last scan showed a lymph node that was lighting up and I had the needle biopy and the results were negative. The Dr was surprised because it had an SUV of over 8 but so far so good , we are kind of in a holding pattern. But you will deal with it no matter how it goes but there is no shame in asking for help if things become too overwhelming. I take an occasional ativan and it helps alot. You can't expect to be positive all of the time. This board really helps me too.
    Colleen
  • Cafewoman53
    Cafewoman53 Member Posts: 735 Member
    #4
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    Hang in there
    Sorry double post
  • jbeans888
    jbeans888 Member Posts: 313
    #5
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    I like the big girl teal
    I like the big girl teal panties part Val, very funny. lol! I agree that somedays you can feel defeated but our natural instinct is to fight and you have to do what ever it is in order to fight to the end.
  • antcat
    antcat Member Posts: 270
    #6
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    Try to hang in there
    I know how disappointing it can be when a doctor tells you you're in remission and then it happens again. I know because I went thru this when I was first diagnosed and underwent my first chemotherapy, the oncologist said to me "you're cured". I knew he was wrong because even though my scans were good, I knew after 4 months, i couldn't be cured. So, I know what you're going thru because my cancer came back and I've been on constant chemotherapy. I did try the Gemzar last year, and I didn't have good results with it but everyone is different. I've been on chemo for a year now, and I guess my body feels it. Right now I'm on taxotere and will probably go for a CT scan soon. I'm hoping for good results but I don't know. It is difficult dealing with these recurrences and it is very stressful and sometimes I have problems sleeping. But, try to hang in there.
  • Susan777
    Susan777 Member Posts: 97 Member
    #7
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    Sorry about that Chris
    Hi Chris....i am just curious what stage you were diagnosed with? I was 3C, but never had any debulking surgery, just the hysterectomy and removal of 23 lymph nodes with 2 microscopic positives and 500ml of ascites drained. I would feel very defeated if I had only a short remission. I guess people find strenght they dont know they had when faced with these things.
  • Mwee
    Mwee Member Posts: 1,338
    #8
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    Sorry about the short remission but...
    Gemzar has worked well for me. I have it in conjuction with carbo or cisplatin. The side effects with gemzar have been fairly mild for me also. Facing chemo for the second time has also been a different experience for me. It's incredibly disappointing, but you're so much better prepared for it now than you were right after surgery. BTW, doxil did nothing for me.

    You CAN do this and here's wishing you a long, long remission after this round!
    (((HUGS))) Maria
  • Tethys41
    Tethys41 Member Posts: 1,382 Member
    #9
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    Susan777 said:

    Sorry about that Chris
    Hi Chris....i am just curious what stage you were diagnosed with? I was 3C, but never had any debulking surgery, just the hysterectomy and removal of 23 lymph nodes with 2 microscopic positives and 500ml of ascites drained. I would feel very defeated if I had only a short remission. I guess people find strenght they dont know they had when faced with these things.

    Debulking
    Susan,
    Why no debulking surgery?
  • cfont11
    cfont11 Member Posts: 115
    #10
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    poopergirl14052 said:

    Pep talk
    sorry you have had a short remission, but what ever you choose to do will put you in another remission. I also had a short 6 month remission last year and had to start carbo/taxol again. I just finished in April. I too felt sad and defeated and I always agrue with myself...should I bother etc...give it a shot, you beat it before..etc. Going back on chemo won and it seemed to be very difficult the second time around, but I made it and I am still here. Have you ever been on carbo or taxol?.Chin up,chest out ,one foot in front of another, big girl teal panties on and ready to battle and win...val

    Pep Talk
    Thank you so much! That was just what I needed. I was on carbo/taxol last year after my first surgery and then again this spring after my hysterectomy/debulking. The onc said I have had the max amount of carbo and I have bad neuropathy in my feet so she does not want to give me any more taxol. I am better today since we did not get the hurricane too bad and thanks to people like you, I am ready to do battle again. I start chemo next week.
  • cfont11
    cfont11 Member Posts: 115
    #11
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    poopergirl14052 said:

    Pep talk
    sorry you have had a short remission, but what ever you choose to do will put you in another remission. I also had a short 6 month remission last year and had to start carbo/taxol again. I just finished in April. I too felt sad and defeated and I always agrue with myself...should I bother etc...give it a shot, you beat it before..etc. Going back on chemo won and it seemed to be very difficult the second time around, but I made it and I am still here. Have you ever been on carbo or taxol?.Chin up,chest out ,one foot in front of another, big girl teal panties on and ready to battle and win...val

    Pep Talk
    Thank you so much! That was just what I needed. I was on carbo/taxol last year after my first surgery and then again this spring after my hysterectomy/debulking. The onc said I have had the max amount of carbo and I have bad neuropathy in my feet so she does not want to give me any more taxol. I am better today since we did not get the hurricane too bad and thanks to people like you, I am ready to do battle again. I start chemo next week.
  • cfont11
    cfont11 Member Posts: 115
    #12
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    short remission
    Thank you SO MUCH to everyone for the words of encouragement and advice. Words cannot describe how grateful I am for everyone on this board. I was 3C when I was diagnosed but did not have the cancer surgery right away as the tumor caused a blockage in my colon. I had to have emergency surgery and a colostomy. I did chemo, 6 treatments and then had second surgery for hysterectomy and debulking. The surgeon said they found no active cancer. They removed part of my colon, my rectum and some lymph nodes around the colon. They said there was only microscopic cancer left so I had 2 more treatments of carbo/taxol. I know they can never get everything but i guess all it takes is one cell...

    thanks again to everyone. I am better today and ready to start treatment and get rid of this stuff!

    Love and prayers to you all.

    Chris

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