Ovarian cancer and no to chemotherapy

Hi everyone, 

Just want to start by saying how great this forum is, somewhere to share feelings and support each other. I feel a lot of love on here and am glad I found it. 

My mum has stage 3c ovarian cancer and was diagnosed almost 3 years ago. She has had 2 rounds of chemo which she apparently responded very well to but the last scan picked up new legions on her bowel and liver. She has taken the decision not to have a third round of chemo for various reasons, mostly that she feels it is toxic to her system and is ultimately doing more harm than good. She has adopted a healthy eating routine which is great but I see her losing weight in front of my eyes. She is still still working part time and is extremely positive about the situation despite the fact that we were told only a few days ago by her doctor that she only has a few months left to live. 

We are enrolling on a number of immunotherapy treatments done privately, as well as a course of high intensity immune boosting suppliments. 

I have taken a very practical approach to the whole situation but as a result feel completely numb. I am unwaveringly positive about this and can only believe that my mum, who has SO much she wants to do with life, will outlive her prognosis by years and years. 

Does anyone have any advice/information about gaining weight on a clean, healthy diet or anything to say in regards to immunotherapy. 

Rachel 

  • Welcome to our forum Rachel and thank you for the kind words - I am pleased to hear you are feeling the love here and I hope you will meet some of our lovely people so you can chat and support one another.

    Thank you for sharing your story about your mum and about the treatment choices she has made. If you wanted to talk things through with our cancer nurses, you are welcome to ring them on this free number 0808 800 4040, Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm.

    We have some detailed diet information on our website and you can find out more about why diet is important here and we also have some tips here on how to add calories to one's diet to help gain weight. You can also read more about our research on immunotherapy here.

    I hope this helps and that you will also hear from other people's diet and immunotherapy experiences soon.

    Best wishes,

    Lucie, Cancer Chat Moderator