Hi ladies

I just want to wish you all a Happy and as Healthy a New Year as possible - bring on 2012.

Its good to drop in and see what others are up to - scan and more treatment (fingers crossed!) in January for me.

Best wishes

Sue x

Hello everybody, may I join you and introduce myself?  I opened a new thread on this subject the other day in the "introduce yourself" section, but I really wanted to get onto this site.  I  am 67 yo and live in Essex, UK and have recently been diagnosed as having tumours on both ovaries, plus some areas on the omentum and outer bowel.  However, my hospital MDT  wants to ascertain whether my ovaries are the primary site or secondary to breast ca I had 15 years ago before planning my treatment, so I've just had a biopsy and await results on 22nd Feb.  I found your site about a month ago and was both heartened by all your posts, and at the same time scared - not of the treatment particularly but the outcome.  Some days I feel that I won't get through this, other days I think "No, you won't get me, you (expletive deleted!)"

The last post on your site was 28th Dec, I have been checking, so I hope you are all getting along OK

Best wishes, Hazel. X

Hi Hazel, hope everything goes well on wed il ave everything crossed for you. im waiting for app for ct scan.

like i said dont mind the scan its the results i panic about!. keep in touch and let us know how you get on

were always here. take care x

Hi John, Mary nice to hear from you its been a while for me too!

sorry to here marys news hope shes ok. well ive had 8 months without

chemo at my check up the other day found out that my ca125 is up

again must be the month for it seems a few of us are on the rise!.

im waiting to go for a ct scan to see whats going on. maybe more chemo

for me too. love to you and mary take care sharon xx

wow the page loaded!!! have managed to view your posts but not respond as Internet worse than dial up at the mo!

Welcome to the 2 new ladies, sorry you are in the same boat but glad u found us.

Nice to hear from our 2 men! sorry to hear the chemo is knocking you Tony and its a shame Mary didn't get longer, I only got 6 months from my first treatment but have had 14 months from the 'inferior' second! my onc also does not measure ca125 due to the study you mention, I was a tad fazed by it to start with but am now glad he does it that way, as the ca125 can rise for many reasons and he now recognises that my skin and/or muscles problems are my only cancer symptoms, its a system which works well for me though now he tries to jump in too soon lol

Well it looks like we are all off down the same road again except Dot (you keep hanging in there girl!) my onc wanted to start when I saw him in Jan but I told him I wouldn't survive it till the work was finished, don't think he believed me so had to make an appointment for 6 weeks which is the 4th March, it has managed to put a bomb up the builders ***** which is helpful lol looks like everything but the painting will be finished this week and I may then feel less stressed by it all, at least that's what I hope!!!! have found it far more difficult than be diagnosed with cancer - how stupid is that???? Am hoping to do as well with this bout of chemo as last time, 14 months was far more acceptable than 6 lol

am looking to change broadband providers which will hopefully improve my internet service and then I'll be back with you on a more regular basis but fear not you are always in my thoughts and i do usually manage to read the messages even if I can't load the reply page!.

Love to all

Jackie

xxx

Jackie,

It has so brightened up my day to see your entry appear

BT seem to be a good Internet provider so am hoping they are not already supplying you.

Speak soon, with much love

Tony xxxx

Thanks Sharon, will keep you posted.  Thinking of you.

Love Hazel xxx

Thank you for your welcome, Jackie.  Hope all goes well with your new chemo, and with the final bits of decorating!

Love Hazel xxx

Thank you all for your warm welcome back, it means a lot. And a warm welcome to the new ladies who have joined us on the forum.

Yes it does seem that we are somehow in sync a little bit at the moment. Not the best of news for everyone but on the positive side maybe we can be here more for each other.

This is a good forum for me, as I can discuss things here that I cannot really with friends and family, as I want to keep things as normal as possible with them, too much fuss does not help at all.

I hate seeing Mary like this, she hasn't felt right for nearly two months now. First time around she had no symptoms at all, apart from the ovarian cyst that was making her feel uncomfortable. I hope that the chemo will make her feel better and not worse.

Is this still ovarian cancer? how can it be? she has no ovaries!! Maybe it is because that's where it started.

Best wishes,

John

Hello, John, thanks for your welcome.  So sorry to hear about your wife, but think of some of the other ladies on here who have had good results second time around - so don't despair. (They give me great hope, I can tell you.)  I think it can sometimes be much harder for our partners than for us - I know my partner is taking it badly, the more so because he is in poor health himself and can't go with me to appointments etc. and feels he is of no help, though of course he is.  Fortunately his brother very kindly accompanies me to the worst meetings, so I am not without a "prop" at such times, but it's not the same as having my partner with me.

Re. your Mary's recurrence, apparently when another tumour appears anywhere in the body, if it is a breakaway from the original site it will retain the properties of that original site, so the medics can see from tests whether it's a secondary or a new cancer and will plan treatment accordingly.  I learnt this because this is my own current position, and I shall find out this afternoon whether mine is ovarian or secondary from past breast ca., and hopefully have some appropriate treatment started at last!  (Beginning to get a bit jittery now, as I always do before appointments!)

Love to you both, Hazel xxx

Good luck today Hazel,

I will be thinking of you... Whatever the outcome though you need to remember they can treat it with chemo....

Love Eileen xxxxxx

Bless you, Eileen, thank you. Will be in touch soon.

Love Hazel xxx

Hazel, thank you for your nice response.

Yes it is tough for the whole family, we remain positive for the best part though, but it does get to us all every now and then, I think we're entitled to that.

Good luck this afternoon, let us know how things go.

John

Hazel, thank you for your nice response.

Yes it is tough for the whole family, we remain positive for the best part though, but it does get to us all every now and then, I think we're entitled to that.

Good luck this afternoon, let us know how things go.

John

Thanks, John.

Hello all.  Well, the"good" news is that it is not a metastasis from the breast, so my treatment has been planned and will start asap, thank goodness.  It will no doubt be familiar to most of you, as it consists of 3 chemos (paclitaxel & carboplatin), CT to check progress, hysterectomy op, then 3 more chemo s - seems to be standard initial procedure.

I am so relieved to have something underway at last, though I never thought I would be pleased to be having chemo again after the last lot!

On a lighter note, the wig I've bought arrived just as I was leaving for hospital, so I had that to look forward to trying on when I got home.  It isn't too bad, though it might look better once I have no thick hair of my own underneath it, at the moment it looks to me as though my head is too big  ( no comments, thank you!).

Anyway, love to all, let's hope all our treatments do the job, eh?

Hazel xxx

Hi Hazel,

Sometimes 'better than expected news' is almost like good news. It helps a little that you know the drill, it's easier to except than first time around.

Mary had TaxolCarbo last time around and responded very well with few side effects, although the Taxol has left her with some neuropathy but small price to pay. I hope that it goes as well for you. And I'm sure you will look lovely in your new wig

Best wishes,

John

Aw Hazel that is good news. ( well you know what I mean )  It is good for the mind having a plan to go at. I think their is nothing worse than not knowing.  Did they say when you are starting your treatment ? I have found out the name of mine now, I had to ring the secretary yesterday to ask her.  I will be having one called Rotterdam regimen  Etoposide & Cisplatin. I have never heard of this one but have read up on it. I think it's only my hospital that does it.

Hope everyone is ok.

Love Eileen xxx

Hi, John, hope Mary is bearing up and feeling as well as possible.

Thanks for your reassuring comment about the wig, but sorry to say I won't look lovely in it as I have decided I hate the thing and am sending it back! 

Love Hazel xxx

Hi, Eileen.

Yes, I had a call yesterday, and I have to go for pre-assessment on Mon 5th March, then all being well start first session of chemo on Thurs 8th.

What's worrying me today is that I seem to have caught a cold (probably at the hospital!) so I'm hoping it's gone by then in case it affects the tests and delays the start of treatment again.

Blooming typical, isn't it - I haven't had a cold for ages, so I get one now!  I suppose I'm run-down from the cancer, but what a nuisance.

Your new stuff starts on 1st, doesn't it?  Fingers crossed for you! ( Fingers seem to be permanently crossed for everyone lately!)

Love,Hazel xxx

Hi, Eileen - it's me again. Have just been reading on-line about your new chemo, and it looks pretty hopeful, don't you think?

Love Hazel x

Hi Hazel,

Well it does sound good but I am not sure if I will be up to having it. I am still having trouble with trapped wind and my bowels are all over the place. I  don't seem to be improving.    This is all since my last chemo on the 13 Jan when a nurse put the canula in too far and I screamed out. I have been ill since then.  I am not sure if it is a coincidence or she actually did something as I have been getting this wind since then.  My bloods are always low and the drs are also concerned about that. It all takes it's toll as I have only just finished 5 cycles of the gem/carbo...

Have you got a picc line in ? I have asked for one as I have no veins left for the canula. ...I go for that next Thursday..

Meant to say Hazel where do you live ? I am in Manchester.....

Love always Eileen xxxxx

@Hazel, Mary felt a bit rough yesterday but a bit better today and she's going to have her hair done, hopefully will cheer her up.

I'm sorry that your wig was no good, it is very difficult to order a wig without trying some on first. Mary had her prescription sent to a specialist shop who do some NHS wigs, so she got to try a few on before deciding what she wanted. I don't know if your hospital has a list of shops like that, but it would be much better and you have a bit of fun trying them on too. We're in Hertfordshire by the way.

@Eileen, So sorry to hear you're having problems, it sounds like a coincidence to me but I'm no expert of course. Mary had a Hickman line last time because they couldn't even get a PICC line in. This time they are talking about fitting a Portocath, as the Hickman line got infected last time and she ended up in hospital for a week with neutropenic sepsis.

Best Wishes,
John

Eileen, I have similar problems - wind, painful bloating and dreadful bowel problems and pains, especially when I have to "go" (sorry, maybe too much info!), also I can't hold out for more than an hour or so before I need to pass water - and all this is being caused by the largest ovarian tumour pressing on the bowel and bladder.  I wonder if it might be the same with you, in that the cystic mass you mentioned is doing the same to you?  If so, surely the chemo can only help if it shrinks the mass, not make you feel worse - that's what I'm assured it'll do for me, anyway.  (Sorry if it sounds like I'm trying to "teach my grandmother to suck eggs", I know you've been through so much more than me.)  I appreciate you must be feeling worn out after the last lot of treatment - I guess you've discussed it all with your hospital team anyway, but I pray you can go ahead, Eileen.

I don't have a PICC line yet, as I am only just at the beginning, and my veins are OK at the moment.  As John said, I think it must be a coincidence that your current probs started after a bad cannula experience, you poor girl. The doc who inserted mine when I had my biopsy the other week wasn't the best at it, either, and had several attempts - then it was quite painful all the time it was in.

By the way, I live in Dagenham, Essex (East London), but don't let that put you off, we're not all like the TOWIE crowd down here! (Not that I've ever watched it, but of course I've read about it in the gossip columns - doesn't seem as though I've missed much!)

Much love, Hazel xxx  

John, please give Mary my best wishes and love, she is so lucky to have you.

I don't know yet whether my hospital is linked with any wig outlets, though most are, I gather.  Guess I'll find out in a few weeks' time when I go bald!  They do have a connection with a company selling scarves, turbans, hairpieces etc., so I may try those first.  (At least you got a laugh out of choosing Mary's wig, that was a bonus!)

As you may have seen from my reply to Eileen, I live in Dagenham, East London, for my sins! 

Love, Hazel xxx