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

Thinking of you all today, John, and remembering Mary.

Love Hazel xxx

Dear John,

Just to say I am thinking of you and your family today.

Take care

Anne x

Dear John,

I just wanted to add to the well wishes of your Cancer Chat friends and say that all of us Moderators will be thinking of you too today.

I'm sure the celebration of Mary's life will be a wonderful and fitting tribute to her.

Very best wishes to you and your family,

Renata

Cancer Chat Moderator

The celebration of Mary's life went very well, there were over 200 people in the chapel which was so humbling to see. I was so proud of my children, all three got up and said their piece - my daughter had a bit of a wobble but managed to say everything she wanted to. All in all it was a wonderful celebration, sad and happy in equal measure.

Without the love and support of my friends, family, Mary's colleagues, and of course the wonderful people on cancer chat, I do not think I could have done this. So thank you all for your part in that, we have managed to give Mary a service to be proud of and I am very happy about that.

I have just set up regular monthly payments to Cancer Research UK and also to the Hospice Lottery, which supports seven local hospices. If I win, I will donate my winnings to the Hospice that looked after Mary. We will also be looking at raising money for them in other ways.

Take care,

John

x

Hello John,

It really seems that Mary could not have had a better celebration of her life and to be honest I am not surprised; I am sure your children are as proud of you as you are of them. Great fundraising ideas too; it is moving to see that you are continuing the fight with all these great initiatives.

I hope you are not too tired though and that you take time for yourself as well after all you have just gone through. I am glad you made such great friends on Cancer Chat; you have been such an important contributor in this ovarian thread.

Lucie

Hi All

I'm sorry i've been absent for so long but am sorted now, had hernia operation and immunoglobulin therapy (for autoimmune disease) and all in all its had a great effect! Have spent the last 2 weeks painting the hallway (never said I was quick) but i can do things now that i haven't been able to do for 3 years so feeling really good in myself.

Have just caught up and was shocked to read Mary has gone, she seemed to be doing so well. John, if you read this I hope you are managing ok.

Best wishes

Jackie xxx

Hi Jackie,

Welcome back! You've been missed.

So pleased that all went well with your operation and therapy and that you are feeling well.

Best wishes

Renata

Cancer Chat Moderator

Hello everybody, hope you all have as happy a Christmas and New Year as possible!

Love from Hazel xxx

Happy Christmas Hazel, and to anyone else who is reading this.

Just a quick update - Myself and my family, 9 of us (three adult children, two partners, two neices and one neices husband) took part in a fundraiser on the 9th December for the Hospice where Mary spent her last weeks. We joined hundreds of others all of us dressed as Santa, and did a 2.5 mile Santa Dash through Hemel Hempstead! We had a good laugh doing it but it was quite hard for our untrained bodies to run that short distance! All for a fantastic cause though, I cannot begin to tell you how wonderful the Hospice was in making Mary comfortable and dignified, and also supporting us all as a family. They have to raise 3.7 million pounds a year to keep running so it was nice to be able to pay something back for that free care. We have raised over £3,700 so far, and Tesco have pledged 20% of our total, we are absolutely delighted with this.I have also set up monthly payments to Cancer Research, hopefully one day they will find a cure for this dreadful disease!

I am doing ok, life goes on! Mary's passing still feels a bit surreal. My daughter and I have both started having councelling, we're not sure if we need it or not but the Hospice are providing this service so we felt that even if we get a little benefit then it'll be worthwhile.

We are also considering going to see a Psychic medium, I don't normally go in for all this sort of stuff but trying to keep an open mind, some odd things were happening after Mary's passing and it seems like too much to write off to coincidence. I wonder if any of you have views or experience of this, I'd be interested to hear.

I wish you all the very best in your own personal journeys and truly hope you get the best results from your treatment.

Best wishes,

John x

Hi John and everybody, hope things are not too bad with you all.

I have been away for so long, but I would love to know how everyone is doing.

Unfortunately my partner Roy had a very long stint in hospital at the same time as I was having my op and remaining treatment so I wasn't really in a fit state to stay on the forum.  Sadly he passed away last July, in a nursing home after lots of continuing bad health, and it is only now that I am beginning to come to terms with it all. 

As for myself, I am still in reasonable health at present (thank God, fingers crossed, touch wood and all that!) apart from arthritis of the spine, the pain of which scared the hell out of me a while ago as I was convinced it was another tumour of course until I had a scan!  Hey, what's a bit of backache in comparison!

Anyway, lots of love and luck to all friends on here, old and new!

Hazel  xxx

Hi John and everybody, hope things are not too bad with you all.

I have been away for so long, but I would love to know how everyone is doing.

Unfortunately my partner Roy had a very long stint in hospital at the same time as I was having my op and remaining treatment so I wasn't really in a fit state to stay on the forum.  Sadly he passed away last July, in a nursing home after lots of continuing bad health, and it is only now that I am beginning to come to terms with it all. 

As for myself, I am still in reasonable health at present (thank God, fingers crossed, touch wood and all that!) apart from arthritis of the spine, the pain of which scared the hell out of me a while ago as I was convinced it was another tumour of course until I had a scan!  Hey, what's a bit of backache in comparison!

Anyway, lots of love and luck to all friends on here, old and new!

Hazel  xxx

Hi, Hazel, I wasnt on this site until a few months ago but when I found this thread I just felt I had to read it all.  It has been like a book with good and sad endings.  It has been helpful to me so much in making decisions that I need to do soon.

I do hope that you keep your good health and that life is good to you.

Hello Pauline, thanks so much for your reply.  

I have read your previous posts on the other thread and am so sorry you are so scared. At the moment I am plodding along on an even keel as I said earlier, but the threat is always there at the back of my mind with this thing, so I do appreciate how you feel.  I just try to block it out by keeping occupied with other things but at the beginning I know that is very difficult, what with all the tests, scans, ops etc.  I'm glad you found our old thread useful, and wish you lots of luck with your appointment next week.  

If you are offered chemo, I hope you decide to try it - it isn't very nice and made me quite poorly for a few days each time, but it might ease your pain, it certainly did mine.

God bless, love Hazel x.  ( PS I am also 70, coming up to 71 in June.)

Hi, Hazel, we were nearly twins - I am 71 in July.   I have been told that neither the hormone pill (Letrozole) or chemo will cure me.  Apparently peritoneal cancer starts at stage 3.  The oncologist told me that Letrozole will allow me some quality of life whereas the chemo will extend it a bit but not give me much quality.  Decisions, decisions!  :-(

I have a lot of questions for Tuesday so will make a final decision then.

How many rounds of chemo did you have, Hazel and have you been well since?    Wishing you well, love Pauline

Oh dear, you are between a rock and a hard place, aren't you.  Wish I could give you a big hug - you'll have to try and imagine it.  

Will the Letrozole extend life as long as chemo, and will there be anything to ease the pain as well?  

I had 6 sessions of chemo, I think it was 2 before my op (total hysterectomy plus removal of omentum) and 4 afterwards.  The very bad pain had abated after the 2nd session.  I hesitate to tempt fate but, yes, I have been OK so far - nearly 3 years down the line now, but I am never complacent about it! 

As I say, sending you a big hug, Pauline, and make sure you bombard them with questions at your appointment.

Love Hazel x