Hi kizzymart. 

So sorry for the reason you've joined the forum the club nobody wants to join.

Welcome hopefully others will join you and welcome you to the family we all help each other the best we can. 

If you can keep busy house or garden anything really to pass the time and keep you occupied and concentrating on other things you like to do. Even going out now things are easing with virus.. 

Hope others join soon but alot of ladies kneed there beauty sleep on a weekend. Hehehe 

Keep positive. 

Billy 

Hi Kizzi

Treatment for cervical cancer follows a fairly standard plan unless you have a rare type where treatment can differ.  You say you know it’s higher stage than stage 1. I wondered how you knew that? Typically at a higher than grade 1 there is no surgery offered, and the plan is chemo along with radiotherapy, finishing up with brachytherapy which is internal radiation. 

Usually its daily radiotherapy for around 25 sessions Monday to Friday, 5 weekly doses of chemotherapy, which is low dose Cisplatin which doesn’t cause hair loss, and 3-5 sessions of brachytherapy depending on which type/procedure your hospital uses. There may be variations in this plan depending on stage, but it is a typical indication of what they do. 

In my experience the chat with my oncologist after mdt involved explaining the treatment, giving me leaflets and having me sign consent forms to go ahead. 

To keep calm, I tried mindfulness, deep breathing and distractions like adult colouring in, documentaries on YouTube and trying to keep myself occupied.x

Hi [@Minska]‍ 

im told that the growth is approximately 7cm or so from the gynaecologist who told me it was cancerous, as far as I'm aware due to my symptoms and what was mentioned during the biopsy it's past stage one due to sizing. i am trying to keep hopeful and busy that it's all curable and but I have to be honest and say I do find my mind wandering to the dark places and imagining the worst outcome for myself which I know is not helpful xx

Hi Kizzi

Ok, I understand. I had stage 2b with a 3.8cm tumour and one of my friends was also stage 2b with a 7cm tumour. I have seen ladies with larger tumours than mine at stage 1, but as mine was growing into the vaginal wall it was classed as “locally advanced” and hence stage 2b. 

I have seen LOTS of higher stage ladies be “no evidence of disease” after treatment, and get into remission with no recurrence. I was unlucky to get it come back but it’s all gone now! My friend with the 7cm tumour is also in the clear after her treatment. It’s very tough not to let your mind wander to dark places, but a tip someone gave me was to allow some “worry time” every day, say 10 minutes and then try and move on from it. 

Cervical cancer treatment is harsh but usually very successful and over with in a few weeks. I told myself every single day when I got up that I would get better and I would be well..positive thinking is a great help. Once you know your stage and treatment plan I think you’ll feel more in control. x 

Kizzi. 

If you can keep occupied (busy) even just jigsaws or colouring books anything really.

I'm stage 4 on palliative care since February 2016, but I'm always busy looking after my disabled wife she needs 24 /7 care she has Alzheimers and parkinsons plus other problems.

I've got prostate Cancer that's gone to lymph nodes, spine, ribs, pelvis and a lung, just living with my uninvited guest.

Keep positive and keep fighting. 

Billy 

Hi Minska You can't help worrying of course but after cancer I just get out every day and gardening helped me throughout chemo. I had a 20cm complex mass in 1 breast removed incl a 10cm very rare agressive Metaplastic solid tumour. After that surgical biopsy in May 2018, despite no further evidence of disease, I had 6 mnths' chemo, 2nd surgery/ mastectomy and 40 Grays of RT (radiotherapy) in 15 days (sessions called Fractions). I read NHS now trialling higher dose over  5 days is giving good resulrs. No probs for me now. Would like Personalised Liquid Biopsies quarterly blood tests to monitor me for recurrence, but 2 years all-clear. Do look up clinical trials on databases. My Drs. didn't apply quick enough so far. If I was waiting months for NHS to diagnose again then I'd see a private consultant for couple of hundred pounds. Best wishes D 

Thanks [@Minska]‍ 

ive been told by a few people so far to try not to think about the staging, which is incredibly hard, but as you say I think once I'm told a treatment plan I will really be able to focus on me getting myself through this and getting better. 
 

just a bit daunting, I've gone through being heartbroken and sobbing all day to being up beat and hoping for the best possible outcome when I find out next week. 
 

Xx

Hi Kizzi

i would agree about not thinking about staging. I didn’t actually give it a thought, and it was only as I was leaving my appointment that the nurse said, oh by the way it’s stage 2b. My very first question had been can you treat it and the gynaecologist said I am treating you to cure you. That’s what I held on to in my head, and I didn’t even asked what stage I was. I just wanted to hear there would be treatment.

Once you get your plan there there will be lots of appointments and you’ll be focusing on that.Xx

In all honesty I thought it was really bad that I hadn't been told a stage before my scans but I'm assuming not everybody gets told a preliminary stage until they are certain? Literally all I want to hear is that I can have treatment with the hope that it's curative.

i think the unknown is definitely the biggest worry. Can I ask you once you had a treatment plan explained and given to you did you have to wait long to start that treatment? Xx