Recurrance #1 - Still feels new

Camper62

Just want to talk I guess.   I was diagnosed in July 2019 with Stage 3C High Serous.   Here I am again going through chemo for the second time.   Recurrence August 2020.    First time - you've got this.  Second time - stay positive - this can't be the end!  I have just finished round 3 of chemotherapy.   I am to have a CT scan before round 4.  I am scared of what the scan may show.
Any reassuring stories out there?  

Fearless - Vol Mod

Hi @Camper62 So sorry to hear about your recurrence.  I too am High Grade Serous 3C. Diagnosed in early 2017, surgery, chemo and supposedly clear by September  that year. But October the following year I was in testing for recurrence and then in treatment as of January.  I lucked out having qualified for a trial that had just started and have been on Olaparib ever since.  That said, there are a number of gals I know or are on this site who have been exactly where you are and fine.  In fact, there are stories here of some who've had 2 and 3 or more recurrences, finally found the right mix of treatment, and have been NED for years now. 

I truly believe if we have to be stuck with this disease, it's a good time to have it. So many trials opening up, so many new drugs being approved, and so many new approaches to treatment.  We are truly living longer and better lives and it will continue to get better for us.   

I do know the trepidation waiting for test results.  Stay positive and let's hope the scan shows the chemo is being effective.  Keep us posted on your progress and in the meantime, you now have a whole army of us rooting for your success.  One you engage on this site, you're never alone.  

Cecile21

Hi @Camper62 I too am high grade serous 3C. Just wanted to connect. I agree with @Fearless - Vol Mod that there are finally new options out there. The recent Symposium was surely evidence of that. But equally important is knowing that one is not alone; just a message away. Wishing you well. 

Camper62

Thank you @Cecile21 and @Fearless - Vol Mod   you 2 have provided more reassurance then I've heard since this began
- I will share my results when I get them  Thanks again ! 

Jule_P

I thank you all for this. Very encouraging. I have high grade serous stage 4. Had brain met 5 years ago. Just had abdominal rads for my second recurrence since the brain met. Hoping to hold off on chemo for as long as possible. It always rakes me a couple of years to get over the worst of it. 

Camper62

I will have my last chemo treatment next week.  As this is a recurrence of my stage 3c high grade serous cancer, I will start on olaparib next month.  Anyone out currently taking this drug?  Somehow I find this scarier than the chemo.  Is this the "last stop" for treatment?  I will have an appointment with my oncologist the end of January - just looking for some first hand experiences or advice before then.  Thanks.

Jule_P

@Camper62 — taking olaparib for me was like taking vitamins! Easy peasy. It worked for two years. Good stuff. 

Fearless - Vol Mod

@Camper62 please don't let the prospect of taking olaparib/lynparsa scare you.  So are so lucky, actually, to qualify for the drug. It's had amazing results as a maintenance treatment.  And no, it is not the last stop. If your cancer would recur again, there are many other treatments to fall back on and by then and with so many advances in treatment perhaps ones we don't even know about.
What scares you about the drug?  Just the thought this might be the end?  If that's the case I'm sure your oncologist can put that one to rest.  Side effects? We all react differently but of the current PARP inhibitors it's the "mildest" and if there is anything that causes intolerable discomfort that can usually be managed with a change in dose.
I was on Olaparib for recurrence for two years...although on a unique trial looking to see if the drug could actually be a treatment and not just maintenance...and I still call it my two year miracle.  It shrunk my recurrence and kept it stable, and me out of a new round of chemo, for that long...much longer than they expected.  And now I'm back in chemo and responding well.  Hopefully for the last time but if not, by the time I need treatment again goodness knows what new developments will be available.

Good luck to you and please keep us posted on your progress.