Hi I’m Maggie
I am 66 yrs old Mom to 4 girls and a husband with dementia. I finally decided to introduce myself. I started feeling sick about 8 weeks ago. Went to see my GP. I was having bloating , diarrhea, felt full all the time, lost 10 lbs and a lot of pain in belly back and pelvic area. Me and my doc thought I might have diverticulitis. She did a ct scan and when I went back to see her she had a funny look on her. She says you do have a bit of diverticulitis but nothing to worry about. HOWEVER, the scan shows growths on both ovaries and it looks like you have Ovarian Cancer!!! Some series carcinoma.
I was by myself and just thrown for such a loop. I was devastated! So she sent me in a week to see Dr Monique Bertrand at London health care center.. her intern told me I would have a full hysterectomy and then some chemo. She reviewed with me that the cancer may not have started in ovaries but somewhere else!! Then she
Did a complete internal exam was looking for a tennis ball growth!! She couldn’t find it or any growths! So now she’s telling me I may NOT have ovarian cancer but will draw blood markers to see. I was an emotional wreck when I left!
Monday the CA125 marker was 1111 so now they are doing anMRI SEP 8. So that’s my story so far!! So glad to have this great group.. HE
I was by myself and just thrown for such a loop. I was devastated! So she sent me in a week to see Dr Monique Bertrand at London health care center.. her intern told me I would have a full hysterectomy and then some chemo. She reviewed with me that the cancer may not have started in ovaries but somewhere else!! Then she
Did a complete internal exam was looking for a tennis ball growth!! She couldn’t find it or any growths! So now she’s telling me I may NOT have ovarian cancer but will draw blood markers to see. I was an emotional wreck when I left!
Monday the CA125 marker was 1111 so now they are doing anMRI SEP 8. So that’s my story so far!! So glad to have this great group.. HE
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Comments
So what I'm saying is to let the tests play out and paint a more accurate picture of what's going on and from that discuss treatment options with your oncologist. But in the meantime, a few suggestions since it's important to know what questions to ask when you meet with her again after the MRI. If you haven't already go to the Ovarian Cancer Canada website. https://ovariancanada.org It's chock full of information on this disease. And even though you still don't know if you have OVC, order their booklet By Your Side. It is a guide for the newly diagnosed and has a lot of information that might help you build a list of questions to ask. The booklet comes in both hard and soft copy and you can order it at https://ovariancanada.org/Living-with-Ovarian-Cancer/Support-resources
Hope this helps for now...hope, more so, it's not cancer after all. But if it is, I'm glad you found us and I want you to know we are here for you; to share our stories, provide some encouragement, help celebrate the good news, and be a shoulder to lean on when you need one. Please keep us posted and reach out any time you feel the need.
Maggie ❤️
I do not have ovarian cancer. My ovaries where just "bulky". My CA124 500. bloating and pain and weight loss. My tumour was in the peritoneal and small, but because of this, it took longer to get a diagnosis.
When I was diagnosed a cancer friend recommend a journal. I wrote all my questions down and the date for reference. Leave space for answers. Also I taped every conversation with the doctors. It's amazing what you hear the second time. I hope that you will join us on thursday for live teal chats. gayle
That said, the MRI was more extensive than the usual CT so I was tense waiting on results, either that the existing tumors I had progressed more than we expected or they found new growth that hadn't shown up in the CTs. But, actually got the opposite news...one tumor was still totally stable and the other was continuing to shrink even though I've been out of chemo almost two months now...and nothing new to report. Along with that was the assumption the one tumor was not likely the cause of the mobility issue since it's stable and so tiny..so guess my problem is just good old, old age creeping in!
Yes we'd love to have you join us tomorrow on our regular Teal Thursday. We start at 1pm EST and just chat about anything and everything. Just sign in to OVdialogue as usual and click on the Teal Thursday discussion thread to enter the chat.
Here's to a good outcome from today's procedure!
Kath
Hi everybody. Just thought that I’d update you as to what’s been going on in my world. Had my MRI on Sept 8 and have been waiting since to hear from onc/surgeon. She finally called today after 2 cancellations. I’m happy to say I have a much higher opinion of her now! She was calm, slow, took her time, even tho I kept interrupting her🤣 she say we’ll get to that. Unfortunately the MRI does confirm that I do have ovarian cancer. 2 largishtumours one on each and cysts on my uterus and some fluid. She is also worried about my colon. SO in 2 weeks I see her in London and then have colonoscopy and have surgery on pelvic area etc end of this month!! So I know a lot more than last time I spoke to you all! Hope everyone is doing as well as can be expected 🙏 Maggie
I do hope the colonoscopy doesn't show any involvement of the colon. It would be much easier to have less to contend with. But it's not unusual that that is the case. At least with the colonoscopy they'll know pretty well what they'll have to deal with when it comes time for you surgery. I didn't have the benefit of a colonoscopy. My CT seemed to indicate the presence of the cancer in my colon or on my colon so when they prepped me for surgery they even marked the area where the ostomy bag would attach temporarily. But surprise, when they got in there there was far less cancer than the CT indicated and nothing on my colon after all ! So nothing with this disease ever seems a given. I'll just hope you're pleasantly surprised, as many of us have been.
Please do continue to keep us posted. Keep that By Your Side handy. (PS: nice picture. Love to put faces to names when we can)
In the meantime you're in our thoughts........
Yes, it's been a whirlwind for you but your doctor has a plan. If you have questions about the chemo please reach out to us here. LOL, if there's anything we have lots of experience with it's chemo. And as ToughAsTeal mentioned, do make sure you have the By Your Side book that Ovarian Cancer Canada publishes. It's incredibly helpful guiding you through this phase of treatment. You can order it soft or hard copy (or both) at https://ovariancanada.org/living-with-ovarian-cancer/newly-diagnosed/by-your-side
Continue to keep us posted. Our thoughts are with you for a successful treatment but in the meantime best wishes for a happy holiday season and for health and much joy in 2022.
The only other time I've experienced low back pain is when I've had to take meds to improve my white cell count during chemo when it's dropped too low. Those meds can cause joint and muscle pain and for me it's my lower back and hips that react.
All of that said, any pain or discomfort you experience that is prolonged should always be raised with your oncologist.
Great news about the colon. I know when I was being prepped for surgery they told me there was a very high chance they would have to remove a portion of my colon and even marked me with an X where the ostomy was to be placed. I was so relieved to wake up and find that the involvement of the cancer in my colon turned out to be some kind of shadow on the CT.
Stay well gal, stay positive, and stay in touch.
I hope that helps.