English Community

I was diagnosed last summer with high grade serous ovarian cancer stage 3. Went thru surgery and 6 rounds of chemo

I'm exhausted, as someone who has been healthy my entire life in my mid 60's this came as a complete shock 

Next steps is olaparib for 2 yrs, does anyone have any insight on side effects and efficacy. I have a BCRA1 somatic gene mutation 

I was diagnosed last summer with high grade serous ovarian cancer stage 3. Went thru surgery and 6 rounds of chemo

I'm exhausted, as someone who has been healthy my entire life in my mid 60's this came as a complete shock 

Next steps is olaparib for 2 yrs, does anyone have any insight on side effects and efficacy. I have a BCRA1 somatic gene mutation 

Hello @Me_jane. Welcome to the forum! It sounds like we have a similar pathway/diagnosis. I too was diagnosed HGS Stage 3C in Feb, 2024. I went through major surgery and also 6 rounds of chemo (Pac/Carbo). I finished my chemo in July, 2024. My diagnosis was also a complete and utter shock. We have no history of any type of breast, ovarian etc. cancer in our family and my misfortune was the result of the BRCA-2 gene mutation (which my father had no idea he was carrying and had passed along to me). We are well informed now following my diagnosis and genetic testing.  I started Lynparza (Olaparib) in August, 2024 and am hopeful I will be able to take it for the full 2 years. 

As for side effects, I have kept a very detailed online journal through my journey. For Lynparza, I dealt with nausea for the first three weeks. It was tolerable using Ginger Gravol. I also discovered that ensuring I had something to eat prior to the dosage (300mg twice daily) was very helpful. Since it needs to be taken 12 hours apart I tend to take it at 9am/9pm. I had to play around with timing to find what worked best for me with my schedule. The other side effect I had for almost 4.5 months was lower abdominal pain. It almost felt like period cramps (which of course would be impossible now - ha ha). I read that almost 40% of users experience abdominal pain (although there is NO clarity on exactly what/where that pain is...they just say "abdominal" so it's pretty generic). I had a CT scan in early February (my first in 6 months) and all was clear. The abdominal pain has subsided and my oncologist thinks it may have been linked to Senokot-S which I'd been taking pretty regularly since my chemo, to keep my bowels moving. So who knows if the pain was the Senokot or the Lynparza. I stopped the Senokot and the pain has reduced so that's good. I would say that in general, I have tolerated the Lynparza well.

As for efficacy, I remain confident, based on all the clinical research, that it will continue to keep any recurrence at bay for me. I hope it will do the same for you. I HATE that we can only take it for two years and pray that things may change and/or alternatives will become available as time progresses.

There are a few other folks in this forum who also are taking Lynparza. They may have experienced other side effects and will hopefully weigh in. Are you experiencing anything at this point? Let us know. I hope that your Lynparza journey will be a smooth one!! Talk soon.

#lynparza #Olaparib 

Original Message:
Sent: 02-27-2025 18:01
From: Me_jane
Subject: Hello from BC

I was diagnosed last summer with high grade serous ovarian cancer stage 3. Went thru surgery and 6 rounds of chemo

I'm exhausted, as someone who has been healthy my entire life in my mid 60's this came as a complete shock 

Next steps is olaparib for 2 yrs, does anyone have any insight on side effects and efficacy. I have a BCRA1 somatic gene mutation 

Hello @Me_jane. Welcome to the forum! It sounds like we have a similar pathway/diagnosis. I too was diagnosed HGS Stage 3C in Feb, 2024. I went through major surgery and also 6 rounds of chemo (Pac/Carbo). I finished my chemo in July, 2024. My diagnosis was also a complete and utter shock. We have no history of any type of breast, ovarian etc. cancer in our family and my misfortune was the result of the BRCA-2 gene mutation (which my father had no idea he was carrying and had passed along to me). We are well informed now following my diagnosis and genetic testing.  I started Lynparza (Olaparib) in August, 2024 and am hopeful I will be able to take it for the full 2 years. 

As for side effects, I have kept a very detailed online journal through my journey. For Lynparza, I dealt with nausea for the first three weeks. It was tolerable using Ginger Gravol. I also discovered that ensuring I had something to eat prior to the dosage (300mg twice daily) was very helpful. Since it needs to be taken 12 hours apart I tend to take it at 9am/9pm. I had to play around with timing to find what worked best for me with my schedule. The other side effect I had for almost 4.5 months was lower abdominal pain. It almost felt like period cramps (which of course would be impossible now - ha ha). I read that almost 40% of users experience abdominal pain (although there is NO clarity on exactly what/where that pain is...they just say "abdominal" so it's pretty generic). I had a CT scan in early February (my first in 6 months) and all was clear. The abdominal pain has subsided and my oncologist thinks it may have been linked to Senokot-S which I'd been taking pretty regularly since my chemo, to keep my bowels moving. So who knows if the pain was the Senokot or the Lynparza. I stopped the Senokot and the pain has reduced so that's good. I would say that in general, I have tolerated the Lynparza well.

As for efficacy, I remain confident, based on all the clinical research, that it will continue to keep any recurrence at bay for me. I hope it will do the same for you. I HATE that we can only take it for two years and pray that things may change and/or alternatives will become available as time progresses.

There are a few other folks in this forum who also are taking Lynparza. They may have experienced other side effects and will hopefully weigh in. Are you experiencing anything at this point? Let us know. I hope that your Lynparza journey will be a smooth one!! Talk soon.

#lynparza #Olaparib 

Original Message:
Sent: 02-27-2025 18:01
From: Me_jane
Subject: Hello from BC

I was diagnosed last summer with high grade serous ovarian cancer stage 3. Went thru surgery and 6 rounds of chemo

I'm exhausted, as someone who has been healthy my entire life in my mid 60's this came as a complete shock 

Next steps is olaparib for 2 yrs, does anyone have any insight on side effects and efficacy. I have a BCRA1 somatic gene mutation 

Hello @Me_jane. Welcome to the forum! It sounds like we have a similar pathway/diagnosis. I too was diagnosed HGS Stage 3C in Feb, 2024. I went through major surgery and also 6 rounds of chemo (Pac/Carbo). I finished my chemo in July, 2024. My diagnosis was also a complete and utter shock. We have no history of any type of breast, ovarian etc. cancer in our family and my misfortune was the result of the BRCA-2 gene mutation (which my father had no idea he was carrying and had passed along to me). We are well informed now following my diagnosis and genetic testing.  I started Lynparza (Olaparib) in August, 2024 and am hopeful I will be able to take it for the full 2 years. 

As for side effects, I have kept a very detailed online journal through my journey. For Lynparza, I dealt with nausea for the first three weeks. It was tolerable using Ginger Gravol. I also discovered that ensuring I had something to eat prior to the dosage (300mg twice daily) was very helpful. Since it needs to be taken 12 hours apart I tend to take it at 9am/9pm. I had to play around with timing to find what worked best for me with my schedule. The other side effect I had for almost 4.5 months was lower abdominal pain. It almost felt like period cramps (which of course would be impossible now - ha ha). I read that almost 40% of users experience abdominal pain (although there is NO clarity on exactly what/where that pain is...they just say "abdominal" so it's pretty generic). I had a CT scan in early February (my first in 6 months) and all was clear. The abdominal pain has subsided and my oncologist thinks it may have been linked to Senokot-S which I'd been taking pretty regularly since my chemo, to keep my bowels moving. So who knows if the pain was the Senokot or the Lynparza. I stopped the Senokot and the pain has reduced so that's good. I would say that in general, I have tolerated the Lynparza well.

As for efficacy, I remain confident, based on all the clinical research, that it will continue to keep any recurrence at bay for me. I hope it will do the same for you. I HATE that we can only take it for two years and pray that things may change and/or alternatives will become available as time progresses.

There are a few other folks in this forum who also are taking Lynparza. They may have experienced other side effects and will hopefully weigh in. Are you experiencing anything at this point? Let us know. I hope that your Lynparza journey will be a smooth one!! Talk soon.

#lynparza #Olaparib 

Original Message:
Sent: 02-27-2025 18:01
From: Me_jane
Subject: Hello from BC

I was diagnosed last summer with high grade serous ovarian cancer stage 3. Went thru surgery and 6 rounds of chemo

I'm exhausted, as someone who has been healthy my entire life in my mid 60's this came as a complete shock 

Next steps is olaparib for 2 yrs, does anyone have any insight on side effects and efficacy. I have a BCRA1 somatic gene mutation 

I was diagnosed last summer with high grade serous ovarian cancer stage 3. Went thru surgery and 6 rounds of chemo

I'm exhausted, as someone who has been healthy my entire life in my mid 60's this came as a complete shock 

Next steps is olaparib for 2 yrs, does anyone have any insight on side effects and efficacy. I have a BCRA1 somatic gene mutation