Stage Two Ovarian

[xmas74]

Better than I thought.
Staples and drains are out.
My gyn oncologist referred me to the cancer center at my local hospital for chemo so I don't have to drive over an hour one way for treatment. My appointment with them is tomorrow. My follow-up CT/labs and gyn oncologist appointment is scheduled in Sept.

[MLAA]

1. Sending you hugs and strength!

[cilla4progress]

2. Good luck and

keep us posted, xmas74!

[Duncanpup]

3. Hugs

[SheltieLover]

4. Sorry to hear, but glad they caught it early!

Were they able to remove it all?

Healing vibes on the way to you! 💓💓💓

[xmas74]

21. They think so

My endometriosis was severe and the tumor was encased in adhesions. When they tried to remove the adhesions it ruptured the tumor, causing contents to spill everywhere.

[SheltieLover]

24. Glad they got it!

Sounds messy! Sorry to hear!

[Lovie777]

5. Chemo is important . . .

I've dealt with a sister-in-law and now a cousin.

Safe journey.

[Solly Mack]

6. Keep us posted.

I know I was relieved mine was only Stage 2. (soft tissue cancer of the mouth and neck)

I was expecting worse.

I got both radiation and chemo after.

They always dosed me with Benadryl during chemo, so I napped a lot. They did it because I was terrified the first time. Not from the needle or anything like that, just terrified period. From the whole experience.

[gademocrat7]

7. Sending you healing hugs

and support on this journey. Take care.

[TNNurse]

8. Chemo is tough, thought better than when I got it 10 years ago.

Mine was for breast cancer, but there are similarities.

Wishing you the very best outcome.

Yes, at one point I did think that another dose might kill me...I felt that bad...but it did not.

[sinkingfeeling]

9. Glad they found it at Stage 2. Good luck with the chemo.

[LoisB]

10. Strength for your journey back to good health. Hugs.

[DarthDem]

11. Strength and Hugs to You!

You got this.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

12. Great news! Here's to the best outcome possible. My thoughts are with you, xmas74! ♥

[xmas74]

22. I'll keep more updates on my Facebook.

You can find them on there.

[Karadeniz]

13. This is hopeful news! So happy it was detected early and sending you healing thoughts!

[brer cat]

14. Wishing you the best results from your treatment.

It's a tough journey.

[Walleye]

15. Best of luck to you. I am two years past my chemo for breast cancer

I was terrified at first. But they treated me pretty well. Then of course Covid messed everything up for the next two years after that. Not complaining though. I hope everything comes out just fine for you and your experience is not too tough

[COL Mustard]

16. Best wishes for a full and speedy recovery

[Wicked Blue]

17. (((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((hug))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

Sending you DU get well vibes

[Scottie Mom]

18. Sending healing thoughts and hugs.

[ms liberty]

19. Sending vibes, good to hear you are getting started right away

[skylucy]

20. Glad to hear they caught it early. Sending healing vibes and positive thoughts!

[Lonestarblue]

23. Sending healing vibes your way.

One of my long-time friends just went through stage 3 ovarian cancer and is doing well. I’m wishing the best for you, too.

[niyad]

25. Sending vibes for best possible outcome. Your DU family is here for you.

[sprinkleeninow]

26. ...

🕯

[Staph]

27. I'm not sure what chemo that they will give you, but . . .

they never told me about the good side of losing your hair! If your chemo is the kind that makes your hair fall out, and yours does fall out, celebrate. The hair follicles are among the fastest growing cells in the body. If your hair falls out, it means the chemo is working!

I had stage three endometrial cancer, now stage four. It's been back twice, but it's been nine years since my original diagnosis and I'm doing fine! Chin up, kiddo!

[xmas74]

29. I'm in a few ovarian cancer groups

And what's used is practically a one way path to hair loss. I'm expecting it.

I guess I'll finally discover my real hair color and I'll save money on conditioner.

[AllyCat]

28. What symptoms did you have?

Such a difficult cancer to treat because it has so few symptoms until it is too late. Hope you heal quickly!

[xmas74]

30. Bloat,fullness

Sometimes nausea and vomiting after eating, even if it wasn't much.
Eventually turned into lower back pain that felt like a kidney stone and then I started bleeding. I'm post menopausal so this was out of the ordinary. My bleeding was extremely heavy for two months, saturating napkins every 2-3 hours. I was weak and fatigued. It eventually slowed down but never stopped for six months, the day I had surgery. The pain spread throughout the abdomin and I began experiencing pain on my right side (I had cancer in both ovaries but the left was 26 cm so I felt it first.)

I had a few bouts of incontinence.

A few things could be from the endometriosis that wasn't officially diagnosed or ever treated until discovering I had adhesions everywhere. Scraping the adhesions from an artery caused excessive blood loss and I had a transfusion of 3 liters.

So, some is endo, some is cancer but my official diagnosis is endometroid carcinoma of the ovaries, meaning if the endo had been treated when I complained about pain any time in the past two decades I might not have developed ovarian cancer.

[woodsprite]

31. Sending many, many positive thoughts and prayers of strength your way!

So glad they caught it as early as they did!

Some things I learned over the last year of chemo: It helped a lot to have someone else fix meals or have easy things you can fix yourself. I became addicted to Lipton's instant chicken noodle soup, jello, and crackers for the first few days after an infusion. After that I wanted stronger tasting foods. I was AMAZED at how sensitive my sense of smell was - like I felt I could have challenged our German Shepherd in a scent detection contest. Many centers do such a good job of controlling nausea nowadays. Before they started my chemo drug drip, I took a good sized dose of steroids the night before the infusion, then they filled me up with Benedryl, more steroids, and an IV drug called Emend. Then they would start the chemo drugs. They said the anti-nausea meds should work for about 3 days, which they did. At home, I had Zofran and Prochloroperzine if I needed them, but rarely did. My team gave me a Neulasta generic (Xitenzo) the day after each chemo from the very first infusion to keep my white blood cell production from taking a nose dive. I was lucky that it worked well and I did not have an issue with my blood levels dropping into the danger zone which would interrupt the chemo schedule. For the joint aches that came along with the Xitenzo shot, they told me to take plain old OTC Claritin (not the Claritin-D). Apparently when they kick the WBC production up a notch, it creates histamine and that makes you stuffy and achy. Those aches lasted about 5 days. By the time those aches were over, I had 2 good weeks of feeling more like myself and having somewhat of an appetite again.

Regarding possible neuropathy caused by chemo, I asked my team about icing my hands and feet during chemo to hopefully ward it off. They said that I could do it if I provided my own ice packs. I did, and I do think it helped. Some drugs don't cause it, but the carbo/taxel did for me.

Wishing for the very best outcome and very few side effects for you through the whole process.

[xmas74]

32. Everyone is telling me to stock up.on Claritin

And to bring gel packs.

[woodsprite]

33. I found the gel packs thawed out too fast for me.

I found Below Zero Colder than Ice packs on Amazon. They worked like a charm, but I had to twist and swaddle one of the hospital blankets around my feet since they’re not a bootie. A 5-pk of 7”x6” packs was around $13. I would take all 5 in my lunch bag and would always come home with one or two still frozen solid.

[xmas74]

34. I'll save them on my account.

Thank you