Surviving CancerThis section is a place to share stories about Surviving Cancer. Below are entries of those who have already shared their stories. We hope that you find their experiences helpful to your own situation. You may also Help others by sharing your story. To quickly access health information from your website's browser, download Surviving Ovarian cancer It is 11 years ago this July that I was diagnosed with an agressive stage 3 ovarian cancer Apart from one doctor who told me I would be unlikely to survive beyond five years all other medical people: GP, oncologist, surgeon etc were extremely positive and convinced me that surgery and chemotherapy were the best way to go and there was a good chance of a full recovery. Taxol had just come out of its trials in NZ and I was lucky enough to be given it as a first choice after the surgery, not really knowing what the outcome would be, other than being told that it had prolonged the life expectancy by a third of those who had it as a last resort. I had cysplatin and taxol for three treatments, then because of hearing loss (not serious) they changed it to taxol and carboplatin for the last 3 treatments. I have been well monitored with regular CA125 blood tests since and was discharged as cured in 2004. There has been no recurrance and now aged 65 I live an active life and have done so since treatment ended, running and expanding my own busy business. When diagnosed I was 55 and complaining of heavy periods, tiredness and ocassional stomach pains. I had been prescribed a course of iron tablets without much improvement. It was only when the zip on my trousers persistently unzipped when I leaned forward that I noticed a painless firmness in my lower abdomen and went to my GP who straight away, on palpation, referred me for an ultrasound and two huge tumours were revealed which a week later were removed along with all reproductive organs and omentum. Path tests revealed cancerous cells outside the abdominal cavity, hence the rigorous chemotherapy Of course at 55 everyone brushed aside any mild health complaints I made with, “Oh, it’s just menopause, you’ll be fine when it’s over ” My warning: ovarian cancer is very silent - you do not know you have got it, so it is often picked up late, as mine was, but it IS curable, so stick with it and have the treatment and all the best to you . Comments
May 2007
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