My wife was diagnosed with stage 4 OVCA at the beginning of June 2009. She never displayed any of the usual symptoms of OVCA and the way we found out was from the cat jumping on her lap and my wife feeling a lump.
We were referred to a well known Obgyn/Onc in the Seattle area and were scheduled for an immediate debulking surgery. My wife did have an ultrasound and CT scan. Two days after the initial examination she had a lymph node on the right side of her neck swelled up and we went back to the Obgyn/Onc. My wife had to have a neck biopsy completed for the DX of OVCA. The neck biopsy came back as positive for OVCA.
The Dr. recommended to start chemotherapy with Carbo/Taxol immediately and to have the surgery after 4 rounds of chemo. We went to a major teaching cancer hospital for a second opinion after her first dose of chemo. The Dr. at the teaching hospital had to check her chart several times and was amazed that the 14cm tumor has shrunk by 75% of the original size after only one dose of Carbo/Taxol and he could not feel anything in her neck lymph node. The 2nd Dr also recommended the same treatment plan as the first Dr. My wife continued her treatment with the original Obgyn/Onc. After her 2nd dose of chemo she had another examination and the Dr. informed us that her tumor has shrunk by at least 80%. He was ecstatic and told us that this is better than what he hoped.
My wife had a CT scan today and has completed the 4 doses of chemo. The Dr. told us that he would decide on how to proceed with the debulking surgery based upon the CT scan and that my wife could possibly keep her Uterus if she wanted to become pregnant with a donor egg. I will support my wife in any decision she wants to make. The surgery is scheduled for September 24th. Our lives have been turned so upside down because we are both so young and my wife is only 32. We were just planning on having a family and all this cancer stuff hit us. We are both so confused that we don't even know if the news of the tumor shrinking is good news. Maybe some words of encouragement that "yes" this is good news would definitely help us both emotionally.
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Is this good news?
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13 replies
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- By Brown_Eyes
- Posted September 15, 2009 at 8:40 pm
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The shrinkage is GOOD! It means that your wife's cancer is responding to treatment, which is awesome. And, I would assume that it means that surgery will be easier too. I know it's hard to deal with all of this, and it can definitely be very overwhelming. Please, please give yourselves some time to process all of this and try to take it one issue at a time, if possible.
I'm 32 and can feel your pain. It sucks to have to go through this so darn young, when you haven't really even lived your life yet. I
Hopefully some of the other people on here who are working on fertility issues can help too.
Peace be with you and your wife.
- By melf
- Posted September 16, 2009 at 9:35 am
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that is good news!
You are feeding that cat well, right? Lots of treats?
Melissa
- By louiseskiingvail
- Posted September 16, 2009 at 10:29 am
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The good news is that you caught it and it did response to treatment! You are young and both of you can still have a family! I found my cancer at 28 and insisted on retrieving eggs before any removal of ovaries (but my cancer was borderline then!). I have 2 beautiful daughters and just last October the cancer came back. After she goes for treatment, there can be long remissions (i had 12) and lots of time to make memories. Your wife can keep her Uterous now and can always have it removed later (like at the time of delivery of 1st or 2nd baby!). With both of my children i had a C Section, along with an exploratory of the cancer. Looking back, i would of had an encologist doing the exploratory instead of my gynocologist. 2 years ago, i had a friend diagonsed with Cervical cancer. She also went thru retrieving eggs, then did a full hysterecomy. She was not so lucky and her eggs did not take in another woman's body. But, yesterday she addopted a set of twins! Good luck in your decision, but keep in mind there are good times ahead! Keep positive and make every venture fun.
- By cdbart
- Posted September 16, 2009 at 1:00 pm
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THirty two is a good reason to keep the uterus. Good luck.
- By MinnieM
- Posted September 16, 2009 at 1:05 pm
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Shrinkage is good, and the offer to keep the uterus is a positive sign as well.
Your wife's youth is going to really help in this battle, and there are women on this site who have lived decades with this disease, and made many wonderful memories with their children.
Good luck with whatever decision you make, and keep us informed.
- By Ohno2009
- Posted September 16, 2009 at 1:57 pm
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Thank you all for the responses and I have shared them with my wife. The Onc. Dr told us that they would not be able to retrieve eggs because she would have to be on drugs for about one month to retrieve eggs. And also they needed to start the chemo right away. We are still waiting for the Drs call to let us know the results of the CT scan.
We should probably contact a fertility doctor and inquire on what we can do?
Oh and our cat was a rescue cat that we adopted. He was abandoned by his original owner and left in a rental house. And yes we spoil him bigtime.
- By Ohno2009
- Posted September 28, 2009 at 7:51 pm
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Just wanted to update our news. My wifes surgery went better than what the Doctors expected. The tumor was dead with no other signs of cancer. The Dr. only needed to remove her ovaries and tubes and all other tissue and organs were healthy, no signs of lymph node involvement or any other organs. She was able to keep her uterus and is very excited about the possibility of us having children with an egg donor. It has only been a couple of days post op and she is up and walking. They want to give her the next round of chemo while in the hospital and then she will be able to come home.
- By Debofil
- Posted September 29, 2009 at 8:53 am
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I feel for you going through this - so young and not having had your family yet. But thank goodness there
is still an option !
I will pray for you both. God Bless.
- By Jennali
- Posted September 29, 2009 at 10:56 am
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What wonderful news. You must both feel like you can breathe now.
Thanks for sharing, and all good wishes to you both.
- By verlinda
- Posted September 29, 2009 at 9:01 pm
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I'm so sorry y'all have had to deal with cancer, but delighted that you had such wonderful care! We look forward to seeing pictures of your babies in a couple of years!
Come here any time with any questions. We love to hear success stories, but still want to support any concerns that come along as your wife recovers.
Blessings.
- By PeacefulZen
- Posted October 6, 2009 at 1:08 pm
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That's wonderful news. Your wife will undoubtedly go through a full range of emotions both from having the cancer and losing her ovaries. Just be there for her and understand that this is a big deal.
The sooner she gets through the chemo, the sooner she will get to get on with life. Let her know she can do as much as she feels like doing. I continued to play tennis through out my chemo--I sucked, had to continually stop and take breathers---but I played!
Be brave, be strong, believe in miracles because they happen.
Good luck to both of you!
Peace
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