Can you help me with a school project??? (Ovarian Cancer Awareness...)

[BethESH]

Hi all -

I am one of those "it's never too late to go back to school" people. My daughter (who's now teaching English in South Korea and working on her master's degree) talked me into finally doing it. So now I'm taking and Honors English (Argument) class and I have a final paper coming up. We get to write on any topic, as long as it's controversial.
Since my mother is an ovarian cancer survivor (THANK YOU, LORD), and a coworker died this year from ovarian cancer (she was only in her 40s and had two young daughters), I chose to write about the need for ovarian cancer awareness.

So...what I am asking is for any stories you may have about how ovarian cancer has affected your life. Are you a survivor? Have you lost someone to this insidious disease?

AND

Do you know what the symptoms are? If so, what are they? Where did you learn this?

Any help you may give would be absolutely appreciated.

Thanks!
Beth

 

[froggie71]

Not sure if my story of a friend would help, She had ovarian cancer, but I'm not sure it was her starting cancer as she had brain, lung and bone cancer as well when she passed and she was only 19.

(that was quite a few years ago 1991 I believe)>

Actually I think my SIL's mother is fighting ovarian cancer right now. The e-mail I just got from them.

Please keep her going... SHE just left my house.







She is walking for ovarian cancer. Please pass her on so that she can reach her destination. She's walking around the world --- via e-mail.


Please hit your forward button, so this woman stays animated. Change the subject line to your location .


Ovarian Cancer Whispers - so listen.. Watch for Pelvic or abdominal pain or discomfort; vague but persistent gastrointestinal upsets such as gas, nausea, and indigestion; frequency and / or urgency of urination in the absence of an infection; unexplained weight gain or weight loss; pelvic and / or abdominal swelling, bloating and / or feeling of fullness; ongoing unusual fatigue; or unexplained changes in bowel habits. If symptoms persist for more than 2 weeks, ask your doctor for a combination pelvic / rectal exam, CA-125 blood test, and transvaginal ultrasound.

Please keep her going - the further she goes, the more women just might be saved by looking out for the symptoms.

 

[horsejody]

I know three people that lost their battles with ovarian cancer. None even knew that they had it until it was too late.

One was a lady that worked with my husband. She drove a truck, was in her 40's and was a single mother. She had become ill and the doctors determined that she had an ovarian cyst. Surgery was done and a 30 pound cyst was removed. I don't know if that particular cyst was cancerous or not, but shortly after the surgery the doctors told her that she had cancer. Despite treatment, she was dead 3 months later.

One was the daughter of a friend. She was in her 20's. She became ill and it was determined she had ovarian cancer. Surgery and chemo did not work. I think that she lived about 6 months, and it was an awful 6 months.

One was a young lady that was the daughter of a customer. I am a stock broker, and she came to me to sell stocks that her parents gave her as a child. She needed the money to help pay for treatment. She was about 20 years old. She started not feeling well and had it checked out. It was ovarian cancer. The doctors decided to treat her with chemo first and surgery later. She told me that the doctor advised her that it would be better to weaken the cancer before trying to remove it because sometimes it can be "broken up and spread during surgery." I don't know how much validity there is to that, but I had already known the other two women who had the surgery first and the chemo second, and it didn't work out so well for them. When this young lady started college, she was on her father's health insurance. She decided to take a year off college. While she wasn't in college, her parents couldn't keep her on their insurance. She didn't buy a policy because, like many people that age, she assumed that the worst wouldn't happen to her. Well, the worst happened. Her parents were not extremely wealthy, but were very comfortably well off. They spent it all trying to save her. Yes, I know that you can walk into any hospital, refuse to pay and get it all for free. They had more integrity than that. They knew that she or they should have just paid for little policy. In the end, it didn't matter. They lost her.

There is no early screening test for ovarian cancer. Unfortunately, once symptoms start it's often too late. I recently started experiencing pain and illness. I went to the doctor. The doctor decided to do an ultrasound. During the ultrasound he discovered that the cause of the pain was endometriosis. That can be easily treated and wasn't much of a worry he said. However, during the ultrasound, he also saw a large mass on one of my ovaries. He advised removal incase it was cancerous. Thankfully, it wasn't. I was really worried. Ovarian cancer is a silent killer. It sneaks up on people. It grows silently inside a person and often doesn't have any symptoms until it's too late. There is no early screening test. It doesn't show up on pap smears or any other test. It's a horrible disease.

 

[Bluemoon420]

My grandmother from Austria had Ovarian Cancer ( early 80's ). She was only 50 years old at the time. She was already at the end stages of the disease when they discovered it. It had also spread to the point that she also had breast cancer. The doctors wanted to do all this aggresive treatments, but she refused all of it. She only lived for 6 more months, but she was an amazingly strong woman. She had been thru so much in her life, survived Auschwitz, made it somehow to America ( she was a teenager). She never spoke of her family in Auschwitz, or how she made it to America. She was just an amazingly strong woman, and will always have my deepest respect, and love.

Bluemoon

 

[kittykorat]

My aunt is going through chemo and radiation now.
She lives in FL, and was visiting here over the summer when she started bleeding .. she is in her 60's, has already been through menopause, so they knew something was not right. My mother brought her to the hospital ER and insited that they do an US, and they saw a cyst on her ovary and said it was most likely cancer.
She called her OB, and was scheduled for a hysterectomy when she returned home, it was cancerous.

She seems to be doing OK.
I have endometriosis.. have had several ovarian cysts. Endometriosis cuases an elevated CA125. It's pretty scary.. because if I did have ovarian Ca I would not know because the symptoms are the same as endometriosis.

 

[BethESH]

Thank you to those who responded...and to the BYC member who PM-ed me. I am trying to make this presentation as person-oriented as possible. I have a lot of statistics - for instance, did you know that there are over 30 types of ovarian cancer??? Jeepers...

I'd love to hear more stories if anyone else would like to share!

Beth

 

[BethESH]

Quote:
I love this e-mail...and I'm very sorry to hear about your friend.

 

[BethESH]

Just wanted to update you...

I gave my presentation last night and it was really well received. Thanks to all who gave input!

On a not-so-happy note, though, I got a phone call yesterday and received the worst news I can think of. Mom's ovarian cancer is back. She's going on Tamoxifen to retard the growth of the cancer cells. Not the Christmas wish I would have asked for...

Please keep her in your prayers.

Beth

 

[froggie71]

Glad to hear your presentation went well.

to you and your mom. What terrible news before Christmas. You will both be in my prayers.

 

[BethESH]

Thank you for your nice note...

I believe whole heartedly in the power of prayer, so I thank you.

The timing is a bit much to take. I'm a Christmas freak, and I haven't even put up any lights yet. Christmas shopping is a chore. Yet, at the same time, it's helping me to remember that we are not promised to have an easy life, but that God will see us through anything.

Beth