Mum of a daughter with cancer

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Hi I’m a 56 year old mum of a daughter with cancer. My beautiful girl
Was diagnosed with cervical cancer in June 2022. She had to have a radical hysterectomy, as it had spread to the lymph node. 
Because she had not yet had a family, nor met a partner, she had fertility treatment after the hysterectomy and had 6 of her eggs frozen. Hoping one day we will find a surrogate to have her babies.

A few weeks after the egg retrieval she got pneumonia and became extremely ill. Thankfully she recovered. Focussing back on the cancer,  Clatterbridge decided that she would need 7 weeks of radiotherapy, every day. Plus chemo on Mondays. As everyone who have had treatment, that’s hard work. She completed treatment on 9th December. We were then told we had to wait 12 weeks for her next scan. Which was March 2023. 

In Feb 23 she had terrible stomach pain and was admitted to hospital. She was given three different iv antibiotics for diverticulitis. She recovered within a couple of weeks, thankfully.

Her next PET and MRI scan results to see how well the treatment has worked were in March 23 . 
The results from the PET and MRI have shown a thickening on the vagina and also highlighting on the abdominal wall. Disease hasn’t yet been confirmed. The oncologist and surgeons said we should watch and wait for 8 weeks. They are planning a scan for 20th May. They say if this is cancer they won’t be cutting it out. They will give more chemo. 
I am trying hard to keep my faith and stay hopeful, but if this is disease, it’s been growing whilst she has had treatment, hence I’ve lost faith in the treatment working for this type of cancer. 
From the beginning they have said this is an aggressive, fast growing cancer, that is poorly differentiated. 
I’ve spent a year trying to understand it all and come to terms with what’s happening.

Is there anyone with a similar story who have had a positive outcome? I need some reassurance and most of all, my beautiful girl too. 
my biggest fear is if they turn round and say it’s somewhere else and she’s palliative. I’m so sorry, as I know many cancer sufferers are palliative. 

sorry for the very long message, but that’s my story to date. 
Thank you for taking the time to read. 

  • I had a similar story but unfortunately not positive outcome lost my 24 years 

  • Hi  and welcome to the Online Community but so sorry to hear about your daughter's diagnosis and ongoing journey. A cancer diagnosis like this in the family can be such a challenging and stressful time but getting support from others who are dealing with the ‘exact same' support challenges can help a lot.

    The Community is actually divided into Support Groups (Discussion Rooms) and when it comes to the practical and emotional challenges of supporting family and friends you may benefit from joining our Carers only and Supporting someone with incurable cancer support groups where you will connect with others navigating the exact same support challenges.

    To join a group first click on the “Bold Links” I have created above then once the group page opens click on “Click to Join” when the black banner appears or “Join” under “Group Tools” (this all depends on the device you are using)

    You can then put up your own post when you’re ready by clicking “+new” or “+” in the top right next to the group title. You can copy and paste the text from this post into your new post. You can also scroll through other members posts and click “Reply” to get involved.

    Our Support Line teams are available 7 days a week, 8am-8pm on freephone 0808 808 00 00email or live webchat where you will find one of team there to help you out. We also have our Ask an Expert section but do allow a few working days for a reply.

    Talking to people face to face can be very helpful so do check to see if you have any Local Macmillan Support in your area, do also check for a local Maggie's Centre as these folks are amazing.

    Do get back to me if you need further help.

    Mike (Thehighlander)

    It always seems impossible until its done - Nelson Mandela

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  • I’m sorry for your loss. Did your family pass at 24 years old? 
    how similar is your story. 

  • Hi  and a second welcome to the online community which I hope you'll find is both an informative and supportive place to be.

    I'm sorry to read that your daughter has cervical cancer and it's natural that you want to hear about positive outcomes for this type of cancer.

    I noticed that you'd also posted this in the carers only group but, as I'm not a carer, I can't reply to you there. 

    As you know, the online community is divided up into different support groups, so I'm going to recommend that you also join and post in the cervical cancer group so you can connect directly with others who have this type of cancer. 

    To join, just click on the link I've created and, once you've joined, you can start a new post in the same way as you did here, and join in with existing conversations by clicking on reply.

    It would be great if you could pop something about your daughter's diagnosis and treatment so far into your profile as it really helps others when replying to you and also when looking for someone on a similar pathway. It also means that you don't have to keep repeating yourself. To do this click on your username and then select 'Profile'. You can amend it at any time and if you're not sure what to write you can take a look at mine by clicking on my username.

    x

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     "Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"

  • No I lost my 24 year old son to cancer a year ago 

  • I’m so so sorry for the loss of your son. I can’t imagine your pain. 
    thank you for getting back to me.