Have known I have had cervical cancer for about three weeks. Had my meeting today to discover it's a bug tumour in my cervix and vagina. Not in my bladder or rectum. In some lymph nodes. Not spread anywhere else. Scan unclear if it's in bones or liver so need another scan. Due to start chemo soon. Any stage 4 success stories out there?!? I'm only 36.......
Hi DebDebW and welcome to our group.
I’m sad to read of your diagnosis, especially being so young-it must be really difficult to accept and deal with. I was stage 2b originally, so not the same as yourself, but I did have my cancer recur and was effectively treated as stage 4 when my cancer spread within my pelvis. However my stage wasn’t officially changed- it was just called recurrent cervical cancer.
I hope your scan doesn’t throw up any more surprises and that you are able to start chemo soon. Has your consultant mentioned any other treatment along with the chemo, like radiotherapy or immunotherapy being possibilities?
I would try, if you can, not to focus on the stage number itself. Focus on getting through your treatment. We are all very different in how we respond to treatment, and stage number is not always an indicator of the outcome. I’ve spoken with a lot of different women over the years and heard their stories in various groups and forums, and I have a friend who is stage 4 who is undergoing treatment still but is living a completely normal life with no evidence of disease on scans. She has been dealing with this for about 7 years now and looks amazing. I have also known other women at much lower stages who have unfortunately not had such a good outcome.
You will have to dig deep within yourself to cope, and that’s really tough on you. We don’t get many ladies posting with stage 4 cancer, but you can have a look through the group-if you use the magnifying glass at the top left of the page you can search for other posts.
I’ll tag Angel86 as she is the most recent poster I have seen with the same stage and she is only 39. Her situation is different as her cancer has recurred, but you may find it helpful to connect with her. I hope you may be able to find others, and that you can find some support in the group-depending on which chemotherapy you will be having, others may be or have been on the same.
Please keep in touch if you can and let us know how you are. You are welcome to phone the MacMillan support line (number is in my signature) where you can get emotional support, or support from the nurses on the nurse team. It is also possible, if you’d like, to ask if counselling can be arranged for you. MacMillan and BUPA have a partnership where you can get a number of free counselling sessions- I’d really recommend this as I’ve done this myself.
Sarah xx
