Hi all, first time posting here. So my 64 year old mum was diagnosed with stage 4 serous ovarian cancer 2 years ago, debunking surgery, and chemo. She was stable and doing really well. However unfortunately in November 2022 following a short period of being extremely unwell we found out that she has multiple spread to her liver. She was in a very unwell state with extreme pain (morphine 4 times daily), huge bloated abdomen and terrible pain. The consultant told us she was extremely worried about her.... we didn't think she would make it to Christmas. However, she was offered chemo (gemcarbo) as a "its worth a shot". Following only 1 dose of carboplatin the pain disappeared! She continued to our amazement to improve dramatically day by day. Following the ct scan half way through treatment the kargest tumour gas shrunk from 16cm to 7cm!! And all of then had significantly shrunk in size. It was the best news we could hear. She is now at the end of chemo and gas to gave a break. We will find out in 3 weeks if the chemo has continued working. Her ca marker went from 19 to 286 in a month so it was extremely quick and aggressive. My question is, I don't have a clear picture of what happened next. My mum doesn't want to know which makes it difficult for me to find out the information or ask the questions I want to ask. We are both fully aware that it is just a case of waiting and seeing until the tumours start to grow again. I guess I feel like I want to know if months is realistic rather than years. I know each case is individual and nobody knows the answers for sure, I just feel like as her carer I want to know what a realistic life span may now be.
Hi Bamboodle and a very warm 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 mum has had a recurrence of her ovarian cancer but it's great that she appears to have responded well to chemotherapy.
It's often the case that the patient doesn't want to know their prognosis but their family do. If your mum gives her permission to her hospital team you could speak to her cancer nurse specialist (CNS), sometimes referred to as a keyworker or Macmillan nurse, and ask your questions.
x
"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
