My Mum is, or rather was until recently, a spritely 77 year old lady. She was diagnosed with stage 3 Ovarian Cancer, last Friday 4 October. We're told it's too extensive, throughout her pelvic region though not impacting on any other organs, for surgery. However, they can offer chemo. If it shrinks enough, surgery may be a later option. Well, in short she's comtemplating refusing the treatment. Says she's had a good life & she'd rather end it on a good note, than end up suffering further pain, side efffects & ... Well this one of the problems, we don't know what to expect! We're a small family (Im an only child, with an only child) & have been lucky enough to not have any experience of cancer to now. Second problem is that, despite over 50 years of strong & loving marraige, my Mum doesn't know how to tell my Dad whats on her mind. He's always been the one to make all the decisions & she knows he'll expect her to fight it all the way ... regardless of what this entails. I'm the only one who knows what Mums thinking. She's relying on me, not just for support but for advice too & I haven't a clue where to start. Any advice would be so greatly appreciated ... as would links to support.
Many thanks
Amanda
I would agree with RubyRosie that you need to push for further investigation of your symptoms. Something is clearly an issue, and although you feel it might be ovarian cancer, and it might not be, you still need to find out a reason. The surgery should not assume your anxiety means they don’t need to do anything else to help you.
I was misdiagnosed over the phone by my gp who wouldn’t see me in person with a condition which wasn’t cancer, but nonetheless was very serious and resulted in an ambulance being called by my partner and a 9 day stay in hospital, being pumped with antibiotics and having some unpleasant procedures. I’ve refused to deal with that particular gp again. They are not experts, and can’t be assumed to know everything. I reported my red flag symptoms and was brushed aside, and I would never let that happen again.
If there is no other doctor in your surgery you can see, could you consider going private? I appreciate you’ve had some tests done with no concerning results, but you should really be seeing a specialist.
Sarah xx
May I ask what type of scan or scans you’ve had, as that could have a bearing on what might or not be seen? Different types of scans give different images, so it may be that a different type of scan may be more useful in your case.
Sarah xx
Thanks Clotted cream
Sometimes it’s possible for things to be missed on scans, and as we get older our ovaries can “hide”. I’ve had many scans myself, including abdominal and pelvic Ct scans, with and without contrast and they were effective at showing issues, so I would take some comfort from the fact yours was clear. For one CT scan, I was sent away because of too much gas, and asked to use a suppository to clear my bowel to get better pictures.
The colonoscopy and endoscopy should have seen anything untoward, and they are clear so that’s a good thing. The only thing I would have concerns over is the distended Fallopian tube and the free fluid, which I think should be explained to you. presume that your gp will be asking for more clarity from gynae about that in particular?
It seems for now you are going to have to sit tight and wait for advice from gynae on any next steps they can suggest. I appreciate this should have been done earlier for you, so follow up with your doctor if you don’t hear anything soon. If you are not happy with your gp surgery, you can contact the practice manager and voice your concerns with them. I’m sorry that’s not much use to you at the moment while you wait, but it’s difficult to suggest anything else without knowing more.
Sarah xx
I understand how anxious you must be-it’s horrible thinking something is wrong but not knowing what, but it may of course be that the answer is not cancer. Our minds can run away with thoughts of a worst case scenario but it may not be what you fear. I really hope not!
Sarah xx
