I have been diagnosed with serous papillary carcinoma two weeks ago that so far looks to be stage 3, with primary ovarian cancer. The cancer has spread to the omentum, and there is also a part of the colon that is likely involved. I have no symptoms, none. This was an accidental finding that was only noted during hernia repair surgery when the omentum didn’t look right. I am 41, I don’t smoke, I don’t drink, I live healthily. I was planning to start trying for a family with my partner in 4 months' time. Due to how advanced the cancer is now, I am scheduled for a total hysterectomy in 2 weeks, which will leave me infertile. I am also at risk of ending up with a permanent stoma. I am a nurse myself, and this doesn’t help in this situation. There are discussions with the fertility clinic regarding freezing embryos or eggs, but as my cancer is advanced, they are pushing for surgery as soon as possible, which won’t give me a chance to freeze eggs. I can't have hormone stimulation anyway due to the type of cancer I have.
I have to give up so much to have a chance to live, and I don’t know if this is going to be worth it. On the other hand, I am ashamed because other people who are diagnosed late probably would wish to have a chance at active treatment. I am facing such a tremendous loss, and I feel lonely with it. I live alone and am in a long-distance relationship. I have good support from friends and my partner, but I see the strain my diagnosis puts on people. I have therapy weekly, and I still feel like that. Life changed so much in the space of 2 weeks, and it makes me want to give up. I am fearful not of death itself but of going through so much, giving up so much, putting my friends and family through so much, and dying anyway. It feels so unfair.
Update:
Not sure if this helps others worried about fertility in this situation, but I had a meeting with the clinical director of the fertility team connected to my hospital. Sadly, they weren’t able to offer egg harvesting as my cancer affected both ovaries to a degree where the risk of bleeding and cancer cell transfer to the peritoneum during the procedure was very high. He stated that if only one ovary had been affected, they might have attempted it. He also mentioned that he reviewed medical literature to see if there was any precedent or guidance on how to approach this procedure but couldn’t find any. He stated that egg harvesting is simply not done for stage 3 cancer as the risks are too high.
