Not diagnosed yet

Hello Mags1927,

Sorry you find yourself in this very difficult situation. The only advice I can give really is try not imagine you are going to get the worst possible outcome. You may not have ovarian cancer at all, and even if you do, it may be at an early stage and perfectly treatable. there are plenty of people on here who are receiving treatment which is either curing or controlling their cancer so that they are to get on with their lives. I'm currently doing a mindfulness course, where the teacher talked in the first week about dealing with negative thoughts. He encouraged us to notice our negative thoughts and ask ourselves 'is this helpful?', 'is this productive?' and 'is this real?'. Generally if the thoughts are worries about the future, the answer to all three is no. Worrying about something which hasn't happened yet is just imagination, not real.

You might find some mindfulness excercises helpful in the days waiting for the results of your scan as they help you to stay calm and focus on the moment. I use an app called Smiling Mind, which is completely free and has a good introduction plus several sleep exercises.

I know it's easy to say 'don't worry', and I've had plenty of practice at not worrying because my mum is the most negative-thinking person in the world, so I've spent my whole life grimly determined to be as different from her as possible. I didn't blithely go to appointments imagining that I was going to be told I had something minor, but I tried to stay neutral, not to anticipate the outcome in advance. I'm glad I didn't spend days in a state of panic before the appointments because unfortunately I started out with very bad news - stage 4, spread throughout my abdomen, inoperable - and continued to worse news - not responding to chemo, incurable and untreatable. So I've had plenty to worry about since. Nevertheless, with support from a local cancer charity (do check out what yours can offer if it does turn out you have cancer - they are amazing) and my incredible friends, I am actually doing okay. I'm coming to terms with my diagnosis and learning to make the most of my life by doing things that I enjoy and am still able to do.

Wishing you all the best for your scan tomorrow, and hoping you can find things to take your mind off your results appointment until you actually get there. Remember, you may not have cancer, and even if you do, it may be very treatable. Even if the news is bad, there is support available from Macmillan and other cancer charities to get you through the next steps. You will not alone.

Sarah xx

Hi mags 1927

I’m sorry you are in the awful position of not knowing and waiting, that is the worse bit.

I hope your results are clear and something minor and easily sorted is the cause of your symptoms.

if, IF it is anything else, you will get lots of help and advice here. Again I will say try not to worry, will your stress and worry change the outcome? You may go to some dark places in your brain, be a visitor there, don’t stick around, I do think you sometimes need to look at the bad bits.

Talk to your team. Ask questions. Write things down. I think most importantly, keep positive.

Big hugs xxx

Thank you, they picked up cysts on my scan yesterday, should have had a camera exam but no staff so they tried biopsy but womb has tilted, unbelievable pain.  Now waiting for day surgery appointment under general anaesthetic, I am glad I joined this forum, it is so good to have somewhere to vent my worries Tania xx

Hi Sarah

Thank you so much for your response, they picked up cysts on my scan yesterday, should have had a camera exam but no staff so they tried biopsy but womb has tilted, unbelievable pain.  Now waiting for day surgery appointment under general anaesthetic xx

Hello Mags, 

That sounds like quite good news definitely better than what I was told after my first scan in A&E, which was a large mass on one ovary plus 'shadows' in other parts of my abdomen. And at least you already know what the next step is. Sorry you experienced pain. Hope you've recovered from that now. Do let us know how you get on. 

Sarah xx