Hi I am new to the group as only received my diagnosis on Monday 4 th March 2024.
I have recently had a full hysterectomy after having a large mass detected on my uterus which they have done a biopsy on, during my post op appointment my surgeon informed me that I was stage 3 ovarian cancer . I was completely shocked and could not think what to comment /ask questions total blank .
i have an appointment on Wednesday with oncology can anyone advise what will happen at this meeting
what questions should I ask
I have read macmillan book know nothing about CA125 feel totally lost what is stage 3
Sorry for rambling
Hello Clan harford I have just come across your post and notice you have not had any replies. I can't answer it myself as I have a different cancer, however by me responding it will be "bumped" back to the top of the forum and I hope seen by other Community members who are on the same or similar journey and can answer your questions.
Best wishes - Brian
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Hi Clan harford and welcome to the community and this group.
Your diagnosis is very recent and I’m sure we can all identify with our minds going blank when we are given this news-I know mine did! My cancer was cervical, but I have had major surgery to remove the whole of my reproductive system among other things.
I won’t link to the Macmillan booklet on ovarian cancer here as you say you have it, and I know that it can be overwhelming to read these without speaking to your consultant first. It does, however, explain the stages of your cancer which might help you with some understanding. I can link to it again if you’d like me to.
CA125 is a marker in your blood which is expressed by a number. This is one of the tests that are carried out in an ovarian cancer diagnosis.
At your appointment, I would expect your oncologist to be talking about the next treatment steps for you. This could be a number of things so your questions might arise naturally from that. I expect you will be given all the information you need to go ahead with the next steps, but in your shoes I’d be making sure you find out what type of ovarian cancer you have, and ask for a full explanation of what stage 3 means for you.
If chemotherapy is planned, ask which drug(s) will be used and what the potential side effects might be. Knowing the type of chemo will let you connect with other ladies who have had the same treatment. If you are to be given immunotherapy, which is different to chemotherapy, again ask what type and what the potential side effects are. There will be ladies in the group you can connect with who are in, or have been through similar.
Some questions might not be ones you would want to ask-we are all individual in how we approach things so if you don’t wish to know a prognosis for example, ask them not to tell you. You may or may not wish to know statistics for potential recurrence. I asked never to be told these things when I was going through my cancer, as they are in effect educated guesses and I thought it might impact badly on my own mental health. My experience of going through cancer and a recurrence is that my consultant was sensitive to what I actually wanted to know. Others wish to have all the information they can get. We’re all different!
I hope that some of the other ladies in the group will come along and share their experiences with you, and hope your appointment goes well on Wednesday.
Sarah xx
Thank you for your reply . That’s exactly what I am doing I have avoided goggle just joined macmillan ,target ovarian and Ovacome .
my appointment is this week so feel I am know ready with the support I have already received
one day at a time 
