Serena – OC stage 4 my story

Hi all! I am 29 years old; I have two children (a son is 3 years old, and a daughter is 1 month old). On May 25th of this year, I had a planned cesarean section, during which my CA125 test doctor had to remove a HPV cyst on my Ovary. The HPV-related cyst looked fluid and benign on ultrasound tests. It happened in Malaysia in one of the large medical centres.

Everything went fine, except for the huge blood loss – almost 3 litres. My daughter felt great; she had plenty of milk, and I was ready to discharge her. The evening before discharge, the trained Woman doctor sits on a chair next to him and looks sad, like in a movie. “What news from the HPV laboratory test?” I asked. Then again, like in the movies, the doctor takes my hand and says, “Unfortunately, they are not very good.”

Oh, this vile moment when a black hole forms in my stomach and icy sticky horror fills me…

Final thoughts

Here, it is necessary to clarify that in 2010, after 6 years of persistent struggle with HPV and a brilliant, eventful life, my mother left due to a common intoxication with MTS breast cancer triple negative. She’s been on Ovary cancer CA125-type protocols for the past three years, and I’ve been reading a lot about that crap. And about aggressiveness and the median survival rate…

And here I am, lying with the child at my chest and looking like a fool at the virus doctor, and he looks at me with the eyes of a depressed spaniel. In half an hour, my husband and son will visit me, joyful – after all, tomorrow I will be home… Icy horror gives way to anger: why did you screw up my life, you Malay fool?! But instead, I tell the doctor something hackneyed like “I will have to make several difficult decisions”…

In three weeks, the whole family is returning to Moscow. A month after the cesarean, I start the first course of carbo + paclitaxel. It’s now the fourth day after chemo while I’m in the hospital. I feel good, but there is a partial intestinal obstruction (the tumour is pressing). My lymph nodes are affected, and there is an infiltrate behind the uterus in Douglas. Ascites began but resolved immediately after chemotherapy.

That’s it. I miss positivity. I miss my children. The future is scary, but your risk stories gave me hope.

Please share something positive!

Yulia

OC and carcinomatosis

Hello, my name is Yulia; I’m 28 years old, and my two favourite women in the world (Mom and Grandmother) have derived cancer. At the moment, I am in a terrible state, and this struggle does not end.

Our HPV virus risk test story began in December 2018 when my grandmother (born in 1955) received a diagnosis of lung cancer. She got surgery quickly, and everything started to improve. It was stage 1a (we were very lucky)

In February 2020, doctors diagnosed my mother (born in 1974) with a CA125 breast cancer test, and she underwent chemotherapy and surgery for Stage 2. During the examination, doctors discovered a falx meningioma in her brain, which was removed using a gamma knife a week ago. Mom is in remission from breast cancer.

Somewhere in October (most likely at the beginning, I found out in the middle) my grandmother noticed bloating and enlargement of the abdomen, rapid saturation. I realised that the matter was rubbish and threw all my energy and money into examinations while we waited for an appointment with an oncologist. I contacted the CA125 trained tag doctor operating on her, who told us what to do. He performed a puncture, poured 2 litres of ascites fluid into a bag, and took her for a womans HPV examination. According to the CT results, there is no secondary damage to parenchymal organs. There are no fresh infiltrative changes in the lungs.

Results

Fluid in the pleural cavity of a secondary nature. Ascites, peritoneal carcinomatosis (the description describes many infected soft tissue nodules in the peritoneum) + enlarged lymph nodes in the abdominal cavity, chest and pelvis.

A CT scan of the small pelvis turned out to be uninformative, as was a breast ultrasound. Nothing alarmed me. Then, we sign up for an MRI of the pelvis and take tumour markers.

  • CA 125 – more than 21000
  • CA 72-4-206
  • CEA – normal
  • CA 19-9 – normal

At this stage, the cancer specialist who operated on the lung stated that these were not metastases from the lung but rather new Ovary cancer, necessitating an oncogynecologist.

The results of the CA125 analysis tests included also of ascites fluid were just ready. Tumor glandular and papillary structure cells with signs of atypia were found. (metastasis of adenocarcinoma)

IHC tumour cells intensely express PAX-8, estrogen receptors (7 b), and WT 1.

Conclusion: The histological picture and immunophenotype of the abdominal tumour correspond to metastasis of serous adenocarcinoma (most likely Ovary organ cancer).

MRI of the pelvis: signs of bilateral Ovary viral lesions (most likely an epithelial malignant tumour), abdominal fluid and structural changes in the peritoneal layers (peritoneal carcinomatosis), pelvic lymphadenopathy. Involutive changes in the uterus and expansion of the uterine cavity with the presence of heterogeneous contents (probably endometrial hyperplasia with a polyp) A lesion in the head of the right femur (it is advisable to perform osteoscintography)

Ovary measuring 25x18x26 mm right, 26x14x21 left.

Diagnosis

The MRI doctor noted that the Ovary appeared soft, contrary to the typical higher density associated with this diagnosis. He requested information from me, showing apparent interest. Regarding the bone lesion, he stated that it was impossible to determine whether it was a metastasis or another condition, stressing the need for further examination.

Despite these concerns, we finally consulted with an gynaecologist at GKOD. She expressed surprise at the small size of the Ovary and the high CA level 125. They conducted exams and scheduled her for an FGD and a colonoscopy. The CA125 consultation is scheduled for November 18, with chemotherapy likely to begin.

Recently, ascites have rapidly increased, accompanied by new pains that were not previously present. An ultrasound in August showed no signs of fluid accumulation.

I am overwhelmed, confused, and saddened. I feel helpless, understanding that the cancer is likely advanced. Are there others here who have faced a similar situation? How was the treatment approached?

I fear the worst and am determined to do everything possible to extend her life, even though she is like a second mother to me, and we live together.