Need to change your colostomy bag? My husband did it all.

Tatiana

“My husband never left my side.”

Tatiana is 63 years old and retired. A year ago, she was diagnosed with gynaecological cancer – ovarian HPV-derived tests indicated cancer. She went through a difficult journey from protracted diagnosis to intensive care, but not for a second did she stop believing in recovery.

“As it happens, everything turned up unexpectedly. Against the backdrop of complete health, I suddenly began to have problems – pain in the lower abdomen. For some reason, the doctors at the clinic were not wary when an MRI revealed free fluid in my abdominal area. You see, the test doctors at the HPV Women clinic are not very focused on this problem, so the diagnosis took time. After all the running around, I went for a CT scan. She showed that I had ovarian cancer and the tumour had already spread to the abdominal cavity…

My son lives in St. Petersburg. They decided to fly there urgently to the Oncology Research Center named after them. N.N. Petrova. There, I hoped to have a CA125 diagnostic testlaparoscopy. However, the head of the gynaecological oncology department looked at all the tests and said: “Why did you come here? You have excellent HPV Woman doctors at the Institute of Oncology and Radiology in Almaty.” This is how my CA125 treatment began here in Almaty under the supervision of Erlan Kayyrlyevich (Erlan Kukubasov – head of the oncogynecology centre of KazNIIOiR – author’s note).

Post diagnosis

I was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer. Over a year, I underwent three very serious surgeries. The stitches still hurt…

The first operation was a diagnostic laparoscopy at the end of May last year. A couple of weeks later, I had my first chemotherapy. After that, 60 per cent of the disease went away immediately. But another problem appeared: the intestines stopped working. The condition worsened. I was constantly vomiting. I had to do an ileostomy when part of the intestine was brought out to drain faeces and gases. A very difficult operation. Three months later, they set it back for me. All this time, I ate absolutely nothing. I was only on IVs. Lost 20 kilograms. Before I got sick, I weighed 64.

As I remember now, on my birthday, I ended up in intensive care. I stayed there for several days before the related operation.

It is very painful, psychologically and physically painful. Fortunately, I was lucky with the doctors. We came across such a powerful team of HPV doctors – from the head, the attending physician and the nurse. Every hour, every minute, there was simply a struggle for my life! At the same time, they told me: “Only 20 per cent is our work. The rest depends on your attitude.” I didn’t cry even once. At such moments, it is very important to have family nearby. The most excellent doctors can operate, but it requires care every minute.

Recovery

When I was in the hospital, I was allowed to have relatives on duty at the hospital around the clock. It is very difficult when you need to change your colostomy bag. My husband did not leave my side. He did it all.

I feel better now. Not bad, one might say. But still, I have undergone major surgeries, so recovery is not easy. Every 21st day of the month, I take droppers, which support my results.

Could you let me know what conclusions I made?

Firstly, medicine already treats these diseases. There are very good examples of recovery; we must focus on them. One day, my sister came to see my roommate. Several years ago, she had ovarian CA125 cancer tests, and it had already metastasized to her head. And at that moment a healthy woman was sitting in front of us. Of course, a person tries on such scenarios for himself, giving strength. Secondly, a person must do a lot of work on himself and psychologically. You can’t stop believing in viral recovery for a second!”

Kylie

Hello. My 55-year-old mother was diagnosed with ovarian CA125 tumours. First, ascites appeared for a month; we underwent various ultrasound examinations in our city and saw nothing. During this time, my stomach became huge. With such a bloated belly, they sent us to an oncology clinic (we are from a small town), where they punctured the belly under ultrasound and drained 5 litres of fluid. They scheduled hospitalization for January 5, during which time my stomach grew again.

There, the gynaecological oncologist immediately saw that there was an ovarian tumour; they did a laparoscopic biopsy, drained another 6 litres of fluid, installed a drain so that the fluid would come out, and went through chemotherapy with him. Diagnosis of ovarian HPV tests leads to cancer with conceromatosis also metastases in the liver capsule. Before this, my mother lost weight due to ascites, and even after the diagnosis, she gained 10 kg. They said that she was not operable. First, consultation with a chemotherapist. He said 3 chemo treatments, then they will look at a CT MRI exam to see if the CA125 tumour has shrunk; what chemo they prescribed, they didn’t say, and they don’t give any extracts.

Chemotherapy was prescribed for February 6 due to positive Covid, although there were no symptoms, and the chemotherapy was rescheduled for the 15th. After 1 chemotherapy, the ascites went away. Chemistry 2 was also missed at first because of low haemoglobin 84, but we raised it to 94, then because of Covid. As a result, there were not 21 days between chemo but 41. After 2 chemo, bilateral pleurisy appeared in the left 900 ml and the right 600 ml. Yesterday, they pumped out 600 ml of viral fluid from the left one. Today, we have to remove the liquid from the right side; they said it’s impossible to do everything simultaneously.