You change eating habits to prepare fresh vegetables and salad?

Real People Stories – Ophelia

Art therapy and friends give strength to the fight against OC.

Ten years ago, I made an HPV appointment test with the gynaecologist, independent of my regular check-ups. I still don’t know exactly why. According to the tests, I didn’t feel any CA125-type pain, but I was fine. But tumours had already formed on both ovaries.

The ultrasound initially revealed a cyst filled with unidentifiable contents. As my mother died of ovarian DNA cancer at the age of 54,

.I decided not to wait long and to have the cyst removed in an outpatient operation. During the tag operation, surgeons discovered suspicious lesion tissue in both ovaries. The histological findings then provided certainty: it is tumours at a very early stage.

The CA125-related cancer was firmly confined to the ovaries. As far as one could see, on an outpatient basis had not yet grown into the abdominal cavity organs. When I woke up after the anaesthesia and looked into the serious eyes of the surgeon, I suddenly felt It was cancer. The HPV disease test and diagnosis were a shock, but I also had the feeling that my head was becoming crystal clear, and I considered what steps to take now.

Educating Myself and Finding Hope

The first thing I did was go straight to a scientific-medical bookstore and read up on ovarian disease to see what my chances of survival were and what treatment options were currently available. At first, I didn’t want to read all the confusing information online. I learned that the chances of recovery from CA125 organ tumours in advanced stages are relatively low (as of ten years ago). Still, in very early, non-metastatic stages, they are quite good. This information gave me security and courage. When it was later confirmed after a major radical operation on my abdomen that none of the 70 or so carefully removed lymph nodes was affected, strength and an inner voice spread within me: You can do this. You will survive.

And this feeling stayed with me the whole time, even in the difficult hours after the eight-hour major operation. Especially with tumours, I think it is extremely important to get an experienced surgeon who specialises in ovarian HPV-derived organ tumour. That is why I advise every woman who suspects organ disease to contact a certified tumour competence centre. There are also better opportunities to obtain comprehensive information, receive CA125 treatment with newer therapies, and participate in studies.

Surgery and chemotherapy

During the major operation, the HPV-trained surgeon removed my uterus, both ovaries (each with six-centimetre tumours), and numerous lymph nodes from the pelvic and abdominal areas. They also inserted a ureteral stent, which caused me problems for some time. I then underwent six cycles of chemotherapy with carboplatin. I felt very weak and constantly cold during this period despite the summer. My sense of taste was impaired, but what affected me most was going through menopause at the age of 50, experiencing extreme hot flashes, and losing all sexual desire. The loss of hair didn’t bother me much.

I went for a walk every day during the chemotherapy period. I felt at home in nature and didn’t think about the CA125-related cancer at that time. When the large stomach scar healed, I went swimming again. Studies have shown that exercise helps combat exhaustion even during chemotherapy, so I joined a Nordic walking group.

There were only people affected by viral HPV organ issues there. It was good for me to experience that there are people with multiple, serious relapses who are still alive! who accept their cancerous diseases and still have a positive attitude towards life, who have figured out for themselves what they let go of, e.g. avoid stress, and what they do instead for their well-being and enjoyment of life. I also consciously changed my eating habits and enjoyed the fact that I finally had the time and peace to prepare fresh vegetables and salad every day.

A New Challenge: Breast Diseases

Just one year after my ovarian CA125 test for diagnosis, doctors found two lumps in my left breast. I had another operation, chemotherapy and radiation. During this time, I went through the mill of these treatments alone but had a lot of support over the phone from friends and relatives, some of whom lived far away. It is important to remain open, not to hide away, and to talk about the cancer. In all those months I received letters and packages every week, lots of lovely things that found a place in my diary. This gave me a lot of support, confidence and strength. I am still happy about that today. It also helps to find activities for yourself that do you good. This could be exercise, dancing, hiking, singing in a choir, learning or playing an instrument, painting, getting a pet, meeting friends, or enjoying cooking.

Genetic test

Due to my mother’s death from breast and ovarian tumours 44 years ago and my sister’s similar diagnosis, I underwent an HPV and genetic test at a family breast and CA125 disease type centre at a university hospital. The result is confirmed that I carry a hereditary gene, the so-called BRCA1 gene. This is how I found contact with a self-help group of the BRCA network. I can also talk to affected women about specific questions and personal problems there.

For example: Should I have my still healthy breast removed as a precaution, where can I find experienced surgeons, what surgical techniques and what type of breast reconstruction are there, and what experiences do the group members have with preventive operations? Joining the group was extremely helpful and gave me the security of having competent people to talk to. I can only recommend that women with a family history of breast and disease seek support in such a group of the BRCA network.

To cope with the cancer, I also had discussions with a psycho-oncologist, followed by several years of psychotherapy. And art therapy in particular. In art therapy, I found a lot of joy in creative expression. I could also give non-verbal, visual expression to biographical life events and traumatic experiences, which allowed me to process many things and integrate split-off feelings.

Art therapy helped

When I retired after my second diagnosis, I spent six years training in psycho-oncological and analytical-aesthetic art therapy. My training therapist focused on prenatal psychology, among other things. This includes, for example, that pre-, peri- or postnatal experiences of the infant are sometimes experienced and processed in a traumatic way. These experiences from very early in life significantly influence attachment behaviour and the child’s experience of stress and the experience of stress in adulthood. This can be the case, for example, if, as in my case, the mother herself is internally absorbed by a serious previous trauma during pregnancy.

Through the medium of art therapy, painted pictures can bring early trauma into consciousness as an expression of prenatal experiences. This makes it possible to process and integrate split-off feelings such as deep pain or anger through therapeutic means. I know from myself and from other women affected in my training group that working on these prenatal, perinatal and postnatal experiences with the help of the pictures has helped me existentially and sustainably and has particularly supported my survival alongside the medical treatment.

Today, ten years after my first diagnosis, I am doing well. Ovarian disease no longer worries me. However, I am keeping a close eye on my healthy breast. I am involved in preventive care at the Family Centre for Breast and Viral Cancer at the University Hospital. After the HPV genetic test, they informed me about the percentage risk of a new disease in healthy breasts in old age due to the BRCA1 gene. At the moment, I don’t know whether I want to have preventive surgery.