Newly Diagnosed

Good evening everyone... Firstly, I wanted to commend all of you on being such a valuable resource and for the amazing strength and character you show. You have made me understand and helped me remain positive.

My 58 year old mom was diagnosed a couple of weeks ago with Ovarian.We have never had cancer in the family. She was admitted to the hospital with stomach pains. It ended up with her having a 15x6 cm, 93 gm cyst that the pathology revealed was malignant. The pain was the result of a severe infection. She had her left ovary removed at that time and has fully recovered in about 2 weeks. She is one tough lady. The pathology said: moderately well differentiated cystadenocarcinoma, endometrial type with focal squamous differentiation. The report on her peritoneal washings was: Milky pink substance, rare aggregates of adenocarcinoma cells in a background of abundant reactive mesothelial cells, lymphocytes, histocytes and neutrophils. Not that any of that makes an ounce of sense and scares the hell out of me.

It appears the treatment option is a hysterectomy and chemo. We also were told that the concern is the presence of malignancy in her stomach fluids. We have an appointment for tomorrow for her first oncological consult and I scheduled another one for Monday at a hospital a bit further away, but I have heard great things about the care there. the two oncologists are <Oops! Website Guidelines prohibit naming doctors and hospitals!>

Thank you for allowing me a spot to vent a bit and get things off my chest. Sometimes the written word makes it easier to speak you mind. Any information, tips, experiences would be greatly appreciated.

TLeonard - Hi and welcome. You are a great daughter to do this research for your Mom. The only thing I can tell you is that when there was a concern that I might have endometrial cancer in January I was referred to <Oops! Website Guidelines prohibit the naming of doctors and hospitals!> Three doctors had recommended that I have a hyst. When I went to <Oops! Please do not name doctors and hospitals!> he went over my records and immediately told me he did not think I needed a hyst, just another D&C. He did another biopsy and sent me for bloodwork and then referred me back to the gyn who had sent me to him.

I really felt comfortable with him and liked him (and not just because he told me what I wanted to hear). I respected the fact that as a surgeon he was not ready to jump into cutting!!

It's just my experience that I thought I would pass along. Keep us posted on how things are going.

Mary

Thank you so much for your reply.. it is encouraging. I know she is in good hands..

I am actually her son so this has been completely unchartered territory for me.. I think I have actually learned more about gynecology in a week than most do in a lifetime..

Because Hystersisters.com is a women-to-women website, we ask that men refrain from posting on the message boards.

Please invite your mother to register as a member here and post her own questions. We would love to have her join us as a member.