ovarian cancer recurrence ; help

I am 51 years old, mother of a 14 year old daughter, art teacher who loves her job,her husband her friends, family and life in its entirety. I had my hysterectomy in Oct of 2005 as a result of ovarian cancer stage IIC. It was epithelial/serous carcinoma, I received a course of chemotherapy w/ carbo-platen and taxol of 6 treatments, at a three week interval. My pre-op ca-125 was 135 and post surgically it was down to 80 and by my third treatment it was down to 10. I had a post incisional infection which resulted in a massive abdominal hernia. The post chemo CAT scan was negative for cancer but revealed the hernia. I had surgery for the hernia in July of 06. My ca-125 increased from 10 to 40 post hernia repair.The doctor interpreted this rise to be related to inflammation from the surgery. Unfortunately it continued to rise up to 108 and a follow upCAT scan revealed likely tumor growth in the omentum and on the pelvic wall.
I had surgery this past Monday. I went for a second opinion prior to the surgery and decided to go with this new surgeon. Both he and the original surgeon had advised the surgery w/ aggressive secondary debulking followed by another round of chemo.The surgeon was surprised that the cancer had returned so quickly given what appeared to be a succesful chemo treatment. I go for my followup 1 week from tomorrow for the post op and to hear which chemo will be best given the results of the tumor response assay.
I am hoping to find a parallell non traditional course of treatment. Diet, vitamins, i'm ready to hear what anyone can suggest.
What has worked for you? Has anyone else had such a quick return of disesase? What course did you follow? Where are you in terms of treatment now? Who knows anything about Mistletoe treatment ? Thanks for your thoughts and any info.
Lots of hope,
Artrose

s Artrose

I am so sorry to read you are dealing with a recurrence already!!
Right at the time you completed front line treatment, the standard of care was changing to IP (intraperitoneal) chemotherapy along with IV chemotherapy.
Here is a link to the Johns Hopkins web page.
Look for the abdominal chemo article.

http://ovariancancer.jhmi.edu/

Even though you may be considered platinum resistant, and those assays are brewing, IP would certainly be something I would strongly consider. Avastin is one of the newer drugs being used IV and IP. So that even without carboplatin, you could still be a strong candidate for this treatment.
The fact that you qualified for a second debulking leaves you in a more positive position to beat the cancer back yet!!
Unfortunately I don't have any alternative ideas to share with you. Although I am an almost six year survivor of stage IIIc without having recurred, I made no big changes to my life style. For me it has been just darn good luck!! That said I don't take my good fortune for granted by any means.
Best wishes to you.
Stay in touch.

oxoxox karenann

Hello Artrose,

I don't have any expertise in this area but I did want to write to say I send you my best and I am thinking of you.....You are going through a tough time, I'm sorry about that. Many of the hystersisters here can relate and give you some good advice, you've come to the right place.
Take care of yourself, sending hugs and well wishes your way, xoKate

Hi, ArtRose,
I'm sorry about the early recurrance for you but it sounds as if you have a good attitude. Hope and prayer are two main keys to surviving, in my opinion.

Just wanted to say that I know someone who survived breast cancer with chemo and went for non-traditional six years later when she got ovarian. She didn't survive on the non-traditional.

On the other hand, the aunt of a high school aquaintance did chemo and was in hospice for a short time six or seven years ago after ovarian cancer. She made it out and is still alive. The last time I saw her sister-in-law, the lady was doing well.

Here's a link about Mistletoe Treatment from the National Cancer Institute:
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/p.../Patient/page2

According to their page, Bethesda Maryland is doing a phase one clinical trial
http://www.cancer.gov/search/viewcli...t&cdrid=258130
and that is the only way injecting it is legal in the U.S.

Wishing you the best.

and prayers,
Kate

Dear Artrose,

I'm SO sorry to hear about your recurrence.

I did use alternatives in conjunction with conventional treatment, and I'm sending you a pm about it.

Hello Artrose,

I never heard of mistletoe treatment but I also had taxol/carbo for a recurrence of ovc. It didn't work for me - I then tried Caelyx (or Doxil in th US) and that didn't work, I then had weekly Taxol alone but it didn't do the job as I started bleeding. I stopped the taxol and had daily radiation for a month - the bleeding stopped in July but by winter I started bleeding again.

I am now trying weekly Gemzar but I'm supposed to have 3 consecutive weeks of treatment with one week off -so far I haven't been able to have two consecutive treatments as my blood counts drop too low.

The doctor now want to focus on my quality of life rather than more chemo as he feels my body is tired (as I am). I don't know what to say except that there are many treatment plans out there.

I had my surgery in Jan 2004 -I didn't have the intial chemo after the surgery even though they had advised me to have it. At the time I was so scared I decided not to do it -now I'm living with chemo as my way of a life.

I recurred in March 2005 and haven't been able to beat this thing yet. My doctor told me it's not curable and inoperable. You have had a second surgery, you are in good hands and I know that your doctors will come up with a plan for you.

I think every cancer case is different -we are all treated differently depending on our bodies and circumstances.

My step-son who lives in California just sent me 5 boxes of natural stuff all saying that they help the immune system, etc... I have to run this by my doctor first before I try them but at this point I just want to feel somewhat 'normal'.

I wish you all the best and I know that you will be strong and fight this with all you got. I'm sorry I'm not able to get you more info for you -I only can tell you what I've been through so far in this journey.

Know that I am here if you ever need to 'talk' -feel free to email me anytime.

s

Hello artrose, don't despair. I too recurred quickly. We tried topetecan first, then a gemzar/cisplatin. The g/c did the trick and brought my counts back down. Now I am on doxil to complete the series as the g/c was too hard on my body. My counts are staying down and we are considering a maintenance plan after this series of less frequent lower dose chemo for a few months. There are many options out there, discuss them all with your doc and make an informed choice. Maxime is so correct. With ovca every individual is a unit unto themselves. What works for one won't work for another, so keep at it. I know you'll find something to knock those uglies out and set you up again.

Hi Artrose
The ladies who posted before me were right on target. We are each different facing the same cancer battle. I recurred 3 years after my initial chemo. After a Carbo reaction, I chose to try a clinical trial. There are many trials out there. Do you research. Ask your doctors. Between you and your physicians you will find a treatment plan that will work for you.

Hang in there.

Cindy

Hi artrose,

I'm sorry to read your news. Sadly, this happens all too often....the vast majority of OVCA patients do recur within the first 2 years, my gyn-onc says. But do not despair. You can kick this thing!

I was diagnosed in june 2004 (wow that seems like a long time ago, does'nt it?) and I have not recurred. I'm looking forward to celebrating my third cancer-free anniversary next month (only 3 years? It feels longer than that already!) . Like Karenann, I havent' done much in the way of alternate therapies to ensure my good health. I HAVE made dietary changes, but just logical, healthy-for-everyone changes. I TRY to get more exercise but fail more than I succeed at that. I no longer take my health for granted. I actually KEEP my doctor appointments now, and dont' wait if something worries me.

I think the ONE single most important thing I"ve done is get back to my religious and spiritual roots. I pray every day, thank God every night, and really do feel that a higher power is there to help me out. I also believe in the power of positive thinking and meditation and visualization. Check out Dr. Bernie Siegel's books and CDs for guidance there; I know he certainly put me in a great state of mind to beat this cancer.

Good luck to you. I know your medical team will come up with an awesome kick_butt plan for you.
xoxo
k9

I just wanted to reply to your alternative question. My mother in law (stage 3C ovca) went to my integrative doctor and while he put her on many vitamins, the big thing was fish oil. He has her on 4 tablespoons of the stuff a day.

This guy was the head of Ohio State University Family medicine and got interested in alternative/integrative medicine. He now heads Ohio State University integrative medicine. So he is no quack.

I don't necessarily think this is going to cure her but it could help and every little bit helps fighting this battle.

All the best to all of you fighting this disease. You are all in my prayers!