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capnzebbieMy sister had a hysterectomy and oophorectomy today. She has ovarian cancer. It was all so sudden, but I guess ovarian cancer usually is. There aren't any early signs of it, and there are no early screening tests for it.
My sister started having abdominal pain last Thursday and went to the doctor on Friday thinking she had a bladder infection, but the test was negative. She kept having pain and was short of breath. On Wednesday, she went back to the doctor and had a CT scan done. Her abdomen was full of fluid and there was a shadow around her ovaries. The doctor called her that afternoon and told her to check into the hospital for surgery today, Thursday.
The doctor told her last night that he was 90% sure that it was cancer, and he was right. He said after the surgery that he got 98% of it, and they're going to do chemo to get the rest. He said it was Stage Three, which is usual for ovarian cancer because Stage Two has no symptoms.
My sister is 49 years old. My grandmother on my mother's side died of metastasized ovarian cancer when she was 59 years old, about six months before I was born. My mother had everything removed after a problem pregnancy when she was 33 years old, so she never had to risk this. I'm 45 years old. These are the thoughts that have been in my head for the past twenty-four hours. I feel like I'm in a weird medical version of Numb3rs; like, if I have enough numbers, I can figure out when I'm going to die.
My sister started having abdominal pain last Thursday and went to the doctor on Friday thinking she had a bladder infection, but the test was negative. She kept having pain and was short of breath. On Wednesday, she went back to the doctor and had a CT scan done. Her abdomen was full of fluid and there was a shadow around her ovaries. The doctor called her that afternoon and told her to check into the hospital for surgery today, Thursday.
The doctor told her last night that he was 90% sure that it was cancer, and he was right. He said after the surgery that he got 98% of it, and they're going to do chemo to get the rest. He said it was Stage Three, which is usual for ovarian cancer because Stage Two has no symptoms.
My sister is 49 years old. My grandmother on my mother's side died of metastasized ovarian cancer when she was 59 years old, about six months before I was born. My mother had everything removed after a problem pregnancy when she was 33 years old, so she never had to risk this. I'm 45 years old. These are the thoughts that have been in my head for the past twenty-four hours. I feel like I'm in a weird medical version of Numb3rs; like, if I have enough numbers, I can figure out when I'm going to die.
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Date: 2005-05-12 09:24 pm (UTC)I'm worried for you. I certainly hope your sister has a complete recovery. Other than that, I don't know what to say. If you ever feel the need to vent, though, please let me know. I'll be more than happy to listen.
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Date: 2005-05-12 09:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-05-12 09:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-05-12 09:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-05-12 09:51 pm (UTC)My best wishes for a full recovery for your sister and big hugs for you. I wish I had something more helpful to say:( Just know you are in my prayers.
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Date: 2005-05-12 10:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-05-12 10:54 pm (UTC)This would inform your decision.
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Date: 2005-05-13 08:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-05-13 03:26 am (UTC)I can totally relate about the numbers thing, as I always feel like if I know enough numbers, facts, etc that something will be less scary and so I look them up and freak myself out more. I know the exact chromasomes that make up the genetic defect that runs in my family, and I know that out of nine types in that family of disorders I have the one that isn't fatal, but at the same time, not so much with the helpful. So my advice is not to look up any actuarial tables, even though that's the first thing I'd do.
I hope that your sister feels better soon, and that you get through this without calculating your life expectancy, and that you never have to go through that yourself. You're in my prayers.
no subject
Date: 2005-05-13 08:57 pm (UTC)re the genetic defect, wow! That sounds so scary. You must sometimes feel like you dodged a bullet.
And yes, no actuarial tables for me. Although I did take a "when will you die" test on the internet a couple of weeks ago. I gave the true answers first, and the age was, like, 72. Then I gave the answers that I thought sounded like healthy things to do and the age was 88. Hmmm. Maybe I should do those healthy things.
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Date: 2005-05-13 06:11 am (UTC)Annie was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 1993 at Stage 1 (just changed from pre-cancerous to cancerous cells in a tumor on her ovary). This was by accident - she was having unusual bleeding and I insisted she go get checked out. What they discovered was that the fibroid tumor on her ovary had, when they did a pathology slide(s) of it after surgery, just developed cancerous cells. She avoided chemo, because they'd already removed it all and the cancer cells were still encapsulated within the body of the benign fibroid. Thank god. But there were no other symptoms, and if I hadn't forced her to the doc, well...
You need to go get evaluated - with that strong a history in your immediate family, you may want to think about a having a total just to be on the safe side.
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Date: 2005-05-13 08:59 pm (UTC)I'm going to call my doctor on Monday to talk about some tests. She's my sister's doctor, too, so she knows whats going on.
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Date: 2005-05-13 06:12 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-05-13 09:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-05-13 08:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-05-13 09:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-05-13 10:57 am (UTC){{{hugs}}}
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Date: 2005-05-13 09:06 pm (UTC)