The tumours have shrunk. Is everything gone?

Adeline

I had a relapse of HPV 19 years later in tests. I think it was triggered by stress. In 2014, my father died, and six months later, my friend died of CA125 cancer in three months. I was very worried.  In 2016, I noticed some sharp, unpleasant body odour. I went to the doctor for advice, but in tests, they found no abnormalities or cancer. The annual medical examinations I underwent as a food company employee reassured me.

I looked good in the spring of 2019 and didn’t lose weight. But I began to notice that I had less strength, and after physical work, something inside me began to ache.
There was a burning pain inside. I started going to the toilet differently, and my genitals became smaller.

I thought I had intestinal problems. However, I needed to see a proctologist, but I put it off because this is a very unpleasant procedure. I made it to my annual physical at work. During the medical examination, the HPV proctologist said I had some education and quickly sent me to a gynaecologist. At the regional CA125 hospital, they sent me to an oncologist.

The cancer returned, and I had to go through the CA125 test and treatment path again. At the regional hospital, I did an ultrasound and CT scan of the pelvis and abdominal cavity and checked my stomach. They immediately told me that there were many tumours: one in the pelvis, two in the abdominal cavity, and one in the liver.

Effects of the diagnosis

I started to feel depressed: I didn’t eat, didn’t sleep, didn’t cry. I was preparing for the worst. This state lasted about a week. Then I calmed down a little, and they explained to me that I wouldn’t die tomorrow and that now there were options to fight the virus. My loved ones immediately told me not to give up; they encouraged me and assured me they would help me.

At the regional HPV oncology centre, I had a puncture and the necessary additional cancer examinations – ECG, R-graphy of the lungs, ultrasound of the mammary glands, ultrasound of the thyroid gland, FGDS, FCS. All this was free and fast. Within a week, I was prescribed chemotherapy. I refused it because I decided to undergo CA125 treatment in another city. Decided not to risk it, especially since the doctor told me: “Your situation can’t get any worse.”

I asked the oncologist for referral 057 for treatment, and they gave it to me without any problems.

A friend who had undergone treatment at the Oncology Center six months earlier played the most important role in my life. She organized my CA125 trip, took me and got me ready to fight.

Hope

I made a test appointment at the National Medical CA125 Cancer Research Centre.  My attending physician sent me for a CT scan and ultrasound of the pelvis and abdominal cavity. He had some doubts about my HPV examinations. After that, I had a puncture of formations in the abdominal cavity under ultrasound control. The reason for additional examinations was also that exams indicated that, on the one hand, the operation was going to be difficult; I could lose a lot of blood, and on the other hand, my tumours did not respond well to chemotherapy. Usually screenings could be done for free, but the wait was one to three weeks. I was in a hurry, so I did a CT and MRI, and something else at home, for a fee.

What should you do if you don’t have money? Do not rush. I took many paid examinations just because I wanted to, and I thought it would be faster this way.

But I didn’t want to know anything about the disease, so I didn’t look for information online. I completely trusted my doctor. As a specialist, he immediately inspired confidence in me. I talked to people in queues and encountered only individuals committed to recovery, positivity, and understanding that not everything was so bad.

I forbade my loved ones from approaching me with sour faces. She told the girls, her friends: “If you don’t smile, you don’t have to come to me.” My close friends supported me the most. In the first stage, my doctor friend and her doctor husband from our local hospital took charge. They took me through all the doctors.

Chemotherapy

The doctors decided to start my treatment with 8 courses of chemotherapy. I started chemotherapy a month after my diagnosis. Completed eight courses. I went to a doctor for chemotherapy. She was also very supportive of me. I thought I was in a sanatorium and not in a hospital.

All chemistry and all drugs were free. I only bought antiemetic medicine. The first week, I was weak and nauseous; I didn’t eat anything, and then the side effects went away. I felt fine for two weeks. During chemo, it was easier for me mentally than for many patients. I had an example and understood that in a month, I would lose my hair, and in two months, I would lose my eyebrows and eyelashes. I was ready for this.

After three courses, I did an ultrasound of the pelvis and abdominal cavity and took blood tests, gastric FGS, and colonoscopy. I had a good result. The cancer tumours have shrunk, and even one is gone. The mood was wonderful.

In the capital, the help is of better quality; the attitude is different. Before my eyes was the example of my friend with breast cancer, who was undergoing chemotherapy in the Bryansk region. I used her advice.

At work, I was very supportive during this period. I didn’t stop working. When I went to chemistry, they always let me go on vacation or at my own expense. All eight chemistry courses. I rested for a week and worked for two.

Operation

At the National Medical Research Center of Cancer, my attending physician warned me that I would need an operation to remove recurrent tumours in the pelvis and abdominal cavity.

After chemotherapy, I returned. Before the operation, I had to undergo examination again: MRI of the pelvis and abdominal cavity, ultrasound, PET-CT, colonoscopy, FGS of the stomach, and ultrasound of the heart. But Covid started, so the operation was delayed due to quarantine.

The doctor was always in touch with me. I am so grateful to him.

What changed in my HPV high-risk lifestyle after chemotherapy? I started taking care of myself. My loved ones also cared for me, but I began paying more attention to myself. Of course, there was no joy. Because all I did was get treatment.

On May 18, I was hospitalized and underwent HPV tag tests and surgery on May 20. It was very complicated; two teams of doctors operated on me for 7 hours. I had recurrent tumours removed in the pelvis, abdominal cavity, ⅔ of the liver and the right dome of the diaphragm.

After the operation, they advised me to undergo tag observation. Immediately after that, I had an ultrasound of the pelvis and abdominal cavity, and I passed the exams. I have no residual tumours.