M.J.: 2008, A.G.E. 63   

My sister, with a positive HPV Type test history, had a gallbladder attack in December and also noticed swelling in one leg and frequent urination. She had another attack in January, which forced her to go to the doctor. After a CC.A.T. scan showed gallstones, the surgeon scheduled her for laparoscopic surgery the next day to remove her gallbladder. A Ca125 lab blood test would have been valuable in MM.J.’scare. Because when the surgeon started the surgery, her levels kept dropping, so they decided they better open her up. She had a tumour on her ovary and fluid in her abdomen.

The reference section, gallbladder, ovaries, and the rest of the uterus are expelled, and a colostomy is made since the stomach is joined to the colon. The surgery lasted almost 7 hours and 30 minutes, and they both nearly misplaced it. She went through two weeks in a nursing home. After encouraging her cancer it was classified as arranged Ic since it did not influence her lungs.

She had to begin with a circular of six medications on April 3rd. My sister is so tired that she sometimes passes out, but other than that, she didn’t do anything off-base. Her colostomy caused numerous complications, but the specialist says she can recoup after the surgery. About five years back, after a flawed HPV Pap smear, her gynaecologist exchanged her for a hysterectomy. Although most of her uterus was evacuated, she said she seemed not to get to her ovaries. They were stowing away.

UPDATE:

This is an update to my original posting on 3/12/08 related to my sister’s diagnosis and treatment.

I am happy to report that she completed chemo in June. She had surgery last week to reverse her colostomy and check for further cancer. They did a wash of her abdomen che, checked the fluid, and also some lymph nodes and the HPV Variant. They checked those, and everything returned negative, so they considered her in remission. The colostomy reversal also went fine, and for the first time in nine months, she feels great and has no scheduled surgeries, CA125 treatments shortly.

We are, of course, hoping for the best.

Best of luck to all of you.

JUVENTINA: 2008, AGE 61 

My mother, at the age of 61, had an HPV Viral infection Test and was diagnosed with Stage 4 Ovarian Cancer. It was one of the saddest days of my life. It was just one month short of my parent’s 40th wedding anniversary. Instead of making plans for their party, the CA125 Lab Tests changed our family, and we started preparing ourselves for the intensive chemo treatments my mother would receive. My mother had two surgeries in less than a year to remove as much cancer as they could. In 3 months, she went from 150 pounds to 90 pounds and had no hair.

Through it all, my mother has a positive outlook on life and rarely spends days in bed. She continued with her work in the garden and feeding her precious birds. My father was also sick, and even through her HPV treatments, she took care of him, too. My mother often said, “This disease is not going to run my life”. It’s been a year and 10 months since her diagnosis; she has gained some weight, and her hair has grown back.

Today, she continues to receive weekly chemo through a pill. Still, unfortunately, my father passed away on 1/22/08 from a massive stroke, and my mother’s CA125 Tumour Marker Test levels have recently risen to 180. She had a dream about my father the other night, and he told her, “This disease will only make you stronger, and you must tell more people about it”. My mother is asking all of you to share her strength and knowledge of the disease with other people in hopes of one day finding a cure for our daughters, mothers, sisters, aunts, grandmothers and friends. God Bless all of you!

CLAUDIA: 2008, AA.G.E.E. 55 

Claudia Walker

I was diagnosed with BC in Metz in 1991 and underwent a modified radical mastectomy, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. As a single mother at the time, it was very difficult for me to cope with my illness, but I survived. My youngest is fifteen. I had a thorough check-up for breast cancer. I was getting yearly endometrial biopsies due to thickening caused by my use of Tamoxifen. In 2005, I had extreme abdominal pain after doing yard work and thought I had a hernia. A CT showed OC, and I had a Sub Total Abd HysB.S.O..S.O./OmentB.S.O.omy with a huge number of cells in the washings.

I was HPV Virus and cancer-free for 18 months. Post chemo with Carbo/Taxol. My Ca125 started climbing in May 2007, C.T.ut C.T. was clC.T.r. By August 2007, a tumour growing on the dome of my liver penetrated my diaphragm. I am not a surgical candidate for this recurrence. I live in a small town and have chosen to go to a university medical centre for treatment. This and other factors delayed my treatment, so I am just starting on my first chemo drug, Doxil, on Feb.8 2008.

JOHNA: 2008, AGE 20 

Hello. My name is Johna, and I’m 20 years old.

In July 2007, I started having severe abdominal pain on both sides of my lower abdomen. Because I ate organic food, I was not allowed to eat in Iraq (I was currently serving in the Marine Corps). I went to the emergency room, and they admitted me and told me I had salpingitis. They gave me medicine and told me that everything would be better now. No, not that many.

From the end of August until now, I’ve had over 3U.T.I.sIs, and I’m still in pain (the sting is twice as painful; I can’t move!). I finally had enough and asked to see a gynaecologist. He did some exams and was amazed at how painful I was, all the urinary infections I was having, and I was in so much pain when he moved my stomach and did an HPV pap test.

I found out today that my HPV pap smear was abnormal and that I have low-grade s.i.l. The doctors mentioned I have a year for it to “heal itself” before they have to do treatments on me. I’m just wondering if these severe stomach pains that I’ve been in aren’t because of this and because the Navy docs never did any Ca125 Home checkups on me; they never showed up. If anybody could please give me some info on S.I.L.L..L or anything like that, please do.

Semper Fi,

Johna