I'm not really sure what to do.....A few
months ago my girlfriend collapsed at work
due to dehydration....When she was brought
into the hospital they found a cyst on her
ovary that turned out to cancerous. The
doctors insisted she have a complete
hyterectomy but at 29 years old...She
still wanted a chance to have children.
She ended up having surgery to remove one
side of her ovaries and we thought
everything was ok afterwards... But 2
months ago the doctors discovered a
"shadow" on her stomach lining. The
performed tests and could not figure out
what it was and were afraid to go inside
and risk infection so they decided chemo
therapy.
She is now approaching the end of her
treatment...The shadow has not moved,
shrank or grown. Her white blood cell
count is higher than it was before...She
is losing so much weight...Down to about
84 pounds...The doctors are now concerned
also that if she doesn't start adding on
pounds her organs will fail.
Jesus...I can hardly see the screen I just
can't stop crying.
Has anyone out there been through
this?....The doctors aren't giving us any
answers....They want to keep her on chemo
even though they're still not sure what
this shadow is....But it makes her
nauseous...She throws up constantly and
can't keep anything down. Does it make
sense to keep her on the chemo when it
could very well be an ulcer and the high
white blood cell count due to severe
dehydration?
I just don't have any answers and while
the doctors say "wait and see" i'm
watching the woman I love fade away.
|
princess55
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 04 Jul 2007 Posts: 16 Location: Canada
Posted: 07-04-07 22:43pm
I am sorry to hear that you and your
girlfriend are going through this very
distressing situation. I can give you a
bit of insight as to why the doctors may
be doing this. Even though they are not
sure what this shadow may be, they are
probably suggesting chemotherapy because
ovarian cancer can spread to the
peritoneal cavity (abdominal area) very
easily. So they are probably trying to
take precautions to make sure that if it
has spread there that it won't spread
further. Now this doesn't mean that they
think this shadow is cancerous: but, again
I stress that they are probably taking
precautions.
As for keeping her on chemotherapy,
ultimately the decision is up to her.
However, it is common for patients and
their loved ones to want to stop
chemotherapy because of the awful side
effects. Usually, the only time that
doctors don't recommend chemo any further
is when they think that they can't force
the cancer back into remission, and then
the cancer is deemed terminal.
As for how you are feeling, it is a normal
reaction to feel utterly helpless when
someone you love is suffering and you feel
that nothing you do is helping them. All
that you can do for her at this time is to
offer her your love and support (which it
sounds like you are already doing).
If you and your girlfriend ever feel that
the doctors are doing or recommending
things that you don't understand you
should ask them questions. People often
feel that doctors don't have the time or
get frustrated with people who question
them, but most of the time the doctors
will take the time to answer questions
that you have.
