Best friend's wedding is in 2 weeks and she just found out her mom has ovarian cancer

I'm coming on this WAY too late with a two-week window, but gosh! I almost would move the ceremony part to mom - do it super small with just the witnesses and immediate family and the flowers and all, and then do it again at the church or whatever location the wedding was originally taking place. Mom can see it all, be part of it, and the rest of the wedding can still also continue. I think the webcam idea is a good one, too.

Support - focus on the positive news that it would likely be all removed with the hysterectomy. I hope all turns out well!

Thanks! I really like that idea of moving the ceremony part to mom! Thankfully, the oncologist said the surgery can safely wait until after the wedding and it's scheduled for the 7th (wedding on the 4th). We also learned that it's endometrial cancer, not ovarian cancer. I'm not as familiar with endometrial cancer so I definitely have some reading up to do!

oh, I'm glad she can be there! I started envisioning the hospital chapel set up for a wedding and Mom there in a wheel chair and it's all  over in ten minutes. :)

Hi Lisa,

please know that ovarian cancer can be beat!!! I was diganosed in April 2007 with ovarian cancer, stage 3. I recieved 4 rounds of chemo before having a radical hysterectomy. After Surgery I had two more rounds of chemo. I'm cancer free to this day and pray for it to continue. Lots of pray got me through, with lots of family support. What is your Mom's stage? Know that stage 4 is the worst. I sure hope all goes well for her. Family suppoirt and pray. God and doctors can heal her. Keep your faith.

Alice 55

Thanks for sharing your story, Alice! I was SO glad to read that you are now cancer-free, that is fantastic!! I will definitely keep you in my thoughts and prayers that you stay that way!

My friend's mom's surgery was moved back until today so I'm waiting to hear how it went. They are going to take a couple of lymph nodes out during the surgery too to see if the cancer has spread. We are hoping it hasn't!

Lisa

If your Mother's friend is still young and she proofs to be a good candidate for a hysterectomy then her chances are higher for survial. In my Mother's case unfortunately is different she's eighty one years old her cervical cancer has mestisize and due to her advance age she's not a good candidate for surgery. I pray your friend's surgery went well and that she will be able to attend her daughter's wedding.

Take care & God Bless

Betty

Hi Alice,

I want to tell you Thank God that you are fortunate to be cancer free from (ovarian cancer 07).

Unfortunately my Mother has not been as lucky she has ovarian cancer for almost two years, she's eighty-one years old and is on the third different round of chemo more agressive since her tumors have mestisized in her abdominal area. She's not a good candidate for a hysterectomy due to her advance age and cancer stage. Four years ago she had gone for a yearly gyno check up and she was told she had a fibroid in her uterus and she put it aside and never told me about it and look what happen should she had taken care of it then maybe she wouldn't be in the situation she's in today.

I advise all women eighteen plus to go for their yearly gynocological exam is better to be safe than sorry.

Take care & Wishing you many Blessings.

Betty

At age 61, I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, stage4C. Within hours, my ovaries, uterus, omentum, gall bladder and part of my spleen were removed. I went through the grueling months of chemo, including carboplatin. Many complications, numerous hospital stays, side effects I wasn't warned to expect, and lots of questions unanswered, all added up to a most confusing year. The most important thing I would say to someone just beginning that journey is this: You are the leader of your own survival team. You are the only person who is there 24/7, and the one from whom all others must gather information to give you the best outcome possible. It sometimes feels odd to women to focus so much on ourselves, and difficult to ask for help. We are usually in the role of giving help. But cancer is a great equalizer, and opens areas we never knew we had. Don't deny those who love you the opportunity to reverse roles, and take the lead if they don't. Most people want to help, but many don't know how to begin. Start small, ask for a glass of juice or help getting out of bed. You will probably be pleasantly surprised. After 7 years of remission, during which I had varying degrees of fog, fatigue, insomnia, neuropathy of several types and areas, and during which I had seen improvement in most areas, my labs showed that the cancer was active again. Remember, ovarian is considered incurable, and the magic five year point means nothing to us. But to survive, even thrive, after that 4C factor, is a triumph. In those years, new drugs were developed, even the treatment cycles changed, and it was a new experience for me. But, whoa! I had a terrible reaction to carboplatin, a life-threatening one, on the first treatment. Adjustments have been made, I'm bald again, and after 7 months my labs indicate I am once again in remission. I just turned 70! I live alone, far from my children, and must drive over 60 miles one way to get treatment (two weeks on, one off), I fear another recurrence, still have to get treatments at least through this year and wonder if that will make it more likely I will have a reaction in the future. But I watch my antioxidant-focused diet, sleep anytime I feel like it, listen to my body and realize how lucky I am. In the treatment center, I visit with people with more disorders than I ever heard of before. They often seem like family. I'm trying hard to keep from turning every conversation to my complaints, or my victories. I share gardening info with some, plants with a nurse, banter with my doctor, recipes with one sweet man. Life after CA can be rewarding. I believe my chance of surviving another 10 or 15 years is greatly influenced by my overall appreciation of life every day. I'm so tired, it amazes me that I've written this, and after a long walk in the woods at that! One big point I would like to touch is how individual each of us is, and how differently we experience our fates. I feel less like a sissy after reading your comments, and I hope all of you remember to be kind to your mind and body. This isn't sissy stuff, it's noble suffering for the cause!

May all be blessed!!!!Prayers are with you all!!!!

IN 2002 I LOST MY BEST FRIEND MY BIG SISTER TO OVARIAN CANCER. SHE WAS ONLY 54 YRS YOUNG. SHE WAS AT STAGE FOUR WHEN THEY DISCOVERED IT, SHE WENT THROUGH LOTS OF CHEMO AND LOSING HER HAIR QUITE A FEW TIMES BUT SHE FOUGHT VERY HARD EVEN TO THE END OF HER LIFE JUNE 4TH 2002. SHE WENT IN PEACE KNOWING EVERYONE WOULD BE ALRIGHT HER CHILDREN AND HER SIBLINGS. I DON'T KNOW WHERE SHE GOT ALL THAT COURAGE BUT IT WAS THERE, I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO PROUD OF MY SISTER AS I WAS THEN. BE AWARE ALL MY LADY FRIENDS THERE IS A SILENT WHISPERING MONSTER OUT THERE, KNOW YOUR BODY AND LISTEN.

Dear Agrace, You are amazing. I hope you see another ten years too. God bless you in every way!

I don't feel amazing, just a little surprised. The amazing ones are my family and the oncology nurses. But I feel humbled to be alive this Mother's Day, especially after some rocky weeks earlier this year. It seems there's no end to the things that can go wrong, yet in February, once again I left a hospital bed that no one ever expected me to leave alive, and this week I pulled some weeds and prepared to plant a second crop of wildflowers after the earliest ones have become weedy. I have been told I can only have a total of nine treatments in a lifetime of the chemo I'm on now, and labs don't indicate I'm in remission. I feel improved, my belly has lost over half of the bloat, my hair is coming back. What a tease this disease is. Still, when I hear someone has ovarian cancer and has no hope, I feel it's my duty to get to them and keep them from buying that. It's simply impossible to say anyone has no chance. If the will to live is there and the doctors don't give up, there is still a chance. Any tiny chance is hope, so we need to nurture it and believe in miracles. People who tell me I am amazing fuel my hope, so thank you! It helps me to encourage others. I can't see this situation from outside myself, and might focus on the negative, but kind words remind me that it has been a series of miracles, and the wonderful surprise of meeting people who are good. My cynical nature just can't prevail in this atmosphere. Happy Mother's Day, and many more. In February I prayed to live long enough to see the wildflowers once more; it's a glorious day for many reasons. I wish I could hug every woman who is on this journey with me. Let's fight, ladies!

There was this e-mail I read about the use of asparagus to cure cancer. It says something about boiling the asparagus, blending it (using a blender) and taking 2 or 3 tablespoonful every morning and evening for about 3 months or so. Asparagus is a vegetable, so I don't think this would hurt any. One can even use it for prevention. The e-mail apart, I've noticed that when I eat asparagus my urine smells like penincilin, making me think the asparagus must have some medicinal properties.

I haven't heard about this, but will do some research. So many myths turn out to be just that, but even one good one is worth checking on all of them because you really never know. I never thought of that smell as being like anything but asparagus, but it definitely does occur, and it doesn't take much asparagus or very long to show up. Since so many of our medicines have been developed from plants, it's possible this is at least beneficial. One little word of caution: watch everything, even veggies, because while they might be healthy for most people they can be bad in other cases. I have cut my salad green consumption way back because I have blood clots and greens have vitamin K, which can cause clotting. For people with normal blood, they are still wonderful, but I was going crazy trying to regulate the clotting factors, and my labs showed wild swings. Finally I realized it was when I went on a spree and ate loads of greens that I had to adjust my medicine to get it down. Clotting has plagued me for many years, and chemo made it a critical condition. So many great salads, so little ability to have all I want and live. Thanks for sharing this, I will add it to my list of homemade testing to do.