So I was diagnosed on the 19/07 as having endocarcinoma and had my MRI on Monday. Today I received a call to say my appointment with the oncologist will be next Monday to discuss my treatment plan but was told that I will be on radiotherapy only? When I asked what stage I.had been diagnosed as I was told 3b as the cancer was pressing on one of my ureters. Is this normal just to have radiotherapy ? So scared as the survival rates don't look promising, I know they are not 100% accurate but really worried now.
i am newly diagnosed too, initially at 2b but is looking to change as I have had a worrying scan result, I was initially told raditherapy only too but then when I went to the specialist hospital they told me a combination or radiotherapy and chemo and internal trearment too so on Monday they may give you a different plan, the worry is just awful isn't it and I like you have read every survival rate and really depressed myself until I saw one study that mentioned a 90 year old lady in the analysis, I can honestly say these weeks I have struggled so badly as I imagine you have too but the ladies on here are very positive, I wish you the very best, I start my treatment soon and it's making me feel better that I have a plan and you soon will have too a I'm not In the best place yet myself but if I can help you in anyway please message me x
Who was it who rang Clare? That may make a difference to what information you were given at this point. They wouldn't be able to cure you with surgery only if it's a 3B but I would have expected you to he offered chemotherapy and brachytherapy as well. All you can do.is hold tight and wait until Monday. I suspect they will want more scans.
I had a 3B adenocarcinoma 21-years,ago..I was given a 30 per cent chance back then and I imagine it's considerably better now. Anyway, I"m still here! You can do it too.
Hey - sorry to hear about your diagnosis. I was in your position last year and diagnosed with stage 3b cervical cancer. My treatment involved chemotherapy as well as brachytherapy. I also had kidney stents in to keep my ureters open. I think this is pretty standard treatment for stage 3b cancer. I’m sure you will find out more on Monday. Good luck x
I was diagnosed last year with 3c adenocarcinoma. It was starting to spread - my PET scan showed it in my uterus, parametrium and in multiple lymph nodes including my para aortic. My tumour was huge (10.5 cm) and was pressing on my bladder. They were concerned that there could have been further microscopic spread that the scan didn’t pick up, so my treatment started with the chemo cocktail (carboplatin and taxol). After that, I had the external radiation with a complementary chemo (cisplatin) as well as brachytherapy. As part of my initial planning, I was scheduled to have 3 more cycles of the cocktail following the chemorads, and they even threw in the possibility of a hysterectomy if all of that didn’t clear me up! So when they told you that you were “only“ getting radiation, perhaps they just meant that they weren’t considering the hysterectomy or chemo cocktail for you.
If it helps your nerves, my tumour was visibly gone by about 4 weeks into my chemorads, so I didn’t need the extra chemo cocktail or surgery. Don’t be scared of the higher stage - they might treat it a little more aggressively, but they can still successfully treat it.
Where you are at now is especially scary - knowing just a little bit about what was going on was far more frightening to me than after I got to sit down with the doctors and ask my million questions. I think most people tend to calm down a little bit once the treatment starts because you feel like you are actively fighting it.
Good luck with your meeting next week and with your treatment following. It’s tough, but doable. And hopefully in a year’s time you will be back on the forum just to give someone else who has just been diagnosed a virtual hug and a little encouragement. ;)
I had chemoradiation too. I was stage 3B. Then they waited to see how I went with that before deciding whether or not brachytherapy was suitable. Best wishes with your coming treatment.
i was a stage 3b with lymph node involvement last year and like you was petfried Of the survival rates, however I’ve just had my 6 months review and all is clear, just take each day as it comes and stay positive as much as you can (I honestly believe being positive was what pulled me through) We are here to support you as best we can, most of us 3b ladies have undergone the same treatment so don’t ever feel alone.
Hi weepingwillow, thank you so much for your message. I am so sorry for your diagnosis, looks like we will be on a similar journey so keep in touch. It's been a horrible couple of weeks, the waiting is an absolute nightmare but hopefuly come Monday I may start to feel better knowing what the plan is. I've made the mistake of using Google which I know you shouldn't do but luckily I came across this page which has been a godsend. Sending you a big hug, good luck with your treatment. Love Clare xx
Thank you so much for your message, you've made me feel better, there doesn't seem to be a lot of people with 3b which I think made me feel worse. I was called by the Macmillan Nurse who advised that they had just had the MDT meeting and they had staged me at 3b and I would require radiotherapy treatment. Hopefully Monday I will have a clearer picture. Thanks for your wishes and I will keep you updated on my journey. Love Clare xx
Hi Daisy33, thank you so much for your messaage. Sorry you too were diagnsed stage 3 and hoping all is good with you now. It's all been a bit of a whirlwind over the last couple of weeks, the waiting is just so unbearable. I feel a bit of relief now I know the staging and now I just want to get the treatment started to fight this horrible disease. So glad I found this site and all you lovely ladies, it really does help knowing you are not alone. Sending a big hug, love Clare xx
I was diagnosed with 3b cervical cancer i have just finished 6 weeks of Chemo(Carboplatin and Paclitaxel) i start Radiotherapy on wednesday for 6 weeks and Chemo (Cisplatin) once every week for 6 weeks and then i go onto Brachytherapy for 38 hours, up to now (touch wood) it's been doable and i can't wait to get through this and be on my journey to recovery and hsve a bit of normality back.
P.S. Ihad stents fitted also to both my kidney's as the tumour was pressing on my ureters. The best advice i can give you is trust in your consultant and grab all the help you can get and it would be nice for you to stay in touch to support each other.X
I’ve also been diagnosed with stage 3b. It’s lovely to read that quite a few of you have done the treatment and it’s gone well! I believe I’m having chemo radiation but had a pet scan on Thursday as they said there was evidence of it in some lymph nodes. Still waiting for the results of this, which I’m hoping I will hear tomorrow. I’m also having a stent fitted as the tumor is partially blocking my ureter.
its all very scary, but I’m hoping after 3 weeks of scans, tests etc i might get an appointment with the oncologist soon to confirm the treatment plan and get started! The waiting is dreadful.
Also I feel so bad as my lovely 2 step sons lost their mother to metastatic breast cancer 4 years ago and I can hardly believe that I’ve now got cancer and myself and my partner ere desperately trying to keep it from them as I couldn’t bear them having to go through it all again.
Sorry to hear your diagnosis, it is so hard at the beginning when your'e waiting for your plan to be confirmed but as soon as you get that you will feel more focused and you will feel yes i can do this and you can, i start my Radio tomorrow everyday for 6 weeks and Chemo every week and then 2 sessions of Brachy and do you know what bring it on.
Please stay in touch and let me know how you get on and how your'e coping, we are all here for you.X
Im recently disgnosed with the same and mine is pressing on ureters to. Im supposed to have a stent but im gonna refuse after the bad stuff ive read, iam going to the toilet fine. Ive had scans and biopsy but now want to refuse any more tests and start chemo. Do you know if i can do this ? I have a lot of pain and i take pain killers daily. So scared for my children both special needs.
Hi Rachel, I was diagnosed with stage 3b over a year ago and had bilateral stents prior to chemo rads treatment.
In short, if you have capacity (can retain info, process info and make informed decisions) you can refuse any treatment you want to refuse.
However the problem is if your tumour is causing your kidneys problems by blocking ureters (mine were and I was weeing ok but scan showed fluid building up in kidneys) you may find your doctor may not want to give you the chemo. The chemo is not very kidney friendly so they need to be working well as the kidneys are needed to flush the chemo toxins out etc.
That was kind of my concern with you refusing the stent. I would say my experience is they smart a bit the first time they put them in but no problems since / no infections etc
I had stents post operatively and no problems at all. I totally agree with Susan. To add to what she said about chemo, , blocked ureters can cause kidney faiiure in the long term and you don't want to add dialysis to the mix. As Susan says you are entitled to refuse them but it might be worth finding out the actual statistics on things going wrong with stents. Anecdotal stories can be very emotive but often aren't representative of actual risk.
