tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2334917150876334741.post7906591786282716009..comments2024-01-23T19:14:35.600-07:00Comments on Nobody Has Ovarian Cancer: The Soft Whispers of a Fierce Blow: PTSD And Breast Cancer, Study Opens Healing DoorsServivorgirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12743865599886297295noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2334917150876334741.post-36343893236082980792013-04-20T18:20:59.661-06:002013-04-20T18:20:59.661-06:00Hello Vicki,
I am so happy for you thar the tumor ...Hello Vicki,<br />I am so happy for you thar the tumor is benign. That is just wonderful. What a relief. It also helps that you would like to help others because of this experience. Major surgery is traumatic and facing cancer is scary. Thank goodness outcome seems benign.<br /><br />Regardi<br />ng the spasms, you may want to go to Inspire.com and look further We have a wonderful support group there. Unfortunately I hear far too often that bedside treatment goes sideways. Hopefully there are no more spasms. <br /><br />I tink pain is difficult to quantify when we are fully alert, let alone after a surgery. So sorry that you had a bad experience with that kind of pain. <br /><br />Thank you for keeping me informed. Peace and please stay in touch.<br /><br />DeniseServivorgirlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12743865599886297295noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2334917150876334741.post-12282547395319127142013-04-13T23:51:42.820-06:002013-04-13T23:51:42.820-06:00Jess of jaywontfly: i am very happy that you are ...Jess of jaywontfly: i am very happy that you are in a good state of health after going through treatment for breast cancer. It IS interesting that you were wondering about the PTSD at this same time. We know what we need and collectively this gathers and finds the method to be revealed. My hope is more funding for resources to appear, so that we don't suffer in isolation or feel nutty. Hang in there and please stay in touch.<br /><br />Lucia: I would be happy to do the survey. I hope the results help contribute towards good programs. Well done for considering such an important topic. Good lucky with your schooling, but you pry don't need it. ha<br /><br />Vicki: Oh low, surgery on Monday. I am sorry my response is so late in the evening. I am very. very relieved that you are working with a gynonc. Let's be keeping our fingers crossed for excellent results for you. Ovarian Cancer is tricky and invisible. hate that, so hard to pick up early. <br /><br />Preparation, great question. If you are not living alone, it is so much easier. When you get to go home, no lifting over certain number of pounds, you may not be able to do stairs. be ready to wear nightgowns or sleeper dresses, no undies around belly...big ouch. so simple clothing, get everything up off the lower levels to counter height. Have simple things prepared, movies, reading....pace visitors. avoid sodas due to carbonation and hopefully someone can help you make protein shakes. need lots of protein and fluids. also stool softener a, miralax flax. really important... try to prepare a quiet space. I<br /><br />I was so so so blessed that family flew out to stay with me for a few weeks to help with meals, etc. I could not drive. and I needed round the clock pain killers.<br /><br />keep good notes.<br /><br />If you can, hire someone to clean. you may need help with ADL for a few weeks like showering. <br /><br />Good nutrition, positive people and people who can be with the emotions of fear, etc. I can tell you already know this, but being comfortable will go a long long way. <br /><br />inspire.com is a wonderful anonymous resource for linking up with other women who have ovarian cancer too<br /><br />ask me any other questions you won't. each person is different too, as you know. Peace and I will be praying for you Monday........<br /><br />Thank you fall for your important thoughts and for sharing your thoughts and stories.Servivorgirlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12743865599886297295noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2334917150876334741.post-54223116385155237302013-04-13T06:54:46.991-06:002013-04-13T06:54:46.991-06:00Hi,
I am new to this side of the medical arena and...Hi,<br />I am new to this side of the medical arena and thank you all for posting, I do not feel so alone. Thought I thought my appendix had burst they thought i had a kidney stone but no, I have a large ovarian tumor.I am a 52 yo nurse, my surgery is monday. Think I found a good gyn/onc guy. I am sorry for all of your pain and anxiety, I have seen it all first hand. I have always had a special interest in pain management and am hoping I can now use some of my skills to help myself. I dont have a diagnosis yet but know the odds, I am hopeful but realistic, knowing even with the best of outcomes my life is forever changed. Looking for oppurtunities to help you all as well as myself. EMDR has good reviews, but immediately you can go to one of the large bookstores and get guided imagery cds or an phone app to start doing some mediations, "a helpful adjunct" 2 more days till surgery <br />. Any suggestion to help me prepare?vicki leanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2334917150876334741.post-53909387107138542012013-04-12T07:32:39.871-06:002013-04-12T07:32:39.871-06:00Thank you for this post Servivorgirl. I was diagno...Thank you for this post Servivorgirl. I was diagnosed with breast cancer over a year ago and am now deemed cancer free. But now I can't keep my mind at ease, every little pain, ache, sore causes me to panic and think that the cancer has spread. Maybe they missed something? Should I have done all the scans they asked to do? Maybe they would have found more cancer? Then I start psyching myself out.<br />You actually wrote this post the same day I wrote a post on my blog wondering if there was such a thing as PSTD after receiving a breast cancer diagnosis (or any cancer diagnosis for that matter!). I am not surprised that there is a link and I am glad it is being studied.<br />Thank you again for this post and I'm sending good vibes to you always! - Jessijaywontflyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14934825704758205613noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2334917150876334741.post-4136060281597158802013-04-11T16:49:08.818-06:002013-04-11T16:49:08.818-06:00Cyndi, I am so sorry to hear that you have suffer...Cyndi, I am so sorry to hear that you have suffered so. Your journal would be a blessing for others should you share. I would be honored to be added to your blogs and look forward to reading. Peace and healing to you.<br /><br />Anonymous, Dear heart and gentle soul, you hang in there. you need much healing and peace and a chance to relieve the pain of your procedures. I also hope you take legal action against that doctor....I would never openly jump to a statement of such extremes, but he is not in the right profession. It's one thing to have an accident happen when being in the care of a medical professional and it is an entirely different matter to be abused. I pray for you, I pray for him, I pray to God that you are relieved of your pain and that your body and spirit be complete to live a life of joy.<br /><br />I pray this for all my readers, may your body and soul feel loved, feel light, feel warm and always be hopeful. <br /><br />Love,<br />Denise<br />Servivorgirlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09577591931864531122noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2334917150876334741.post-23276948875670721862013-04-11T14:24:09.835-06:002013-04-11T14:24:09.835-06:00I am a fellow ovarian cancer patient also diagnose...I am a fellow ovarian cancer patient also diagnosed at stage IIIC, and although I have no fear of death, I don't want to go yet. But it doesn't have to be a fear of dying that creates PTSD--I have developed a PTSD about medical treatments, with flashback memories that still cause panic. Some of the things that have been done in my medical care even before the cancer contributed to this, especially inadequate drugs during colonoscopies that left me with horrifying memories of waking up to severe breakthrough pain when they had everything painfully inflated and were positioning me differently and pushing in on the abdominal wall to move things to be seen by the scope as I lay there helplessly. <br /><br />My debulking surgery for the cancer was better than optimal, but 2 & 1/2 days later when 7 units of blood and 6 units of plasma couldn't keep up with bleeding losses, they went back in and stuffed me with 9 yards of surgical packing and an external pressure wrap and kept me in ICU 4 days. All well and good, but when they needed to pull it out, the doctor would not wait until the Versed was in me (2 mg was in the IV line but they had stopped the drip and forgot to turn it back on). I told him I'd gotten nothing and he didn't believe me, so he got in my face and said, "You're not aware of any of this, are you? You don't even know I'm here!" I said, "I DO know you're here, and I don't feel the slightest effect of any drug yet at all--no, please don't start yet!" He turned to my abdomen and said, "You won't remember this!" and started hauling the packing out, lifting me off the table with the pull. I yelled "NO! NO! NO!" and screamed through 2 pulls, and 2 people nearby walked out of the room, unable to take this, then they put another 2 mg Versed in the line and opened the line, so I got all 4 mg at once. After that I was "out" for a bit, but still remember being re-stapled at the end of it all a few minutes later. 6 weeks later I had a Mediport placed and told them 4 mg Versed had been inadequate for me before and please be generous as I seem to have had it often enough to have developed some tolerance to it and had developed PTSD and phobias--I barely managed to get them to give 3 mg plus a little Demerol, and I lay there in a barely controlled panic for the entire procedure, remembering everything as the nurses tried to keep me talking for distraction, because the doctor believed such a procedure shouldn't take more than that and would be over too quickly to warrant more!<br /><br />And they wonder why I panic now at the very thought of the slightest additional procedure!? Even telling about this has me in knots of tension and ready to cry. I've had 2 intestinal obstructions since then and have had to beg for something for anxiety before they put in the nasogastric (NG) tube, getting just 1 mg of Valium the first time and 2 mg the second (because I told them 1 mg hadn't been enough before), and neither time was it adequate, especially the second time with a rough nurse jamming the NG tube in. More traumatic memories and flashbacks...<br /><br />I am a veterinarian and I think it's completely unacceptable to put patients through all of this when we have so many wonderful, effective drugs to minimize the physical and emotional trauma. I do better than that for my own patients! It's even worse when the patient has developed PTSD and procedural phobias, tells the doctors and nurses, and they still don't adequately address the individual's needs. It's bad enough to have to fight cancer--we shouldn't have to fight for treatment to be more humane.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2334917150876334741.post-13772561647219602572013-04-09T16:10:40.452-06:002013-04-09T16:10:40.452-06:00Facing Cancer Together, thank you for your commen...Facing Cancer Together, thank you for your comment. It helps to know You listen. The layers unfold slowly but the encouragers are quick to reply. <br /><br />Peace, There is almost a meditative solice in the mundane, it keeps us connected to earth, to spirit. I pray you get resolve with your attacks and for a long joyful life. Thank you for sharing your feelings.<br /><br />Leslie, you are one brave angel. I really appreciate that you have enlightened me to recognize more directly the area of pain. I need to research EMDR......???. I pray for you that your faith continues to help you heal the pain. So relieved for you that over time the attacks are diminishing in strength. Thank you for sharing your story.<br /><br />Janet, you are not crazy. I am with you in spirit for a return to NED. Survivors Teaching Students is such a blessing. Sharing the elements related to PTSD is important. Over time I hope we can improve the level of psychological support for people with cancer. The. gynecological oncologists of the future are getting a unique look at ovarian cancer because of you. Thank you for telling your story. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Servivorgirlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09577591931864531122noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2334917150876334741.post-22224742576156973912013-04-09T14:18:32.905-06:002013-04-09T14:18:32.905-06:00Oh my gosh....I am doing a speach for Survivors Te...Oh my gosh....I am doing a speach for Survivors Teaching Students and I just added in my speach that I believe being diagnosed with stage III-C PPC is similar to having symptoms of PTSD.....and then I read your blog today. I'm NOT crazy! :~) <br />I'm 46 and back in treatment for recurrence too!!!!<br /><br />Stay Strong. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14233892193809218263noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2334917150876334741.post-48029519047550935212013-04-09T10:24:20.891-06:002013-04-09T10:24:20.891-06:00Hi, I just read your story, I too have PTSD, I...Hi, I just read your story, I too have PTSD, I've been battling it on and off for years... Much milder now and more manageable, breast cancer was diagnosed in Aug of 2012, Stage 4 @ the get go... I've been working with EMDR techniques more recently, I have found EMDR to be very effective, it is used a lot with soldiers coming back from war... trauma is trauma, pain is pain, my angst hits me in the solar plexus when it hits, sounds like this may be exactly where you got punched! I'm not surprised it hurts! I'm also learning some meditation and breathing techniques that help to calm mine down, episodes are rarer now and less intense...for me its been a journey of learning to TRUST...God and myself... <br /><br />Just breathing and Trusting<br /><br />wildwestLeslienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2334917150876334741.post-61518921156399469962013-04-09T09:11:39.790-06:002013-04-09T09:11:39.790-06:00Dear Survivorgirl,
I too am battling OVCA. What a...Dear Survivorgirl,<br />I too am battling OVCA. What a journey. I was originally diagnosed Ic, but have recurred twice with mets to kidney, lymph nodes and a totally saturated liver. After 3 1/2 years on various chemos am finally in remission. I understand the panic attacks. I get them occasionally with a feeling of light-headedness and the sweats, with horrible thoughts of dying, not getting to see my kids get married or my grandkids. But I'm here! I love each knew day and have a better appreciation for so many simple mundane things. Like watering my flowers, cleaning my house. <br /><br />By the way, I am the one who started the "Let's turn Facebook Teal" last year and created the many banners for that project, including the one I see on this page. That really touched my heart today and made my day. Thank you!<br /><br />We are all in this together, even though it feels like we are so alone so much of the time. Stay tough!<br />PEACEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03408966166176683628noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2334917150876334741.post-34056891874780686092013-04-09T02:13:58.609-06:002013-04-09T02:13:58.609-06:00I've heard about PTSD before, but have never r...I've heard about PTSD before, but have never read such an descriptive account. I hope this diagnosis makes the attacks more manageable, and the pain decreases. Facing Cancer Togetherhttp://www.facingcancer.canoreply@blogger.com