Ovarian Cancer Support Group

So sorry to hear about your mother-in-law. For me they knew itvwas ovarian cancer because of all the blood flow to it. I'm not sure if they can tell how long shes had it. But for mine they think it grew really fast. But she needs to talk with a doc about getting the mass removed. That will really rule out what it is or what its not. Hang in there and be strong!

Amber,
I can't believe her doctor would tell her that before surgery or staging it. They told me mine was probably cancerous due to the size, but all along my doctor's have been very optimistic and have never given me a time frame! From what I have read on here, some large masses are Stage 1, and some smaller ones are Stage 3 or 4. They really won't know until the pathology reports come back and they see how far it has spread. I'm a fairly new survivor (1 year), but there are women on here that are long term survivors. My chemo nurses told me there is a woman in their practice that is a 20 year survivor, and she is now in her 80's. EyesOnThePrize.org is a good place to go for success stories. What you need now are positive thoughts and support.

Keeping you in my thoughts and praying for a good outcome for her!
Cheryl

Hi Amber, Oh my goodness - I am appalled that a doctor would say "five years" survival to anyone! Cheryl is right. Large cysts my be far less significant than something smaller. First of all, your MIL needs to be seen by a gynecological oncologist. This is a specialist who deals with women's cancer. Survival rates go up if a woman's care is monitored by a gyne-onc. I am stage IIIC (pretty advanced stage) and have survived for almost five years despite being in and out of chemo. No one has ever given me an expiration date. Keep us posted and best wishes, Janet

I agree with the other ladies too. Not having had surgery yet it would not be reasonable to put a time frame on someone's life. I don't think it's reasonable after surgery either. Take the info one day at a time and don't look too far ahead. I definitely agree that a GYN Oncologist should perform the surgery. Good luck :)