They don't tell me much...

[shape0fmyheart]

I'm not a nurse (nursing student starting Sept 3), but I have a question regarding my grandmom's cancer. My family doesn't tell me much, all I know is that it's classified as ovarian cancer but it's not actually a mass on her ovaries. It's lining her lower abdomen wall. I guess I'm just wondering what exactly does this mean? Is it a bad type of cancer to have? She has chemo every 3 weeks for 4 and a half hours at a time. September 9 she will find out if the chemo's working, which is scary. They say that if it is working they'll continue with it for 6 months and then do surgery, but if it's not working they'll just do surgery right away. When we first found out about this, they told her she had a 60-80% chance of beating it. My mom told me that her chance has been reduced to 20-30%. Does anyone have any experience/knowledge with this type of cancer? I'm scared and lost, I don't really know what to expect or what's going on.

[jemb]

Sorry about your grandma. We treat many patients with ovarian cancer. Both the disease and the treatment affect every person differently. A good website for you to get info on both the type of cancer and its treatments is www.cancersource.com .

[shape0fmyheart]

Thanks.. :)

[jansgalRN]

Sorry to hear about your grandma. It is important to know the stage of cancer on diagnosis. Also, whether or not her cancer has metastised can be an important factor to determine outcome. Her age and general health is a consideration for determination of treatment. For an elderly person in poor health, some chemos are unsafe-as the effects can cause more harm and ultimately result in a series of complications resulting in death.

One suggestion to you would be to talk to her. Ask her how she feels, emotionally. I'm sure she is very scared. Remember that no matter how hard we try, we can never truly understand what someone in her situation is feeling. Many patients feel isolated because of the fact that these feelings are not addressed. Many people do not allow their loved ones to talk about the possibilities of failed treatment or death for fear that they will lose hope. These feelings are very real. Much anxiety can be alleviated if we allow people to explore and express such emotions. This is very difficult, especially with people who mean so much to us. But remember, the thoughts and worries are usually on everyone's mind. It's not healthy to pretend that these feelings don't exist. Sometimes, just asking someone if they are scared opens the door for them to express their feelings openly. Most patients will protect family members in an attempt to not have them worry, so they may not bring this up. It's like the pink elephant in the room that we pretend is not there. I know this is a very difficult subject. I hope you do not find my suggestions rude or harsh, for that is not my intention. I will keep your grandma and your family in my thoughts and prayers.