March 27, 2009
Primary Peritoneal (Ovarian) Cancer
I have had many friends ask me to explain exactly what kind of cancer I have and I am taking this opportunity to do so. My diagnosis is Primary Peritoneal Cancer. It is a type of Ovarian cancer. It is rare and a very aggressive cancer. As you know I noticed my symptoms almost immediately and sought medical help within about 4 weeks. That doesn’t mean anything at this point. No, it does not mean that “we caught it early”. I would like to believe that, but I don’t think it is true. This is an aggressive and deadly cancer.
OK… Ovarian Cancer / Primary Peritoneal Cancer. What is that???? Ovarian Cancer is cancer of the ovaries…. easy enough. It is the same cancer that killed Gilda Radner within months because it is so difficult to diagnose. More than a year ago, I had a complete hysterectomy including removal of the ovaries (specifically so I would not get ovarian cancer). So, how can I have ovarian cancer? We wondered that, too. Here is the explanation.
The fallopian tubes, the ovaries and the peritoneum (the lining of the abdomen) are all comprised of the same type of cells. Since I no longer have my ovaries, the cancer is in my peritoneum which is the interior lining of the abdomen –not my stomach, not my intestines, the abdominal lining. I have yet to find out how they think I got it. The doctor said that the cells just started to mutate into cancerous cells.
When the fluid was drained from my abdomen two weeks ago, they ran tests on it and it showed a presence of cancer cells. Then they did a blood test. It was one of the last tests they did before I left the hospital two weeks ago. The test that is done is a CA125. It checks for the presence of cancer in these cells; specifically ovarian/peritoneal cancer cells. A normal reading is 30 or below. My initial CA125 reading was over 2,000. This will always be my “baseline CA125″. That number will tell us if I am winning the battle. The closer the CA125 gets to 30, the better the prognosis for me; not such good news if the CA125 spikes much higher. Although levels are known to be as high as 20,000 (10 times more than mine), I do not want to see my levels go up at all. In fact, I would like to see the CA125 level plummet to 1,000 by the time I have my next blood test.
I hope this helps to answer some of your questions about this rare, aggressive cancer. For more information click on these links below. The second link to ovarian cancer will give the symptoms, which are the same for both diseases. I cannot stress the importance of seeking IMMEDIATE medical help if you are experiencing any of these symptoms.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primary_peritoneal_cancer
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ovarian_cancer
Primary Peritoneal (Ovarian) Cancer said,
March 27, 2009 at 4:47 am
[...] Original post by pdxfirefly [...]
Michele LaDuke said,
March 27, 2009 at 5:47 am
Thank you for the update on your specific cancer. I was searching the internet but did not know exactly what I was looking for.
My thoughts are of those ugly cells that have invade your body. Mary-Lou’s Mom used to say (about expelling gas) that if they are not paying rent push it out! Well, these sorry cells need to be “pushed out”.
Have a great day today. I will. We are going to pick up our taxes. I just love paying the government. Actually I have lived in India and China and I think we still have the best government, warts and all.
Tootles ……Michele
Janelle Janicke said,
March 30, 2009 at 11:03 am
Hello there dear. Just want you to know that I am continuing to pray for you. Thank you so much for all the specific info re: your CA. Prayers and hugs to you.
love in Him,
Janelle Janicke