Has your doctor been straightforward about your survival?

ha ha. i cannot get an answer either. stage IVB serous endometrial. doing a second opinion at mayo in a few weeks so maybe they can cast some insight. Doc said he had patients alive after 5 years with this dx but not sure how many surgeries/rounds of additional chemo they needed.

I don't ask. I'm aware that my cancer is considered incurable, and that an honest answer to that question would be "Infinitesimal. You might live a couple years while constantly on chemo if you're lucky".

Since I'm planning to keep trying treatments until either I find one that's effective or I run out of things to try, I don't think that hearing that, or trying to make a doctor say it, is helpful. You never know if there might be a new drug or if you might be a super-responder to a current drug.

I get the same answers. The truth is we don't know how long we will live. I think this is especially true with all the therapies that have been opened up to gynological cancers in the last 5 years. If you go out to PubMed you're not going to find much that has been written. That is new about the long-term survival of people who are receiving these new therapies. It just doesn't exist.

I have mixed Cirrus clear cell uterine cancer. I hit the jackpot two very rare deadly cancers all in one spot. But I have decided that my survival hinges on what I do. And I am doing everything the oncologist recommends as far as chemotherapy and maintenance. I'm also working with a holistic doctor and I have corrected so many issues within my own body just by allowing a functional /holistic doctor direct my overall health. My bet is I'm going to be the unicorn. I'm going to survive this disease. I don't care what oncologist tell me I'm doing it.

How do you like that for sassy answer? LOL

Until about a week ago I was extremely sad and depressed… I was angry all the time because of this diagnosis 6 months ago.
But now I’m feeling like I HAVE to get back to new “normal” or I’ll be wasting my precious time.
Talk to a therapist, try an uplifting “gummy” (no one’s judging here) try anything to change your attitude, take a trip! Live your life NOW! Find a partner who will encourage and participate in activities to help you to get out, do things that you are able to do . After accepting what I really could not change except my attitude, I wake up excited to get moving!
Good luck, tell friends that you need an uplift, they will respond. Walking in sunshine is very therapeutic. All my best to you.

Thank you!

I love these responses because I find myself in similar circumstances. I have stage IIIc Ovarian cancer in year three. I’ve had surgery and lots of chemo. I wake up each morning giving thanks for another day to enjoy. I travel. I give workshops. In other words I’m living my life as best I can at 81. Yes, at times I let myself have a cleansing cry. This helps. My oncologist says the same, everyone is different. I love her because she is attentive and honest. Life is a gift and I’ve had it for almost 82 years…so shut up Marcy and enjoy it! Thank you all for your responses, struggles and stories.

Same response here in year 3 of recurring high grade serous ovarian stage III b. Oncologist has been frank that I will be in treatment for however long I live but points to treatments that are newer and may be beneficial. I no longer look for a survival number and am continually surprised how it is possible to adjust to this new normal.

I have stage IIIb highgrade serous ovarian, had a total hysterectomy/debulking surgery and finished chemo last August. My oncologist just says "it's a chronic disease and it will recur, it's just a matter of how long until that happens". That's as much as she can tell me. No way around the uncertainty....

I’m up to 15 years with high grade serous ovarian cancer. How could my oncologist predicted that with a diagnosis of stage 3C? Be thankful for every day you get, and take it as an opportunity to help others rather than feeling sorry for yourself. Don’t waste a single day.

Based upon this thread it seems that no oncologist will take a guess, educated as it might be, about recurrence. Mine included. I have told my doctor that I am aware of the reality of my aggressive disease (clear cell endometrial) and we have briefly discussed the limited treatment options currently available, especially with my “bad” biomarkers. (I follow the onc-Gyn conference research). My brain says that if the cancer returns I’m dead, so I fight that fear every day, which is not always easy.

As an aside, my father had cancer and when I went with him to an appointment he asked the oncologist how long he would have to live if he did not get a recommended treatment. His oncologist said that he could not answer that, because he was not god. My father became insistent and forced the doctor to answer. He was told two years. My father survived 17 years without a recurrence and died of other causes. So maybe I - and all of us - will be this lucky. 🤞