@charli7 Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect and to our Gynecological Cancers Support Group. While we wait for others to respond I'd like to share my thoughts and feelings about being constantly worried.

If you choose to read through other Discussions in our support group you will see that many of us (dare I say most of us) have that state of worry that you mention. My diagnosis of endometrial cancer was in 2019 and then a recurrence in 2021. It took me awhile to address those worries, observe them, and see them less often as time went on. I still worry and I accept that my worry may never completely go away. I'm still going to follow-up surveillance appointments every 6 months and it's shortly before and during those times that my anxiety increases. What will be found? What will the CT show? Why can't I live day-to-day and enjoy my life just as you note.

The diagnosis of Stage 3c high grade serous epithelial and the genetic markers that are not treatable is something you likely never thought about prior to your diagnosis? I know I didn't think about a cancer diagnosis prior to my own. We now are in the midst of adjusting our thoughts and views of ourselves. How do we do this? I pulled out the coping skills I've developed over the years to get through periods of anxiety and depression. These include going for walks, going to the gym, wandering around my favorite places to look at birds, breathing practices, looking at the sky and trees while I did the breathing exercises. These work for a little while and then if the worry pops back I do it all again.

Do you have a therapist you work with? If no, would you like to ask your oncologist for a referral to a therapist, usually a social worker, in the oncology department who you can talk with?

@charli7
I had mvasi (avastin) every 3 weeks for a year. I'm interested in your oncologist's opinion why Avastin is risky. Can you share.

@charli7 I was stage 3c hgsc primary peritoneal cancer, a relative of ovarian and epithelial cancer. Like you, I have no positive genetic markers that help with treatment, but do not despair. More treatments and therapies are coming online for us each day in the event of relapse. One recently approved by the FDA involves a combination of Avastin, Keytruda and low-dose cyclophosphamide. I have been on this regimen for nearly a year with no significant side effects and very good success. I originally said I wouldn’t consider something like Avastin if it would only buy me a few months. But I have reconsidered and now I think that may buy me time until an effective treatment becomes available. Moreover, you need to remember that the numbers thrown out are just averages and some people do significantly better than average. So I am willing to try these things and see if they work. As one of my nieces said to me, “If they work for some people, why can’t it be you?” Do your best to manage your stress, whatever that takes, and live your life. Hopefully, we will both benefit from the many treatments in the pipeline.