Interview OV22

Age at interview: 59

Age at diagnosis: 58

Brief Outline: Ovarian cancer diagnosed in 2002 after finding a lump in her abdomen. Treated by surgical removal of ovaries and womb followed by chemotherapy.

Background: Sales office supervisor, married, one adult child.

Describes side effects and explains how the steroids she was given to help with chemotherapy prevented her from sleeping.

The side effects were very strange. The actual day to day process when the chemo went in was nothing that you couldn't cope with, it just made you feel that you were on another planet. But I felt that if you just sat quietly, just watched the television then you could overcome it. The amazing thing was though, the first day that you had it done, you went on a high. I couldn't sleep that night so I used to come downstairs and I used to watch television all night. Because they put steroids in you, you see, and they make you quite high, don't they? And I just couldn't sleep so rather than keep my husband awake all night I just used to come down here with a sleeping bag and watch the television and then sleep during the day.  

But when I'd actually finished all the chemotherapy then some of the after effects start to come out. Like you notice your nails are not so strong, the toe nails are very ridged, I'm told, with the different sessions that you take. And you get these sorts of aches and these pains which feels like a flu. But I used to take painkillers and it just used to go. I mean it takes about 6 months for that to pass and I mean, now I don't have that any more, I'm more or less back to normal, apart from the weight and a little bit of tingling in the toes and the hands. I must admit I feel quite good and I'm back to normal.
 

Followed a recommendation to take ginger in various forms to reduce nausea caused by chemotherapy.

I had a little bit of sickness. But here again, you see, I remembered that we went on a boat one year, we went on a cruise and I got seasick and this woman said to me, who I met on this cruise, she said to me 'you know what' she said 'if you suffer from sickness the best thing that you can take is ginger'. And hence I've started to take a lot of ginger and I started to drink ginger and lemon. And I found that by taking ginger and drinking ginger wine on those days when I did feel sick, it did help, although a couple of times I was sick. But nothing that I couldn't cope with, it wasn't sort of a genuine regular thing, it was only now and again. But I did take a lot of ginger and that really, really helped. I used to buy bags of this crystallised ginger, it was great and that used to keep the, you know, the sickness away.

Feared that her husband would no longer find her attractive because of her operation scar, but he was supportive.

My biggest fear was when I first came out of hospital with this terrible scar, you know, I thought to myself, you know, 'it's awful', it was dreadful, 'how will he ever want me again?' You know what I mean? But he's been very understanding, my husband, whereas a lot of husbands wouldn't be and it has not bothered him at all. You know, he said 'as long as you're all right and you're still with us, I'm not worried'. He said 'I just want you to get yourself better.'  
 

She never doubted that she would get over the cancer.

But, you know, I would never give in to it, I mean I would fight it. I mean as far as I'm concerned, my attitude is you've been diagnosed, you've had the operation, you've had the treatment and you'll get over it. And that's the way I'm looking at it. I just think positive about it. I've never, ever had a negative thought in my mind about that I wouldn't get over this. I've always been a very positive person and I intend to enjoy, you know, as I say, every day as it comes.

When she no longer had cancer she wanted to put the experience behind her and return to normal life.

But one thing that I did do while I was going through all this, I found it a great benefit of going back to work. I had a very understanding company and whilst I was going through the chemo they allowed me to go back into work on the good days and by doing that it allowed me to throw myself back into the job so that I could get back to some sort of normality. I mean some people say, oh they look at life differently in as much that they want to be with people that they love, but I'd never ever felt in my mind that things were going to be any different. I had ovarian cancer, I've had the operation, I've had the treatment and as far as I'm concerned, that is the end of it. And I've tried to get my life back into that sort of normality. And by doing that and enjoying my family it's as if nothing has really happened. I mean, the 10 months that I've had with the 2 major operations has been the most harrowing of my life and I've now tried to push that to the back of my mind.  

Had not been to a self-help group because she wanted to live her life as normally as possible.

Have you been in touch with any support groups at all?

I haven't.  I've been, I went to Cancerbackup and I got all the literature there, but I felt that I didn't want it to, I really didn't want it to play the most important thing in my life. I have got friends that have had cancer and are clear now and in remission, I keep in touch with them. And apart from yourselves, I haven't been in touch with any support groups at all. One, because I felt that my way of overcoming it and putting it to the back of my mind was to steer clear of too much of that, and I didn't want to get too involved with it because of my husband. I mean we said that we just want to get our life back to as normal as possible. Had I been in perhaps a worse situation, then I might have felt differently about that. 

But I think you will find that most people that have had cancer and that are getting over it try to put it at the back of their mind and just look at it as a part of their life that they've overcome and just want to push it to one side. And that's what I feel that I want to do now. I just want to get on with my life, get this out the way, get on with my life and get it as back to normality as I can.