In ten years, I had cancer three times. First breast cancer, then ovarian cancer, and then ovarian cancer recurrence and metastasis.
Image source: Stand Cool Helo
Sometimes cancer is predestined, but sometimes it may be a joke from heaven. Because of the mutated BRCA1 gene in my body, I experienced a blessing in disguise. In the eyes of others, I may be unlucky, but at least, I am doing well now.
One, ten years and three cancers: When ovarian cancer returns, it comes unexpectedly
All this starts from ten years ago.
In 2008, the mother, who was in good health, left because of lung cancer.
In 2009, during a shower, I stumbled upon a small hard block of my chest and I had an ominous premonition. Unfortunately, the test results were also the last thing I wanted to face – breast cancer.
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I was 49 years old, an age that couldn't go up and down.
After getting sick, I also reflected on why breast cancer did not look for others, but "looked" at me. Thinking about it, there may be some reasons:
● Work pressure I am in the world's top 500 foreign companies to do management work, usually work is very busy, the pressure is also very large. I'm a very real person myself, and if I don't do a good job, I can't sleep at night.
● Overwork In 2008, when my mother was hospitalized with lung cancer, I ran between the company, the hospital, and the home, and I couldn't put any of them down, and my body was seriously overdrawn.
● Mental blow During that time, my mother's illness and death hit me very hard, and I was often sad and couldn't help myself, hiding in the corner and secretly crying.
However, fortunately, breast cancer was found relatively early, and after a series of treatments such as mastectomy surgery, although the body was somewhat mutilated, everything was slowly on the right track.
At that time, the doctor reminded me that for breast cancer patients, the risk of ovarian cancer is higher. Both of these diseases belong to gynecological tumors. I belong to the obedient patients, according to the doctor's requirements, insist on doing cancer prevention examinations every six months.
In 2013, a routine check-up made waves in my already calm life. Doing gynecological B timeout, the doctor said that there seems to be something wrong with the ovaries, a blood test, ovarian cancer tumor marker CA125 is positive, I really "hit"
Ovarian cancer is one of the three common malignant tumors in gynecology, and due to the lack of characteristic early symptoms and effective screening methods, late detection and poor prognosis of ovarian cancer are recognized features.
Before I could get frustrated, the doctor "congratulated" me, and he told me that this was stage IA ovarian cancer, an early primary cancer, and few patients could detect it so early.
Since it was early, it would be fine to remove it. After the radical surgery for ovarian cancer, I was very relaxed, thinking that this was over.
But fate seemed to be playing another joke with me.
In 2017, almost without warning, after a single examination, I was told by my doctor that ovarian cancer had returned and metastasized in places such as the spleen.
This blow came so unexpectedly, for the first time I felt the world falling apart, and the world in front of me seemed to suddenly become dark and boundless, and I couldn't see a little light.
Second, cancer knocks on the door: it turns out that there are mutant genes hidden in the body
After listening to the doctor's explanation, I learned that BRCA is a tumor suppressor gene, and once the mutation occurs, it loses its function of inhibiting tumorigenesis. There are many types of BRCA mutations, among which BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations are particularly closely related to the occurrence of breast and ovarian cancer.
In other words, because of carrying this mutant gene, I have a piece of "soil" in my body that is more likely to breed cancer than others.
In 2016, data from the first large-sample multicenter ovarian cancer patients in mainland China's BRCA mutation study showed that about 1/4 of ovarian cancer patients in mainland China had pathogenic mutations in the BRCA gene, and their risk of developing the disease was much higher than that of ordinary people.
BRCA genetic testing is especially important for ovarian cancer, breast cancer patients, and high-risk populations. The BRCA genetic test results can not only assess the risk of hereditary ovarian cancer and breast cancer in the patient's relatives, but also have clinical guidance for the treatment of ovarian cancer patients. Unfortunately, less than 60 percent of patients are aware of the test, and only 23 percent of patients and their families are actually tested.
After suffering from breast cancer, the possible causes of cancer that I reflected on myself may only be some precipitating factors, and may not be directly related.
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In retrospect, if I had detected a BRCA1 mutation at that time, I might have had a preventive resection as well. After all, what can be too big to live?
Listen to my doctors, many patients with breast and ovarian cancer have a family history. I only have one only daughter at home, so I quickly asked her to do brCA genetic testing, but fortunately, the result was negative, and I didn't inherit my "bad" genes, which was very lucky!
Third, contented and calm: "Not at all like a patient"
"You don't look like a patient at all", when I go to the hospital, people often say this to me, and I will happily say, "Yes, no one even treats me as a patient at home!" ”
What should it look like to have cancer? Crying and mourning every day, or complaining about the injustice of fate? But what's the use of that? Not only does it not help, but it also makes the family look at it and is heart-wrenching, and it may also accelerate the development of the disease.
If you come here, you need to have a good attitude. Don't live every day like a thin ice, and don't be completely inappropriate, under the premise of taking it seriously and treating it well, what to do.
Some patients told me that as long as they take good care of themselves, they don't have to worry about anything else. But I'm not, I'm in charge of the whole family except for myself.
In addition to the time of chemotherapy, I had to play paclitaxel combined with platinum every day, and it was very difficult to do the treatment of the whole body, and other times I insisted on buying vegetables to cook and do housework, which was still my business. The family also said that they did not usually treat me as a patient, so it was best, and it could not be said that I was sick and stirred up the whole family.
I, as a person, am quite optimistic on the whole, but the recurrence of ovarian cancer detected in 2017 was really unexpected, and it was also very desperate at the time. For a moment, I felt that this time was really coming to the end, thinking of hurrying to make a will, I was usually used to doing a lot of things at home, and I had to arrange all kinds of things in advance, so that I could go with peace of mind.
However, when I went to the hospital outpatient clinic to see, there were more people who had cancer recurrences, and some people had 2 or 3 recurrences, or even 5 or 6 times, and they were not alive and well. I suddenly felt enlightened, relapse will recur, there is nothing to be afraid of. Everything has two sides, depending on what you think.
There's a saying, "Who knows which will arrive first tomorrow or the accident?" "One of my classmates, who is usually in good health, suddenly had a heart attack a while ago and left without even leaving a word for his family. There are also people who are young, suddenly encounter a car accident, air crash, or earthquake, walk so unexpectedly, so hastily, and who to reason with?
In comparison, I think I'm lucky. Although ovarian cancer has returned, I am still alive and well, and there are still drugs to treat. Because of the genetic testing, I was able to carry out more accurate new targeted drug therapy. A while ago, the recurrent tumor was reduced from 4 cm to 1 cm, and the drug really worked!
At the age of 58, it's a good time to enjoy a relaxed retirement, and my family has recently added a cute granddaughter, and I am very happy and content every day.
In fact, sometimes it is inevitable to worry about how long you can live. But many things are unpredictable, so why should I be embarrassed by doctors?
Enjoying every day in the present is far more important than fearing the unknown future. At least, you're not alone.
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