I love Gavriil🖤

I want him to suplex me into the ground🖤

💟💟💟

Detox- Part 3

Another part to my latest Roger Taylor series which I have gained some lovely feedback for.

Taglist: @lunaticspoem @butlegendsneverdie @langdonzvoid @jennyggggrrr @luvborhap @radiob-l-a-hblah @rogertaylorsbitontheside @chlobo6 @rogertaylors-lipgloss @sj-thefan @omgitsearly @luckytrashgooprebel @scarsout @deaky-with-a-c @killer-queen-ofrhye @bluutac

Series taglist: @killerqueenbucky @the-ridge-farm-raven

Warning: Mentions of drug use.

Series masterlist

Enjoy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Please..."

Tears began to fall from Roger's eyes as his hands trembled like someone was vigorously shaking him. Both his hands were enclosing one of Brian's that he was holding very tightly to try and get his friend to agree with him but even he knew his attempts were not going to work.

The guitarist felt tears welling in his eyes as he stared down at one of his oldest friends who was in absolute agony. They had just put Roger into a coma so he didn't go through the symptoms and effects of withdrawal from heroin and yet he looked like he was being put through those symptoms right now. He was trembling, a light coat of sweat was beginning to glisten on his exposed skin and his eyes were red-rimmed. Roger had been awake for one day and he was close to breaking. He was dangling on the edge of a cliff and if no one helped him then he was going to let go and fall into the crashing waves below.

Everyone knew that Roger was not making a threat out of pain or agony, he was making a threat that he was willing to go through with because he had been lied and ignored before. If they didn't give Roger painkillers soon or treated him for his back then he was likely to do himself in. He was in a hospital and he was a biology major. He knew the tricks of the trade and when they had him in a room with medication in every draw and a crash cart by his bed, they were leaving him in a room full of goodies just asking to be tried out.

Six months of agony had left Roger vulnerable to needing an escape as soon as one became available. Which was why he was now begging for Brian to get him drugs. The doctors weren't giving him any painkillers because they needed him clean for the tests they were running. They had taken two blood samples this morning, they had done an x-ray, MRI and CT scans of his back and spinal cords.

Roger wanted any form of drugs that he could get his hands on now, he didn't care what tests they needed to do. He couldn't stay clean, he needed to be under the influence of anything, hell he would even drown himself in alcohol if it would take the pain away.

"Rog, they'll give you something soon. You've had nearly all your tests now." Brian's words were not as soothing or calming as either of them thought they were going to be. He only told Roger that he was being denied relief by everyone around him and that hurt. Roger wanted Brian to get him something or he would just ask whoever else came through the door. The drummer would call for the media and give them a story if they gave him something for the pain.

"I- I have a stash under the bathroom sink... t-there's still some in my green jacket at the studio. Or ask Robbie... Bri, please, just something to take it away." Roger leaned his head back against the pillows that were surrounding him. He had two under his back and about three under his head to try and ease the pain but he needed meds, not feathers.

He watched Brian's jaw slack at the sudden revelations but Roger couldn't find it in himself to care. He only cared about Brian either getting a doctor to help or going and grabbing something from his stash at home and bringing it back to give to him. Roger would screw up every test they did with a small dose of heroin if Brian would give it to him because he was in that much pain. But Brian couldn't do that. He couldn't ruin Roger's health and potentially kill him, he would sit by his side and make sure he didn't do anything stupid and he would chase after the doctors to make them give him something as soon as they could. But he couldn't help or encourage Roger's drug abuse anymore.

"Robbie gives you the drugs? Fucking hell, Rog. I'll call Fred and he'll get rid of the stash in your jacket because the studio can't know about that. (Y/n) will search the house and clear it out and I'll bloody kill Robbie myself."

Robbie was one of the tour managers who helped to set up the sounds and stages when they went on tour. He also hung around the studio a lot when they were making their albums. He was a good friend up until now. Brian wouldn't have him fueling Roger's addiction because if Roger had drugs again he could kill himself without meaning to, Robbie needed to know this. He shouldn't even be dealing drugs in the first place.

"No! I told you so you could get me them! I'll call Robbie if you don't-"

"Stop it." Brian snapped. Roger should have known Brian would only raid his stashes and get rid of them, he wasn't going to play along anymore. He had watched Roger get high and drunk and be pain-free due to that for too long. He was taking a stand now. "You've detoxed. If you have one small amount of heroin your body will break down because you can't tolerate it anymore. You will overdose and I am not being at fault for that Roger."

"I wish I'd died in that coma." Roger spoke slowly, punctuating every word and syllable that passed through his chapped lips as he kept the eye contact with Brian so he knew Roger wasn't having a tantrum. He was being deadly serious which was proven by the malice in his eyes and the sudden tsunami of tears flooding his face.

If Roger had passed away he wouldn't have woken up in more agony than he had been in the car crash. He wouldn't have had to sit here for hours and have every test in the book whilst being two seconds away from wanting to kill himself. He would have been put out of his misery and not left to suffer like this because everyone had let him down at one point or another. (Y/n) and the band fueled his addiction, the doctors wouldn't give him the medication he needed for his pain management and he had reverted to drugs because of that. Miami had brought this on for Roger's own good but it wasn't doing him much good right now.

Robbie had been the only one who helped in Roger's eyes because he never gave Roger enough to overdose but he kept him in supply and never asked why. He shouldn't have been dealing drugs but he had taken Roger's pain away.

"Your life may not mean anything to you but to us, you are everything."

Brian brushed the tears out of his eyes as he left the room, begging for Roger not to do anything stupid whilst he was in there alone. He couldn't let Roger die and he couldn't have Roger thinking his life was that worthless and agonising that it needed to end. Brian needed Roger in his life, he provided that stability for Brian because he was one of Brian's rocks. His world would shift and gravity would be lost if Roger died.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "I-is this the last test?" Roger spoke through gritted teeth as he tried to keep his eyes locked onto (Y/n)'s. Trying so hard to let her features captivate his attention like they normally did but the pain was overriding everything. He couldn't focus on her dazzling eyes, her button nose or her lips her even her cheekbones anymore. All he could see was the colour red swimming in front of his vision from his back.

He had a few pillows propped up behind his head as he was now laid on his side facing (Y/n). A nurse was stood behind him, peering closely as she got ready to perform a lumbar puncture. The moment she told Roger what procedure he was going to have he had wailed like a newborn. His back was shredded to pieces. His spine felt like it had been severed and dislocated in every column. His nerves were sparking like the electrical impulses were getting cut off and it was torture. Even the shredded muscles in his back felt like they were withering and dying. He could feel fragments of muscle just dropping from around his spine and withering into nothing like the fallen petal from a rose.

His back was causing him a headache and that was making him even more agitated and it was getting worse from the sobs he couldn't help but let out. They had to give him meds now or he would act out until they sedated him.

A lumbar puncture was a needle pressed straight into one of the spaces of the vertebrae in between the bones of his spine. They took the fluid in there and checked for anything abnormal or wrong but they were going straight for the affected area. They were putting a needle through the swelling skin covering his spine, straight through the bruises and into his spine that was damaged.

They'd already had to give him medication when he was in a coma and drain some of the blood that had formed beneath the skin because it could cause an infection. So his back was swollen even worse and battering away like someone was continuously hitting his spine with a baseball bat.

"I'm not sure Mr Taylor. Your doctor will be in soon to talk to you about the tests, he'll sort out your medication for you."

(Y/n) reached for Roger's hand but he batted her away, his eyes suddenly bulging from their sockets the moment he felt the tip of the needle puncture through his skin. When it hit the swelling his eyes managed to go back into their sockets so he could clamp them shut. Curling up just that little bit more as he began to shiver. When the needle pushed further, Roger groaned which ended in a choked sound as it pushed further. As soon as Roger felt the needle getting to his spine, he felt the air leaving his lungs begin to get cut up into little pieces that scratched against his already raw throat. His voicebox churned the simple air into one of the worst screams he had ever let loose which he was unsure actually tore from his own lips.

"Take it out!" Roger belted the words as if he was singing along to his favourite song in the car but his tone showed he was not singing in delight. He was screaming in torture from one of the smallest needles he had ever seen. Such a small pinprick went straight through to his spine but he would never have thought it would hurt on a level such as this.

Roger's head started to feel foggy like it was filling with water that each thought had to swim through in order to get heard. He could feel the room spinning very slowly around him in an anticlockwise direction so much so that he could almost feel the bed lifting from the floor as his head swayed.

"Take it out!" Roger repeated the words that broke off into the cry of a dying man. This shouldn't take this long, the fluid dripped straight through the needle into the vile she held and there wasn't a lot of fluid to collect. If she didn't take it out soon she would find Roger's hand reaching around to do it for her. Roger's fist bashed against the murky cream plastic of the bedframe just as the nurse started to pull the needle from his tortured skin. As soon as Roger felt the foreign instrument leaving his skin he let out the most animalistic growl that vibrated against his throat in all the wrong ways.

His hand continued to bash against the frame of the bed until his knuckles split in a feeble attempt to force his mind to focus on the fresh pain. The brain automatically focused on the newest source of pain which allowed Roger to focus on his hand instead of his back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Leaning her head back against the wall, (Y/n) glanced up to Brian and Freddie who were sharing words that her mind hadn't been interested enough to take note of. After the lumbar puncture, Roger had been sedated when he wouldn't calm down which was very understandable in his current form of pain. But something told (Y/n) that even though he was in immense agony, Roger knew that if he attacked himself like that they would have to sedate him. Either way he was only just beginning to wake up now and everyone thought it would be better to leave him be.

The doctor would be down soon enough to give Roger the results of each test he had and to finally put him on the medication he so desperately needed. But until then, (Y/n), Freddie and Brian were waiting outside so they were not at the brute end of Roger's temper.

As Brian and Freddie continued to share words that were becoming rather rowdy as if they were starting an argument, (Y/n) turned her head to the side so she wasn't watching them anymore. Her head tipping in acknowledgement as she smiled kindly at John who pointed to Roger's room before slowly heading inside. Braving the room that no one else fancied going into for the time being.

Just as Brian was about to retaliate to whatever Freddie just said, his brows furrowed as he turned to look at (Y/n).

"John?" He questioned, pointing to the room asking for confirmation that he hadn't imagined the bassist walking past them. (Y/n) nodded her head, wondering why Brian looked confused or as if he had just woken up and didn't know where he was. "What was he taking in?"

"Rog left his jacket at the studio, asked Deaky to bring it back for him. Why?" (Y/n) shrugged her shoulders as she spoke, her head pounding from lack of sleep and the trauma of the day. Roger had gone through so many tests today and each one had made him feel worse than the last. He didn't deserve any of this and yet they were putting him through it. She didn't know what any of them would do if Roger wasn't on medication by the end of the night. They would surely have to resort to desperate measures to make sure Roger wasn't tempted to do anything stupid. Especially after Brian confided in them all that Roger seemed to be feeling suicidal or on the verge of suicidal.

"Green jacket..." He muttered under his breath. He hadn't been seeing things, John had walked in there with Roger's dark green jacket which the drummer confided in Brian held some of his heroin. Roger was going to take it. 

Brian's face fell like the strings holding it together had been severed as his shoulders sank down an inch or two before he suddenly turned in the direction of Roger's room. His body suddenly beginning to run, his feet slipping on the newly polished floor as Freddie and (Y/n) scrambled to follow him. Both unsure what he was doing or what was happening.

"He's got heroin in that jacket!"

Roger was going to overdose.

Dreamwidth Update: Jola Update

So, Back in November - on Woolfenoot, to be precise - I noticed that my dog, Jola, had developed what seemed to be a large swelling on her right chest. I took her to the emergency vet, thinking she'd hurt herself some how and was just swollen, or that it was a fluid edema, or something. It was not. At my home vet, they did a fine needle aspiration, then a real punch biopsy, and blood tests, none of which were at all conclusive. They did radiography, x-rays to start, where they thought it was maybe her heart (though I am still not clear why they were looking there...), and then a CT scan which showed the large mass to probably be a sarcoma. Well encapsulated towards her head, but with "stranding" where it led further back towards her tail. They didn't see any metastasizing in her lungs at least. The differential diagnosis from the CT scan, from the radiologist was a sarcoma. Today I went to the Animal Cancer Center at the University of Guelph to meet with member of their oncology team, to talk about where we are, what is left to learn, and options on where to go next. Thy think it is probably a sarcoma, but can't confirm that without further tests - specifically it would require another histology test from a biopsy taken with ultrasound (to make sure they are getting a good sample) to determine what kind/level of aggressiveness. They would also want to do an ultrasound of her abdomen to make sure that she doesn't have another issue already that would make treatment of this mass pointless. I think the CT scan actually covers all the area they'd want to look at, but they hadn't received it before the appointment because of some communication issues with my vet (they don't have the CT, they don't have the software to look at it, so they sent the Cancer Clinic to the radiology peeps). I actually have the CT scan, because we have the MicroCT at work (at least physically) and very definitely do have the software to look at DICOM stacks, so I have some images, and was able to show them to the resident on my phone at least. I am not going to pay $1300 for radiography and not insist on a copy :p Anyway. Those tests (plus a urine tests to make sure her kidneys are okay for NSAIDS) are the very next steps they would do, to identify the sarcoma, and then it would be surgery, and then a regimen of radiation therapy. All of this would need to happen at Guelph. It would be a major surgery and she might lose her leg. She would have to be sedate for every treatment, and complications could arise from it and she would be very sick, and it would have to cover a large area. I would have to take time away from work to get someone else to drive me and her to a city an hour and a half away for each treatment and test. And then at best she'd go into remission, Oh and also it would run around $10,000 for the surgery and radiation. One without the other would not be effective - without radiation it would come back, and considering how quickly it has grown this time, it could happen very quickly, and she would have gone through a very complicated major surgery for nothing. So, I am not doing any of that. I decided that at this point, I will do my best to manage her quality of life. I will keep her on pain killers (and do the urine test to see if I can add NSAIDS to the mix), and be careful with her, and monitor her behaviour and activities and general health to try and track her quality of life as best I can, until I feel like she is suffering too much. I think this is the right decision, I think I have done everything within reason and possibly beyond, but I'm still really really upset. She's 11, which is and isn't old for a dog her size. She'd been very healthy all of her life. She's still eating and everything else about as well as she ever has, she's still a complete and utter sweetheart. I love her very much. I bought her a very big bone when we got back to town. ( CT scan images under the cut )

comments Comment? http://bit.ly/2FYHk07

Ovarian Cancer: More Deadly Than Breast Cancer

A few years ago I was asked if I knew what the most deadly gynecologic cancer was and I answered “Well, breast cancer of course.” Oh, how I was wrong. The American Cancer Society estimates that the average five year survival rate of breast cancer at any stage to actually be 89 percent. While no cancer is good that’s a pretty good rate. The correct answer to the question is ovarian cancer, and its five year survival rate (estimated by the American cancer society) is only 46 percent. We need to find out why this cancer is so deadly.

Cancer is a dangerous and mysterious thing to people that don’t know much about it. Well, everyone is made up of cells, cells are what make up tissue and tissue is what makes up our organs. Normally when a cell gets old and tired it dies just like we do and a new cell takes its place. Our body produces these new cells by growing and dividing healthy cells. Sometimes our body overproduces cells and this is when tumors (mass of tissue) are formed. These tumors aren’t always cancer; when they are not they are called benign tumors. When they are cancer they are call malignant; these are the ones that can be life-threatening. Both types of tumors can be removed but the cancerous ones are more likely to grow back and only they also can spread to different parts of your body. When this happens the cancer cells are breaking away from the original tumor and entering the blood stream to use it like a highway to travel around your body. When the cancer cells spread like this it’s called metastasis and the cancer can start to go new tumors. If these cells reach any of your organs and start to go new tumors and this is when damage can be done.

They call it ovarian cancer because the tumor first starts at the ovaries and is made up of over productive ovarian cells. The ovaries are part of the women’s reproductive system and are attached to the uterus by the fallopian tubes. When a malignant tumor starts to grow these areas can also be affected because of their close proximity to the ovaries. When this tumor starts to shed cancer cells the cells typically go to the abdomen first because it’s closest to where the reproductive system is located. Then as I said before the cancerous cells can start to affect your lymph nodes and enter your blood stream to travel to different organs.

Ovarian cancer is so deadly because it’s very hard to detect. Every year more than 14,600 women die from ovarian cancer in the United States. This may not seem like a lot when you think of all the billion people that live here but when about 20,000 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer each year that number seems like a lot. So this means that on average 7 out of 10 women will die from this disease and this is all because it is so hard to detect. In order to detect it you have to know what the symptoms are. The most common symptoms are pain in the abdomen, pelvis, back or legs because of where the cancer is located in your body. You can also have a swollen or bloated abdomen because it can fill up with fluids. You will also feel very tired all the time and would have some nausea, indigestion, gas, constipation, or even diarrhea. Some less common symptoms would be shortness of breath, the urge to urinate often, and unusual vaginal bleeding. Now these are pretty general symptoms and many other disease or illnesses can cause them and that’s why it’s so hard to detect because ovarian cancer is not typical the very first thing we think of when we have one or more of these symptoms.

Most women would think if there was a problem that it would show up on their Pap test which is a once yearly screening that women get from their doctor. However, a Pap test is only screening for cervical cancer and it cannot be used to diagnose ovarian cancer. When women do go in to your doctor for the Pap test he or she should be doing a pelvic exam as well, during this they will feel your ovaries and organs in close proximity for any lumps or changes in shape and/or size. More often than not the doctors will not be able to feel a tumor until they are a substantial size. This is why we look to other testing as well as the pelvic exam to diagnose this cancer. If women who have abdominal bloating or pain and would go to the doctor, they may check your abdomen for fluid buildup. If they some find some a sample can be taken to test for ovarian cancer cells as part of the diagnoses. There is also blood testing where your doctor would check your CA-125 level to see if it is high. The CA-125 is a substance that is found on the surface of the ovarian cancer cells but also on some normal tissue, this is why a high level might indicate cancer. Unfortunately this test cannot be used as the only test for diagnosing ovarian cancer. It is mainly used for monitoring a woman that has already been diagnosed and is going through treatment or as an early detection for the return of cancer after treatment has been completed. The next way to get diagnosed is by having an ultrasound done. There are two different types of ultrasounds that can be done; the first is the less invasive of the two. This is where they take the ultrasound device and press it up against your abdomen and the sound waves that it produces bounce off the organs to produce a picture for us to see. By using this they would be able to get a picture of the ovaries to see if there was a tumor or any abnormalities. The second type of ultrasound they can do is a transvaginal ultrasound and it does the same things as the regular one however this device is inserted into the vagina for a much better view of the ovaries. The last test to help diagnose this cancer is a biopsy. They will only do a biopsy if blood test and one of the ultrasounds have indicated that there may be a tumor. A biopsy is when they take a sample of tissue or fluid to look for cancer cells. Once they biopsy has been done a pathologist will look as the sample under a microscope for any cancer cells. If there are some found then they will be described as either grade 1, 2, or 3 and this is based off of how abnormal the cells look.

Once the doctors have determined that there are cancer cells present they have to determine what stage the disease is in before they can start any treatment. In order to find out what stage the cancer is in the doctor must know grade the tumor is which we discussed earlier and they also may need to run a series of more test such as a CT scan or a chest x-ray. The CT scan is where they would give you some contrast material and the machine would then take several pictures to get a clearer picture of your pelvis and abdomen to see any tumors or abdominal fluid. The chest x-ray is used to see if the cancer has spread to your lungs and if there is any fluid buildup there as well.

There are four stages of ovarian cancer; the first stage is called stage 1. Stage 1 is where cancer cells can be found on one or both ovaries or in abdominal fluid. Only 15 percent of the total women diagnosed have stage 1 and they have a 5 year survival rate of 93.8 percent (statistics). Stage 2 is where the cancer has spread to other reproductive organs such as the fallopian tubes and the uterus. It can also be found in abdominal fluid as well as other tissue in the pelvis area. The 5 year survival rate for stage 2 is 72.8 percent and only 17 percent of women diagnosed have this stage. Stage 3 is where the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes and can be also found on the outside of the liver. This is the most common stage that women are diagnosed (62 percent) with only a 28.2 percent survival rate or 5 years (statistics). The last stage is stage 4 and this is when the cancer can be found in the lungs or in any other organs. So, at this point it has traveled out of both the pelvic and abdominal areas. This has the lowest survival rate of 27.3 percent and the lowest percent of women diagnosed at 7 percent (statistics).

Once the doctor has determined what stage you are in you can start treatment accordingly. Most women will have surgery to remove cancer cells and also both ovaries and fallopian tubes, your uterus, any nearby lymph nodes, as well as the omentum which is a thin fat pad that covers the intestines. If you only have stage 1 sometimes the doctors will leave the uterus intact and only take one ovary and fallopian tube but this depends on your age and whether or not you would like to become pregnant and have children. If the cancer is one of the other stages (2, 3 or 4) then they might have to go in further and remove as much cancer as they possibly can. They can also do chemotherapy as a form of treatment. This is when “anticancer” drugs are given to kill the cancerous cell. The drugs can be given by either inserting them into the vein (IV), intraperitoneal (IP) which is given directly into the abdomen through a very thin tube, or by mouth via pill form (ovarian cancer 13). The side effects to the chemotherapy can be hair loss, vomiting, and diarrhea. This is because the drugs also harm normal cells, so it can damage your hair cells (hair loss) and the cells that line your digestive tract (vomiting and diarrhea) but it can also damage your blood cells and make your body bruise easier and you would be more susceptible to get infections because your blood cells are what help fight infections off.

As of right now we cannot explain why one women may develop this cancer and another will not but there are some women that are at higher risk. If you have any women in your family that has had ovarian cancer, specifically your mother, daughter, or sister you or a family member are at a higher risk. But, also if you or any other family members have had uterus, colon, rectum, or breast cancer you or a family member will be at a higher risk. Most women that are diagnosed with this disease are over the age of 55 and have never been pregnant. If you or a family member is at an increase risk you want to talk to your family member to make sure they are aware of these risks. Then I would encourage those at risk people to consult your doctor and see if anything can be done to make sure if you would so some signs of cancer, it could be detected early.

They may recommend genetic testing to see if you have a certain mutation of the BRCA 1 or BRCA 2 gene which has been linked to ovarian cancer and breast cancer. If you go and have this testing done you will have to provide a detailed family history and also give a blood sample. They will test they blood for mutations in your DNA, specifically looking at your BRCA 1 and 2 genes. When you get the results back they will let you know if they found a mutation and if they did you know that you for sure are at an increase risk. If they don’t find a mutation they will still put you into an at risk category based on your family history. This testing has been very important in determining the links between certain mutations and ovarian cancer. The more data we can collect the better off we are on finding a connection.

The most important thing to remember is that this is the most deadly gynecologic cancer with very nonspecific symptoms, 15,000 women die from this cancer every year. If you or anyone you know are having any of these symptoms you should talk to them and encourage them to contact their doctor in hopes of early detection. The earlier the detection the better chances you or a family member has of not becoming one of the 15,000.

Source by Kimberly Jean

from Home Solutions Forev https://homesolutionsforev.com/ovarian-cancer-more-deadly-than-breast-cancer/ via Home Solutions on WordPress from Home Solutions FOREV https://homesolutionsforev.tumblr.com/post/186988592785 via Tim Clymer on Wordpress

Ovarian Cancer: More Deadly Than Breast Cancer

A few years ago I was asked if I knew what the most deadly gynecologic cancer was and I answered “Well, breast cancer of course.” Oh, how I was wrong. The American Cancer Society estimates that the average five year survival rate of breast cancer at any stage to actually be 89 percent. While no cancer is good that’s a pretty good rate. The correct answer to the question is ovarian cancer, and its five year survival rate (estimated by the American cancer society) is only 46 percent. We need to find out why this cancer is so deadly.

Cancer is a dangerous and mysterious thing to people that don’t know much about it. Well, everyone is made up of cells, cells are what make up tissue and tissue is what makes up our organs. Normally when a cell gets old and tired it dies just like we do and a new cell takes its place. Our body produces these new cells by growing and dividing healthy cells. Sometimes our body overproduces cells and this is when tumors (mass of tissue) are formed. These tumors aren’t always cancer; when they are not they are called benign tumors. When they are cancer they are call malignant; these are the ones that can be life-threatening. Both types of tumors can be removed but the cancerous ones are more likely to grow back and only they also can spread to different parts of your body. When this happens the cancer cells are breaking away from the original tumor and entering the blood stream to use it like a highway to travel around your body. When the cancer cells spread like this it’s called metastasis and the cancer can start to go new tumors. If these cells reach any of your organs and start to go new tumors and this is when damage can be done.

They call it ovarian cancer because the tumor first starts at the ovaries and is made up of over productive ovarian cells. The ovaries are part of the women’s reproductive system and are attached to the uterus by the fallopian tubes. When a malignant tumor starts to grow these areas can also be affected because of their close proximity to the ovaries. When this tumor starts to shed cancer cells the cells typically go to the abdomen first because it’s closest to where the reproductive system is located. Then as I said before the cancerous cells can start to affect your lymph nodes and enter your blood stream to travel to different organs.

Ovarian cancer is so deadly because it’s very hard to detect. Every year more than 14,600 women die from ovarian cancer in the United States. This may not seem like a lot when you think of all the billion people that live here but when about 20,000 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer each year that number seems like a lot. So this means that on average 7 out of 10 women will die from this disease and this is all because it is so hard to detect. In order to detect it you have to know what the symptoms are. The most common symptoms are pain in the abdomen, pelvis, back or legs because of where the cancer is located in your body. You can also have a swollen or bloated abdomen because it can fill up with fluids. You will also feel very tired all the time and would have some nausea, indigestion, gas, constipation, or even diarrhea. Some less common symptoms would be shortness of breath, the urge to urinate often, and unusual vaginal bleeding. Now these are pretty general symptoms and many other disease or illnesses can cause them and that’s why it’s so hard to detect because ovarian cancer is not typical the very first thing we think of when we have one or more of these symptoms.

Most women would think if there was a problem that it would show up on their Pap test which is a once yearly screening that women get from their doctor. However, a Pap test is only screening for cervical cancer and it cannot be used to diagnose ovarian cancer. When women do go in to your doctor for the Pap test he or she should be doing a pelvic exam as well, during this they will feel your ovaries and organs in close proximity for any lumps or changes in shape and/or size. More often than not the doctors will not be able to feel a tumor until they are a substantial size. This is why we look to other testing as well as the pelvic exam to diagnose this cancer. If women who have abdominal bloating or pain and would go to the doctor, they may check your abdomen for fluid buildup. If they some find some a sample can be taken to test for ovarian cancer cells as part of the diagnoses. There is also blood testing where your doctor would check your CA-125 level to see if it is high. The CA-125 is a substance that is found on the surface of the ovarian cancer cells but also on some normal tissue, this is why a high level might indicate cancer. Unfortunately this test cannot be used as the only test for diagnosing ovarian cancer. It is mainly used for monitoring a woman that has already been diagnosed and is going through treatment or as an early detection for the return of cancer after treatment has been completed. The next way to get diagnosed is by having an ultrasound done. There are two different types of ultrasounds that can be done; the first is the less invasive of the two. This is where they take the ultrasound device and press it up against your abdomen and the sound waves that it produces bounce off the organs to produce a picture for us to see. By using this they would be able to get a picture of the ovaries to see if there was a tumor or any abnormalities. The second type of ultrasound they can do is a transvaginal ultrasound and it does the same things as the regular one however this device is inserted into the vagina for a much better view of the ovaries. The last test to help diagnose this cancer is a biopsy. They will only do a biopsy if blood test and one of the ultrasounds have indicated that there may be a tumor. A biopsy is when they take a sample of tissue or fluid to look for cancer cells. Once they biopsy has been done a pathologist will look as the sample under a microscope for any cancer cells. If there are some found then they will be described as either grade 1, 2, or 3 and this is based off of how abnormal the cells look.

Once the doctors have determined that there are cancer cells present they have to determine what stage the disease is in before they can start any treatment. In order to find out what stage the cancer is in the doctor must know grade the tumor is which we discussed earlier and they also may need to run a series of more test such as a CT scan or a chest x-ray. The CT scan is where they would give you some contrast material and the machine would then take several pictures to get a clearer picture of your pelvis and abdomen to see any tumors or abdominal fluid. The chest x-ray is used to see if the cancer has spread to your lungs and if there is any fluid buildup there as well.

There are four stages of ovarian cancer; the first stage is called stage 1. Stage 1 is where cancer cells can be found on one or both ovaries or in abdominal fluid. Only 15 percent of the total women diagnosed have stage 1 and they have a 5 year survival rate of 93.8 percent (statistics). Stage 2 is where the cancer has spread to other reproductive organs such as the fallopian tubes and the uterus. It can also be found in abdominal fluid as well as other tissue in the pelvis area. The 5 year survival rate for stage 2 is 72.8 percent and only 17 percent of women diagnosed have this stage. Stage 3 is where the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes and can be also found on the outside of the liver. This is the most common stage that women are diagnosed (62 percent) with only a 28.2 percent survival rate or 5 years (statistics). The last stage is stage 4 and this is when the cancer can be found in the lungs or in any other organs. So, at this point it has traveled out of both the pelvic and abdominal areas. This has the lowest survival rate of 27.3 percent and the lowest percent of women diagnosed at 7 percent (statistics).

Once the doctor has determined what stage you are in you can start treatment accordingly. Most women will have surgery to remove cancer cells and also both ovaries and fallopian tubes, your uterus, any nearby lymph nodes, as well as the omentum which is a thin fat pad that covers the intestines. If you only have stage 1 sometimes the doctors will leave the uterus intact and only take one ovary and fallopian tube but this depends on your age and whether or not you would like to become pregnant and have children. If the cancer is one of the other stages (2, 3 or 4) then they might have to go in further and remove as much cancer as they possibly can. They can also do chemotherapy as a form of treatment. This is when “anticancer” drugs are given to kill the cancerous cell. The drugs can be given by either inserting them into the vein (IV), intraperitoneal (IP) which is given directly into the abdomen through a very thin tube, or by mouth via pill form (ovarian cancer 13). The side effects to the chemotherapy can be hair loss, vomiting, and diarrhea. This is because the drugs also harm normal cells, so it can damage your hair cells (hair loss) and the cells that line your digestive tract (vomiting and diarrhea) but it can also damage your blood cells and make your body bruise easier and you would be more susceptible to get infections because your blood cells are what help fight infections off.

As of right now we cannot explain why one women may develop this cancer and another will not but there are some women that are at higher risk. If you have any women in your family that has had ovarian cancer, specifically your mother, daughter, or sister you or a family member are at a higher risk. But, also if you or any other family members have had uterus, colon, rectum, or breast cancer you or a family member will be at a higher risk. Most women that are diagnosed with this disease are over the age of 55 and have never been pregnant. If you or a family member is at an increase risk you want to talk to your family member to make sure they are aware of these risks. Then I would encourage those at risk people to consult your doctor and see if anything can be done to make sure if you would so some signs of cancer, it could be detected early.

They may recommend genetic testing to see if you have a certain mutation of the BRCA 1 or BRCA 2 gene which has been linked to ovarian cancer and breast cancer. If you go and have this testing done you will have to provide a detailed family history and also give a blood sample. They will test they blood for mutations in your DNA, specifically looking at your BRCA 1 and 2 genes. When you get the results back they will let you know if they found a mutation and if they did you know that you for sure are at an increase risk. If they don’t find a mutation they will still put you into an at risk category based on your family history. This testing has been very important in determining the links between certain mutations and ovarian cancer. The more data we can collect the better off we are on finding a connection.

The most important thing to remember is that this is the most deadly gynecologic cancer with very nonspecific symptoms, 15,000 women die from this cancer every year. If you or anyone you know are having any of these symptoms you should talk to them and encourage them to contact their doctor in hopes of early detection. The earlier the detection the better chances you or a family member has of not becoming one of the 15,000.

Source by Kimberly Jean

from Home Solutions Forev https://homesolutionsforev.com/ovarian-cancer-more-deadly-than-breast-cancer/ via Home Solutions on WordPress

Chapter Eight

More about cats. So when I first adopted my first two kittens, one of them developed FIP. 

I had them both home for a few weeks and one weekend I went back to my hometown to spend time with my parents and a friend watched the kitties. When I got back, the littler kitten was all over me. All she wanted to do was snuggle and she would not stop purring. She was honestly the sweetest cat I have ever met and probably ever will meet. She slept with me every night and that weekend was the first that I had ever been away from her since I brought her home from the shelter. 

Anyways, when I got back home, I was trying to play with her and she wasn’t quite as playful as usual. She was a little sluggish and she wasn’t jumping as much as usual, but she was well enough. Maybe she was just tired, I thought. 

Late that night, we were snuggling in bed and I noticed that she was breathing really fast for being asleep. I called the vet office saying that I was worried and they said that usually they recommend bringing in animals no matter what for respiratory issues. Better safe than sorry, so I brought her into the emergency clinic. 

They did an x-ray first off and saw what there was a lot of fluid surrounding her lungs. Her left lung was basically entirely unable to expand, and that’s why she was having so many issues with breathing. They did a blood panel and took a fluid sample from her lung cavity. The vet told me that even though there’s no definitive test for FIP, that that’s what she thought it was. We discussed options and eventually I decided that it would be best to put her to sleep rather than let her slowly suffocate from the fluid filling her body. 

I spent a little time with her before the vets came back in. She was purring and was as snuggly as ever. She was making bread on my arms. When the vets came in, she felt the cold from the medicine and started meowing like she was in pain. I felt a little piece of me fading away along with her. She fell asleep and I told her over and over that I love her and that I will never forget her. 

I still think of that little kitten all the time. My heart still aches for her and I don’t know that I will ever completely heal from the loss of her. I love the cats that I have now and they are part of my own little family, but I do wish that the littlest kitten was still here to share this life with us. 

We caught it early and she never had to suffer. She was happy until the end. We had a necropsy done and determined that it was FIP and that she would have passed naturally within days if we hadn’t taken action. Likely, she would have descended into pain and lost the ability to move, breathe, and eat. 

I don’t regret the decision I made that night. I just wish that this reality was different and that she could still be here.