On 18 May 2016, My Beloved Wife of 34 years died after a twenty month struggle, then battle, w/ MMMT (Mullerian Mixed Malignant Tumor or carcinosarcoma). She was sixty-four years old: supremely intelligent, abundantly creative, energetic, occasionally impulsive, healthy, beautiful and, loved my skinny ass. We had met in our thirties and built a relationship of complete love, trust, respect and understanding.
The world is less for her no longer being here, richer for her having been.
We did not know what was happening in Sep., 2014, until a ct scan revealed tumors. Two operations, then chemo ensued. Eventually, we relied upon the advice of a research MD at Dana Farber, who would prescribe treatment, which was administered locally (central NJ, USA).
Chemo treatments were carbo-platin/taxol, avastin/taxol and taxol only.
If you had met Lizzie one month before she had died, you might not have realized what she had been through, was going through. She was doing well, until she wasn't, and then everything fell apart very quickly.
I miss her with every heartbeat, am eternally grateful to her for her Love Supreme (borrowed from Coltrane) and find it crushing to know that I will never see/feel/smell/hear/speak with/dance with her again.
Knowing, too intimately, what MMMT can, and does do, to women, I have been looking for someone/someplace who/where might find a way, or ways, to identify this monster early in a woman's life and change the prognosis, so a full life might be lived.
I am so sorry for your loss, Dan, and am thankful you have found a place where you can share your experiences. Those here are struggling with learning to deal with this cancer and learn from each other so that we might be of help in finding a way to positively impact this cancer.
Ann
Dan:
I am so sorry for your loss. Your wife sounds like an amazing woman and it is unfortunate that until recently, there was very little research on GCS. I lost my mother on March 12, 2018 to GCS, after a 6.5 year battle. Much like Lizzie, often you wouldn't have been able to tell that my mother was fighting GCS (except for the hair loss of course). And again, like Lizzie, the end came fast and strong. We were blindsided, as was she. We thought everything was stable. Then...prognosis from doctors suddenly said "a few weeks, if that". Every moment with your loved ones is a blessing, and must be treated as so.
I, too, am incredibly thankful for Diane Redington and her friends and family who have helped her to get GCS up and running, and for the doctors and researchers vigorously working. My mother was fortunate enough to meet Diane Redington in the last couple of years, and she and my family truly believed she was an angel. I am also deeply thankful for the project continuing, and for all of the love, support, and information/anecdotes that can be found here on this site. If I could reach out and hug every woman and family member that has to go through this, I would. Thank you for your story, and my deepest condolences for your loss. I hope there is one day an end to GCS, and all Cancer. The most important thing is HOPE.
Clinical trials are currently being offered at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS). Phase 1/2 Study to Evaluate the Safety, Pharmacokinetics, and Efficacy of BLU-222 as a Single… Read More »
Clinical trials are currently being offered at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Immunotherapy has gained a significant amount of attention recently, but its efficacy as a single agent in… Read More »
Clinical trials are currently being offered at Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) Health Care in Charleston SC. A Phase II/III Study of Paciltaxel/Carboplatin alone, or combined with either Trastuzumab… Read More »
