ITW n°48: Irina - K fighter.

Hello,

today it's an interview with an inspiring K fighter, straight from the country of Dostoyevsky & Nicolas de Staël: the sublime Irina, 30 years old, wonder Mom of 2 children, living in Moscow, tells us in perfect French , amazing strength, a lot of emotion, elegance, transparency and rage to live his fight against a K of the endometrium discovered last May.

Bravo for this testimony full of resilience!

NEVER GIVE UP!

Great discovery and we send you lots of strength Irina!

Who are you ? First name: Irina Age: 30 Profession: diplomacy Where do you live: Russia, Moscow I am married and I have 2 children 3.5 years and 9 months Why do you agree to share your story today? To worry less. To give other K fighters a positive story, which can be dealt with even at very advanced stages. What are your qualities (in a few words)? I am very lazy. I get very anxious for any reason. But on the other hand I know how to withstand the blows of fate (otherwise I would already be dead), I am resilient, I can put things into perspective. And the icing on the cake – I’m emetophobic. I'm a K fighter who is terribly afraid of throwing up. Chemotherapy, anesthesia, radiotherapy - do you get the picture? :) What are your passions (in a few words)? I love nature, I dream of living outside of big cities, gardening... Before the birth of my children I loved traveling. Now my passion is my children :) What K (what cancer - grade if you wish / stage ditto): serous endometrial adenocarcinoma stage 4b ​​grade 3. When was it discovered? How old were you ? May 2015, 30 years old. Under what circumstances was it discovered? It’s a really weird story. In 2014 I was pregnant with baby #2. My pregnancy is going totally peaceful, nothing extraordinary except an ovarian cyst which appears benign on the ultrasound. However, it does not allow me to give birth naturally, so we opt for a cesarean section, with removal of my cyst at the same time. And it was during the operation that my doctor discovered that my stomach was invaded by cancer!!! I have metastases everywhere. The doctor gives me the news the day I leave the hospital, he is visibly afraid that it will make me go "cuckoo". But I remain calm. It's really sad to realize that you're in deep trouble when you're holding your baby. No more breastfeeding, I start chemo 23 days after giving birth... How long have you been in treatment? During treatment: 9 months. Can you summarize your K fighter story for us? I had 3 chemos, then the operation, 3 chemos, 28 sessions of radiotherapy on the lumbo-aortic area, then 24 sessions on the pelvic area and 2 brachytherapy (in progress, I finish on February 20). What treatment did you have? chemo: 6 carboplatin and paclitaxel sessions radiotherapy: 28+24 operation : Major operation (removal of lymph nodes, ovaries, uterus, omentum, and a piece of pelvic peritoneum) 12 days of hospitalization

What tips directly related to K do you want to share? (your feeling with the doctor, your good treatment organization plans, anything that seems useful to you ;))? 1/ chemo: (ex: your tips, the helmet, your affinities with nurses): Above all, you should not force yourself to eat. On the other hand, you have to drink, drink or eat fruits such as watermelon (in Russia the watermelon season is July-August, I really benefited from it!). Taxanes cause problems with the mucous membranes in the mouth, I found a chlorhexidine oral gel which soothes the mucous membranes. Don't wait for nausea, take your antiemetics well before (for me as an emetophobe this was the golden rule). I also wear acupuncture bracelets for nausea. It would be good to take a walk after chemo even if you get dizzy (I had a lot), it gets your blood moving and the cocktail metabolizes faster = kills the cancer and leaves your body faster, so less dizziness 'Side effects. I hate the tastes, the scent and the music that accompanied me during my sessions. So we need to change the atmosphere. How did you live the day before, the same day, the days after chemo? and what were your tips? The day before were my best days, because by then the side effects had already passed and I was full of strength. We spent the summer at my husband's parents' country house and I played with the children in the garden. The chemo made me terribly constipated, so I took my Forlax 2 days before. I stayed in the hospital for 3 days, because my chemo doctor wanted to observe me closely, and because during those 3 days I was very weak (once I fell in the corridors). I was extremely bored. Now my psychologist recommended art therapy which involves coloring mandalas. I take care of it when I'm in line at our "solarium" - as I call the thing from hell = radiotherapy. “parallel” medicine, if you have done it (what disciplines, what were their benefits): I read several clinical trial reports (is that “clinical trials”?) and I decided to take melatonin and curcumin to prolong my remission. There are three totally different psych doctors who help me not get depressed. One prescribed me antidepressants, the other introduced me to art therapy, and the third hypnotherapist taught me how to meditate. What do you do to clear your mind/clear your head (before chemo, surgery & co)? I read a lot of K-fighter blogs :) before the operation I was crazy with fear, nothing helped me. Afterwards, I watched Disney and Pixar videos on my iPhone. What practical “well-being/beauty” tips can you advise us? 1/ beauty: your essential products (e.g.: creams, varnishes, scars, oils, etc.) For my scar I chose Dermatix, it's barely visible now. As for nails: I am taken care of by a large oncological institute which is located in the center of Moscow, and right opposite there is a beauty studio. The day of chemo I had a manicure and pedicure with UV Gel (shellac) with SPA for my feet :) it helped me a lot to clear my head, relax, and above all not damage my nails. I said goodbye to my hair on the 15th day after my first chemo, and three months later I also said goodbye to my eyebrows and eyelashes. For the eyelashes it wasn't so bad because I have permanent makeup (tattoo) eyelashes and eyeliner, which I did three years ago (with baby number 1 no time to put on makeup). For the eyebrows I did an “organic tattoo” with black henna. It does not traumatize the skin, which is very important because during chemo we lose leukocytes and are therefore exposed to infections. 2/ look, (e.g. your favorite chemo, hospital, every day look to feel good): I'm still in jeans, the K hasn't changed anything

3/ daily (e.g. sport, food & co, meditation, reading...)

Since I am a very nervous person and I often get anxious, I definitely need to stop reading articles about survival rates, prognosis, etc. Which I can't do. I force myself to read Le Figaro instead of searching the web for bad news about my cancer. You have to practice French :) Food: during my radiotherapy I can't eat fresh fruits and vegetables and it's really annoying. 4/ hair problem (eg: did you wear a wig, scarves, hats) I used to wear a wig, now I only wear it for “big outings” like cafes, museums, etc. Were you concerned about the views of others, were you afraid that their views would change? What did you do to counter it? It was the last thing on my mind. I have to survive, otherwise I don't care. What are the “nugget”/footed phrases (that you remember) that someone said to you during K and that you could have avoided? "You must eat" "You must learn to forgive/meditate/ask for forgiveness, cancer is a disease of irritated/stressed/selfish people etc..." - cancer doesn't care if we know how to forgive or not, really. “Your cancer is a sign – God is telling you that you need to change something in your life.” Thanks, I'm an atheist. How did your loved ones support you? My parents died of cancer (quite different) 10 and 5 years ago. So my family is my husband's family. My mother-in-law left her job to be with my children during my sessions over the summer. She helped me a lot with cleaning, meals etc. My father-in-law was my therapist, my sister-in-law played with the children. The parents welcomed us into their country house near Moscow, since we were on a mission abroad when this damn cancer happened to me and our apartment was rented at the time, we couldn't interrupt the lease. And what advice could you give to loved ones who accompany a K fighter? Courage, patience. Almost any cancer can be controlled even if it is incurable. Do you find out about K on the internet? Yes. If so, does it make you feel good? Yes and no, I mostly read the clinical trials, I found a lot of useful stuff, but I know the sad truth about my survival rate (it's really suicidal - the probability is 95% of dying within three years next). If so, what would be the useful (internet) links that helped you during K? This blog! A Russian blog for k-fighters, we share tips on how to counter the effects of chemo, psychological support, etc. What has the K changed in your life...? (for example: your vision of the world, your priorities, your essentials, refocusing those around you, in your work, your philosophy..?) The K almost killed my sexuality and motherhood. I couldn't breastfeed my daughter, it was hard to accept my body after the operation. But everything heals, the soul too :) Free field ;) tell us what you want (which might not be in my questions): Thank you for this opportunity to express yourself, to talk about this obstacle course :) And forgive my French - it's been 8 years since I practiced this wonderful language!

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Thank you Irina for this beautiful testimony, your words full of strength and resilience, you are amazing!

If like Irina you want to tell your story and share your tips, go here , send me your questionnaire and 1 photo of yourself so that I can draw you ;) to: interview@mister-k-fighting-kit.com

Please note that I do not retouch any Interview, they are completely free, it is your freedom, your story, I just add my personal touch with the illustration, they are delivered as they were sent to me ;)

Lots of beautiful positive thoughts to everyone!!

@ very quickly

Charlotte