OBGYNs in California are beginning to see patients go home in a similar fashion to a group of cancer patients who recently returned home from the operating theater.
The group included a 63-year-old woman who had ovarian cancer and was in remission.
The cancer is still in remission, but the woman has been diagnosed with a rare type of leukemia, said Dr. Laura M. Rafferty, a gynecologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, who specializes in ovarian cancer.
In her first visit home, the woman had the cancer removed and then had chemotherapy, which she says was very difficult.
Her family told her she was having a “real change,” and she started looking for other ways to reduce the risk of recurrence, said Raffery.
The patient was referred to Dr. Mark C. Johnson, who had previously treated ovarian cancer patients and has treated some of them, including in Los Angeles.
Johnson said the woman is in good spirits and has a strong desire to get back to work.
She told me she is feeling much better and more confident.
But she has a long road ahead of her.
She said her symptoms have not changed, and her physical exam is not abnormal.
I can’t tell you how many times I have heard patients say, ‘Oh, I can’t do this anymore.
It’s too difficult,’ or, ‘I can no longer do this,’ said Johnson.
She’s been getting very emotional about it.
The doctors said they have been asking her to stay in bed for a long time, and she hasn’t been able to.
Johnson has been helping to support the patient and has been talking to her about ways she can go home to reduce her risk of getting another ovarian cancer relapse.
He’s been taking her to the local hospital for appointments, as well as to her primary care doctor, and has helped her get her hair done and help her dress her for her first day of work.
I’ve seen patients come in who are very well, very healthy, and then they have cancer relapse, Johnson said.
I would love to see the same type of change with these patients, he said.
But he’s not sure they will be able to go home, since it’s very rare for ovarian cancer to relapse, he added.
There are a number of things that can help these patients go back home, Johnson added.
I think they have the right amount of confidence that they will go back, and that they are going to make it back to a normal lifestyle, he told ABC News.
I am hopeful that the doctors are able to do that.
They will help patients get home.
They are not going to turn the tables on them, but they will help them get their confidence back and get back at the cancer.
Johnson also is encouraging people to stay positive and to look to the future.
He said he has heard of some women who were treated for ovarian cancers who have not returned home because they were unable to go back to their normal lifestyle.
He encourages them to take action, even if it means going home to go for another exam.