I am a 48 year old mother of 4 amazing daughters and a wife of 27 years. My 19 year career included managing for a health/weight loss organization. Being active, eating healthy foods and helping others to achieve their goals were my passions. I loved in-line skating, and even participated in the MS SUN “Skate Up North” (a 77 mile in-line skating event in MN to raise money for Multiple Sclerosis research).
Life was good.
This all came to a screeching halt in January 2006. After a trip to the urgent care clinic with lower abdominal pain, a routine ultrasound revealed “simple ovarian cysts”. I wasn’t convinced. The whispering voice of intuition told me that it must be something more. On the ultrasound table, I demanded a transvaginal ultrasound even though the procedure wasn’t ordered. The look on the technician’s face told me it wasn’t good. I opted not to “wait-and-see” and chose immediate laparoscopic explorative surgery. Upon discovery of a tumor on my fallopian tube, my stunned husband asked the surgeon to stitch me up and we sought the advice of a regional gynecological oncologist.
A complete radical hysterectomy revealed stage III ovarian cancer . This nightmare was followed by 6 months of very intensive chemotherapy, hair loss, vomiting and weight loss. Since that time, I have been on several chemotherapies as the cancer recurs. The toxins in these drugs have been tough on my body. I now suffer from painful peripheral neuropathy, optic nerve damage, fatigue, overall body pain, weight gain and reduced kidney and lung function. In February, the disease and drug toxicity/side effects forced me to give up a full time career I loved, financially challenging my family.
The upside to all of this is that I am now getting to know my family, friends and myself. It’s amazing what you miss when you’ve been a career woman for 28 years. Having been off work since February, I spent time on me and the last PET and CT scans showed no evidence of disease! I am choosing to ignore the doom and gloom of cancer statistics. Instead, I am focusing on good health, lots of positivity and laughing…and really living in the moment. While I will never be able to strap on my in-line skates again, I CAN ride my bike and life weights, and I CAN focus on healthy eating. I intend to beat this thing, and given the gift of stress-free living is a great start.
This July (2010) I have chosen to represent Wisconsin and all ovca survivors at the 2010 Advocacy Day in Washington DC. Our Wisconsin Senator, Herb Kohl, sits on the Appropriations Committee, which determines funding for the Ovarian Cancer Research Program. I intend to share my experience and concerns in hopes of spurring him to push for an increased budget so we can all fight this nasty disease!
I believe I can…WE CAN…beat this!!
