I was diagnosed at age 43 with ovarian cancer Stage IIIC on May 10, 2009. My CA125 was in the high 800′s. I was unaware of the symptoms of ovarian cancer at that time. Looking back, I did have the bloating, feeling of fullness, heartburn and trouble breathing when I would climb steps. But I had normal periods and no abdominal/pelvic pain – so any type of cancer was furthest from my mind with the symptoms I was having.

I had a complete hysterectomy, and it had spread to my omentum and appendix, which were also removed. I had a small amount of residual disease left even after the debulking surgery, so I went through 6 rounds of chemo. After 3 rounds of chemo, my CA 125 was already down to 11 (under 35 is normal), and eventually after my 6th round it went down to 3. I had my CT scan, and it was normal! I was so blessed to not get sick through these rounds of chemo. So don’t ever get so scared of chemo from some stories you heard about being so sick all the time and not eating, etc. Everyone is different, and you may not have the same problems some one else has. I’d hear other ladies in my chemo talking about some of their side effects and getting sick, and I’d just sit there quiet, because I had none of them. Just a little fatigue and neuropathy, mostly the first week after chemo. And there are great anti-nausea drugs out there now that really help you through the chemo.

I finished my chemo in December 2009. I then had a recurrence in August 2010 (CA 125 went to 283). Went through 6 more rounds of chemo along with the new drug Avastin. I had an allergic reaction to carboplatin during this second time on chemo (which is the only time I threw up from the chemo), so I had to be switched to cistplatin, along with Taxol and Avastin, and I did well on them (CA 125 was down to 5 at the end of chemo). I had a PET Scan in February 2011, and it was normal, no sign of cancer.

I feel good overall. Still get a little tired/fatigue and “chemo” brain at times, but I thank God every day for getting me through these past 2 years. I have such a wonderful and loving husband who takes such great care of me, and I am blessed with wonderful & supportive family members and friends. My faith has been such a big part of my journey, and I feel many blessings have come out of my being diagnosed with cancer. Never give up, and always try and stay positive. There is always hope. It really helps to have a good attitude and to realize that God never gives us more than you can handle. I try to focus on the positive. It was also fun to wear wigs and not have to worry about having a “bad hair day”! I always had ladies come up to me and say “I love your hair”, and I’d tell them “you too can have this hair”, and they’d look at me puzzled, and then I would tell them that it was a wig. And they couldn’t believe it. So I never felt odd walking around with a wig on. They make them so realistic now. I do admit that the first time I lost my hair in 2009, was a little traumatic since I had long brown curly hair. But once I had my husband shave my head, I felt so much better and realized that this is part of going through getting better. Your hair will grow back (which mine did: curly after the first time and wavy after my reccurance).

May God bless all of you who are going through this disease. I pray for a cure every day, and I pray for all of you every day. But I thank God that there are such great oncologists out there, and that there are new medicines that can keep us functioning and living a pretty normal life. I’m glad to see more information out there now about ovarian cancer, so that women are more informed about this disease.