Want to stay informed on the up-to-date info on Ovarian Cancer?
Like our Facebook page. Everyday we post the most recent breakthroughs and human interest stories on Ovarian Cancer.Linda's Story: Ovarian Cancer Survivor
Sandhy always had a flat tummy and narrow waist, so the first sign that something wasn’t right was noticeable bloating and feeling sick. It was when she was in the shower that she felt a bump in the lower part of my stomach. Sandhy was convinced that it was a hernia. Over the weeks the bump got progressively bigger and she started feeling more and more exhausted. Eventually she went to my doctor who had an instinct that she needed urgent attention and sent me for a CT scan.
Read her story here...
After doctors discovered a cancerous tumour on her right ovary six years ago, Nancy O'Brien managed to avoid the devastating statistics the majority of ovarian cancer patients face - 1,750 deaths per 2,600 diagnoses in Canada. That's more than 67 per cent, compared to the 21 per cent death rate for female breast cancer patients.
Read her story here...
Susan, in her positive and forthright way, ignored the statistics, the lousy diagnosis and any doom and gloom. Her doctor and she fought long and hard, with lots of laughter, loads of complementary herbal and dietary support, and tons of hard core chemo...
Read her story here...
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...
Read her story here...
Angel Gnau was diagnosed with IIB, Grade 3 ovarian cancer on March 20, 2006. It took more than a year of telling the doctor something was seriously wrong before Angel was diagnosed…her doctor wasn’t listening to her, which seems to be a prevalent complaint in diagnosing ovarian cancer...
Read her story here...
Rohana Miller: "For six months my normally flat belly was enlarging until I appeared to be 5 mos pregnant. I kept seeking medical help, felt bloated, thought I was just getting older. Dieting made me skinny but my belly kept growing and I gained 13 lbs in one month! I was exhausted.
I worked at a major medical hospital. Finally, I had a little ovulation pain and got a pelvic and an abdominal ultrasound (no vaginal ultrasounds in those days) showed "massive tumors" as the radiologist described into his dictation microphone during the procedure.
I had surgery June 10, 1981 and the surgeon told my parents I "might not make it" (my mom told me this not long ago). Diagnosis was IIIa Ovarian Cancer.
Wanting to take drastic action asap, I chose most aggressive chemo of that time, which included cisplatin and other chemo drugs, given during two day hospital stay every 4 weeks.
Six months later, 2nd look surgery was positive for cancer cells in my peritoneal cavity. After debulking, there sure as hell was NOTHING else left in that area.
NCI turned me down for further trials citing my likely resistance to more chemo - there was nothing else chemical to give me. Their letter to my oncologist recommended radiation as "this patient's only hope for long term remission".
I received 6 weeks of daily radiation to entire torso, front and back until I reached maximum. No more radiation was allowed. My gyn/oncologist decided against 3rd look surgery because there was nothing left to give me if they found more cancer and he said the radiation damage would make it too hard to put me back again. So, frequent pelvics were my only follow-up and as time went on, those became annual exams.
My life expectancy was a 30% chance to live to age 40 and I was 35 at diagnosis with an 8 and 10 year old.
I followed a lot of augmentative therapies to counteract chemo and radiation damage, including Linus Pauling's megavitamin therapy, organic food, visualization, self-hypnosis, juicing and more. Docs were amazed at my lack of skin burns from the radiation. Over the next couple of years I regained my strength and was able to return to work and a normal life.
Years later, my siblings tested positive for BRCA-1 and had prophylactic oophorectomies. I now have late stage kidney disease due to cisplatin damage (which did NOT kill those cancer cells), cannot have dialysis due to vein damage from chemo, but I am now 66 and have lived long enough to see my kids grow up and I love being a grandmother.
I am open to speaking candidly about my post surgical recovery and any other ov-ca experiences or knowledge I have. I wish you who read this courage and fortitude.
My number one advice is to educate yourself and eat well and healthily - yes, forget about artificial sweeteners, processed foods, pesticided and GM foods. You want to give yourself best nutrition to get through this."
Rohana Miller
Stay informed with up-to-date info on Ovarian Cancer by liking our Facebook
Peggy Johnson was sitting in church one April watching the church Easter canata. Before the cantata started, a friend and Peggy chatted, as we sat side by side in the pew. Peggy told her friend that she was having some physical problems, her stomach was swollen and uncomfortable. Peggy's friend looked alarmed, saying that she should see a physician right away.
So a week later, Peggy found herself in her doctor's office, describing the symptoms. With a scope, the doctor listened to her abdomen, punched around, asking questions, trying to pinpoint the pain...
Read her story here...
A student who survived an ovarian tumour the size of two grapefruits said her recovery is a "miracle". April Moss was diagnosed with a rare ovarian cancer when she was only 19 years old.The City College Plymouth student, who is in remission following surgery, urged other women to be aware of the disease's symptoms.
Read her story here...
Ali Mills was diagnosed with ovarian cancer at the age of 26. Fortunately the cancer had not spread when it was caught by doctors, but Ali, now 36, had to have lots of surgery, including a hysterectomy. Now she is back to full health, Ali has decided to take on the renowned Fred Whitton Challenge in the Lake District to raise money for Macmillan Nurses.
Read her story here...
After 13 years of chasing fugitives and guarding federal prisoners, a deputy U.S. Marshal faced a more daunting foe: stage 3 ovarian cancer. After five hours of surgery and 10 months of chemotherapy, Lisa Alfonso is back at work, still hoping to catch a notorious drug fugitive while trying to help other women who are fighting cancer alone.
Read her story here...
ONE day Sandra Rumney found two large lumps in her stomach – one the size of a melon and the other the size of a grapefruit. After seeing various doctors, she was told she had to have a hysterectomy and have her ovaries taken away. She didn’t panic. She was just glad it was getting sorted out. The word ‘cancer’ was never mentioned.
After surgery the surgeon told her he’d decided to leave a little bit on her bowel so that she didn’t have to have a colostomy bag but not to worry because the chemotherapy would get rid of it and that they were going to use two types of chemotherapy, Taxol and Carboplatin, which would make her lose her hair. When they said that, Sandra broke down because no one had said it was cancer before this point. Sandra thought they were taking away ovarian cysts. It turned out it was stage 3 ovarian cancer, which they say means you usually have three years to live.
Read her story here...
Aimee Jungman: "I was devastated and shocked. I couldn’t believe that a woman who had been in the business of healthcare for 20 years, had earned an MBA from a top-tier school, and lived in a city with some of the best doctors in the world could have this happen to her."
Read her story here...
Fueled by her desire to spread the word about ovarian cancer, Jenn Sommermann, who will celebrate five years of being cancer-free this summer, is letting her competitive streak run rampant. She has 12 races planned this season. No. 33 on her state-by-state list took place Saturday when she finished first in her age group in New Mexico's Coyote Carrera Triathlon. That leaves just a handful of races for 2013, the year Sommermann turns 50 and has pledged to complete her campaign.
Read her story here... and her most recent update here...
Donna LaBargo was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in January 2009. Ovarian cancer has symptoms that can be very vague, and most often it’s not diagnosed until in the later stages. When Donna looks back now, she realizes she had all the typical symptoms. But like most women, they really didn’t seem unusual at the time. Her gynecological oncologist later told her that she could have been checked every month and still not have been diagnosed in an early stage – that’s how fast it can spread. She compared it to blowing on a dandelion.
Read her story here...
Diem Brown was a 22-year-old freelance entertainment reporter when MTV came calling five years ago. The network wanted to cast her on “Real World/Road Rules.” Just before the show started shooting, Diem discovered that intense abdominal pain she’d been living with for months was cancer — ovarian cancer at age 22.
Read her story here...
Follow her blog here...
“A lot of people, when they get cancer, think their life is over,” said Anne Leeb, who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2008. “But it’s not over. I mean, I have a baby now. I never would have thought that was possible a few years ago.”
Read her story here...
Donna Trussell recently bought a sewing machine. She knows it’s cheaper to buy finished clothing than to buy cloth and sew a dress yourself. But she bought a sewing machine.
Compounding the horror, she says, she also bought a waffle iron. "Waffle irons are frivolous. Ridiculous. One more thing to lug around. And what’s wrong with pancakes?" says Donna. Despite all that, she bought a waffle iron. And she's been gardening. Hauling dirt. Planting bulbs. She kills almost everything she plants, but that’s beside the point. She is trying.
"Perhaps my 2001 diagnosis of ovarian cancer is to blame? Brain damage from the chemo? Or is it something deeper?"
Read her story here... or read more about Sandra by clicking here...
Michelle Present says faith and love have kept her alive, she is one of the lucky ones. She beat ovarian cancer, "the silent killer." Present's cancer was an advanced stage three when she was officially diagnosed almost one year ago. She was sent to an oncologist after complaining of abdominal discomfort. All tests came back negative, and surgery was scheduled.
"It was more exploratory than anything," Present says. "And it was where they discovered I had a mass that was back deep in my pelvis that had attached itself to the muscles in my lower back and left leg. But it did not show up on a scan or a test." Present says she kept pushing for answers because she just didn't feel right and Barnes says Present did exactly the right thing.
"You certainly need to look into things. Never minimize symptoms," Barnes says. According to Barnes, any abdominal discomfort that lasts for more than a week or two should be checked out.
Read her story here...
Like most fifth-graders, Cassidy Brozovich wants to be around her friends. That is why she returned to North Road Intermediate School in Howland last week despite being diagnosed with a rare childhood ovarian cancer on March 6th.
Cassidy said it was "kind of a shocker" when the doctor told her she had cancer. Bolchalk said her daughter complained of a stomach ache that morning, but wanted to go to school because she was doing a presentation and there were school pictures scheduled. When her stomach ache got worse and she developed a low-grade fever, Bolchalk, a nurse, thought Cassidy was having an appendicitis attack and took her to her pediatrician, who also thought it was her appendix. From there, she went to Akron Children's Hospital in Boardman, where a CT Scan revealed a mass the size of a baseball on her right ovary.
Read her story here...
Michelle Hutchinson, of Langford, knew nothing about ovarian cancer until she was diagnosed with the disease in February last year. The 30-year-old said all she could think of when she was diagnosed was her young sons. “I thought I was going to die and leave my beautiful boys behind,” she said.
Read her story here...
For years, Jordan suffered with heavy, painful menstrual periods. She sought medical help, but none of the remedies her doctor prescribed worked. The mother of 2 teenagers, Jordan decided in 2010 to have a hysterectomy to take care of the problem once and for all. Jordan’s doctor told her he planned to do the hysterectomy vaginally, but warned that if there were any complications, he might have to do it abdominal.
When she came to after the surgery, Jordan found that she had had abdominal surgery. The surgeon explained that when he pressed on her abdomen, he had felt something hard on one of her ovaries. Once inside, he could see cancer on both ovaries and the omentum, which is a layer of fatty tissue that covers the organs. He removed Jordan’s ovaries, fallopian tubes, uterus, and omentum.
Read her story here...
At 10 years-old Tathra's grandmother, was diagnosed with breast cancer, she fought hard, AND WON, but was soon diagnosed with Gynecological cancer, this fight was also won. Then she had an aunt diagnosed with BC, then another and then ANOTHER all within a short time.
Read her story here...
In 2010, photographer and ovarian cancer survivor Carolyn Taylor began a photo documentary project to show that the battle against cancer is universal. She planned to use photography to illustrate that regardless of race, religion, nationality or economic status, we are all one in the fight against the disease.
Read her story here...
Or visit her website by clicking here.
Many gynecologists do not ask their patients about ovarian cancer symptoms, and many patients are unaware of the symptoms to ask questions. Alice Laurendine knows because she had her ovaries removed in a complete hysterectomy 23 years prior to getting Ovarian cancer.
Read her story here...
Chrissy Deutsch was diagnosed at age 43 with ovarian cancer Stage IIIC on May 10, 2009.
Read her story here...
10 year old Elizabeth Dimas was diagnosed last summer.
Read her story here...
53 weeks to the day that Olivia's sister had major surgery at Mayo Clinic for an Ovarian tumor – Olivia (age 32) underwent surgery to remove her right ovary.
Read her story here...
Susan Engels was diagnosed with Stage 3C ovarian cancer on December 23rd, 2009 at the age of 49. She spent almost three weeks in the hospital after having major surgery that involved removing cancerous tumors and her ovaries.
Read her story here...
Aileen Coleman was diagnosed with ovarian cancer during the birth of her second son through a repeat cesarean section
Read her story here...
A beautiful young woman, diagnosed with Ovarian cancer, a nightmare for any woman when they hear those words “You have ovarian cancer”.
Elana heard those words not only once but 3 times.
A young woman with a darling young daughter hearing the words that just might kill her. “Who’s going to raise my daughter, will I live long enough to see her graduate? Her first boyfriend? What about seeing her walk down the isle? Will she forget me?
I can not imagine the thoughts that run through her mind, the personal struggle she is going though.
Elana wants to live! Please help and donate for early detection of ovarian cancer.
Elana Waldman - Ovarian Cancer Survivor Story
Kelly Paulus, was 48 years old and diagnosed with stage I ovarian cancer January 7th this year.
Read her story here...
