Ovarian Cancer - The Diagnosis
The bummer about Ovarian Cancer is that it has no symptoms...or at least, it doesn't have symptoms that are easy to recognize. I have known for a few years that something wasn't right. In fact, I went to three different doctors over the last 3-4 years to express just that, but it was hard to put a finger on exactly what was wrong. I was more tired than I should be. Mainly, my stomach kept getting bigger, despite eating well and exercising regularly. Every time I mentioned this to a doctor they simply told me to exercise more and eat better. It was frustrating, but what did I know? I simply chalked it up to my lack of a thyroid and brushed it off.
At the beginning of the year, my stomach began to grow even more. It got to the point that my stomach actually hurt when I bent over to tie my shoes. I thought I had finally gotten so fat that I couldn't tie my shoes. So I tried to work out harder, but I was so tired! I continued to play volleyball a few times a week. I noticed that it was getting harder to move and I could feel a pull in my belly when I hit the ball. Finally, in mid-February, I put on my volleyball clothes and noticed that my belly was bigger than it had ever been. I was quite disgusted with myself, so I went for a run that weekend. At least, I tried to run! I couldn't catch my breath and ended up walk/jogging for only 1.5 miles before I quit. I couldn't understand what was going on. The next day my stomach ballooned even bigger. I actually looked and felt pregnant. When I moved, I could feel a slow-motion wave move inside of my belly. My husband and I decided that things weren't normal and that maybe I should see a doctor.
I called my family doctor the next day, thinking that maybe I would get an appointment in a month or so. When they asked me what my symptoms were, I just told them, "My belly is huge and it hurts." They got me in that afternoon. He was a bit stumped and told me that he would order an x-ray and ultrasound. If we didn't learn anything from those, he would order a CT scan. He got some blood work from me and sent me off to get my x-ray.
The doctor called me the next morning stating that my x-ray was normal, but my white blood cells and inflammation markers where high. He was worried about an infected organ and asked me to go to the hospital that afternoon for an ultrasound, which I did. I was home from the hospital for only about 30 minutes when my doctor's office called me back stating that my ultrasound was normal and that they wanted me to go back to the hospital right away for a CT scan. I spent Valentine's evening drinking lemonade-flavored contrast fluid in to prepare for the CT scan.
My doctor called me into his office the next day to let me know that he suspected I had Ovarian Cancer. He said they would likely do a biopsy, but he first wanted to do one more blood test...the CA 125 test. This tests specifically for ovarian cancer. A normal score is 0-30. My results came back at 668. When the results came in, he called me and said that he wouldn't waste my time with a biopsy and that referred me immediately to a Gynecological Oncologist surgeon.
What a wild 3 days that was! I had been reading each lab report as soon as they were posted, so I knew I had cancer before my doctor called me into his office. But my poor husband! As far as he knew, we were worried about an infection. How do you tell your husband you have cancer!? I didn't want to call him at work, so I waited for him to come home. He called on the way home asking how the doctor's appointment had gone, but I felt weird telling him over the phone and told him that we'd talk about it when he got home. He came home late, though...10 minutes before a group of young men were to come to our home to help clean up our porch that had collapsed from snow. I dropped the bomb in that short 10-minute window. The conversation literally went like this..."I have cancer. We're not sure what kind....either peritoneal or ovarian...and we don't know how bad it is. The boys will be here in 10 minutes. Here's some food you can eat. We can talk more as you get changed."
As emotional as it was to hear that I had cancer, from the very beginning I felt good about the diagnosis. I had read enough to know that my cancer would be advanced, but I felt calm and at peace. I had a feeling that all would end well. This helped as I prepared to face my upcoming surgery.
At the beginning of the year, my stomach began to grow even more. It got to the point that my stomach actually hurt when I bent over to tie my shoes. I thought I had finally gotten so fat that I couldn't tie my shoes. So I tried to work out harder, but I was so tired! I continued to play volleyball a few times a week. I noticed that it was getting harder to move and I could feel a pull in my belly when I hit the ball. Finally, in mid-February, I put on my volleyball clothes and noticed that my belly was bigger than it had ever been. I was quite disgusted with myself, so I went for a run that weekend. At least, I tried to run! I couldn't catch my breath and ended up walk/jogging for only 1.5 miles before I quit. I couldn't understand what was going on. The next day my stomach ballooned even bigger. I actually looked and felt pregnant. When I moved, I could feel a slow-motion wave move inside of my belly. My husband and I decided that things weren't normal and that maybe I should see a doctor.
I called my family doctor the next day, thinking that maybe I would get an appointment in a month or so. When they asked me what my symptoms were, I just told them, "My belly is huge and it hurts." They got me in that afternoon. He was a bit stumped and told me that he would order an x-ray and ultrasound. If we didn't learn anything from those, he would order a CT scan. He got some blood work from me and sent me off to get my x-ray.
The doctor called me the next morning stating that my x-ray was normal, but my white blood cells and inflammation markers where high. He was worried about an infected organ and asked me to go to the hospital that afternoon for an ultrasound, which I did. I was home from the hospital for only about 30 minutes when my doctor's office called me back stating that my ultrasound was normal and that they wanted me to go back to the hospital right away for a CT scan. I spent Valentine's evening drinking lemonade-flavored contrast fluid in to prepare for the CT scan.
My doctor called me into his office the next day to let me know that he suspected I had Ovarian Cancer. He said they would likely do a biopsy, but he first wanted to do one more blood test...the CA 125 test. This tests specifically for ovarian cancer. A normal score is 0-30. My results came back at 668. When the results came in, he called me and said that he wouldn't waste my time with a biopsy and that referred me immediately to a Gynecological Oncologist surgeon.
What a wild 3 days that was! I had been reading each lab report as soon as they were posted, so I knew I had cancer before my doctor called me into his office. But my poor husband! As far as he knew, we were worried about an infection. How do you tell your husband you have cancer!? I didn't want to call him at work, so I waited for him to come home. He called on the way home asking how the doctor's appointment had gone, but I felt weird telling him over the phone and told him that we'd talk about it when he got home. He came home late, though...10 minutes before a group of young men were to come to our home to help clean up our porch that had collapsed from snow. I dropped the bomb in that short 10-minute window. The conversation literally went like this..."I have cancer. We're not sure what kind....either peritoneal or ovarian...and we don't know how bad it is. The boys will be here in 10 minutes. Here's some food you can eat. We can talk more as you get changed."
As emotional as it was to hear that I had cancer, from the very beginning I felt good about the diagnosis. I had read enough to know that my cancer would be advanced, but I felt calm and at peace. I had a feeling that all would end well. This helped as I prepared to face my upcoming surgery.
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