How I Was Diagnosed With Ovarian Cancer | Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month!

September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month; a month I never knew existed.

I wanted to start the month off with one of the most asked questions I get, “How was I diagnosed with ovarian cancer?” so grab your favorite snack and bev, get cozy, and let’s dive into my story.

In 2016, at the age of 23 years old, I was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called Low Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer. This cancer is rare because of my age and because of the sub-type it was, low grade. Slow growing but is usually resistant to chemo. When I was first diagnosed, I was stage 3 and after my cancer debulking surgery, that October, we found out that I was now stage 4b, terminal.

So you’re probably asking yourself, “how the heck did you find out you had cancer?!” well, I’m going to tell you.

It all started back in 2015. That is when I experienced my first symptoms of ovarian cancer, I just didn’t know it. From the end of October of 2015 until the day I was diagnosed with cancer, on August 3rd, 2016, I was in and out of the ER and each time I was sent home and told I was fine. In October of 2015, I was in the best shape of my life. I was preparing to compete in my first NPC Bikini Competition (bodybuilding) and stepped on stage towards the end of October. The show was a 2 day show and on the second day, I got extremely sick. That morning I woke up and started to get ready for the show. I had my morning meal and instantly felt sick. I ran to the bathroom because I had to go, like now, but nothing came out. Instead, my stomach started to cramp up. It was some of the most intense pain I had ever felt. I could hardly move. Then I got hit, projectile vomit coated the bathroom walls and it was non-stop. I was able to get some water and gatorade down, which helped for awhile. I ended up making it to my show, even though I could barely stand.

It took me a week to recover from that day. My stomach was still tight. I felt like I had to poop but nothing was coming out. I started to feel like my old self again a week later and just chalked it up to a bad stomach day…but those bad stomach days started happening more and more. Soon, the ER became my second home. I constantly had stomach cramps to the point I could barely walk. A few times, I thought my appendix was bursting. I would throw up when I felt like I had to go poop and soon, I would start to throw up after drinking coffee. Each time, the ER would do a CT scan, always with contrast and every single time I was told I was just constipated. Take a laxative and you’ll be fine. This went on for over 9 months, until I had a lump appear one day.

I was laying in bed and felt my stomach. On my right side, right about my pubic area, I felt a bump. About the size of a golf ball. It was hard but didn’t hurt. I instantly thought it was a cyst, which I would sometimes get because my periods were irregular (always had been since I got them so it wasn’t weird or new). I noticed that lump in June and by July, it had not only grown but now there was a pain I had never felt before that would randomly appear. It would last maybe about 5-10 seconds but would stop me in my tracks and hunch me over. I called my OBGYN and she scheduled a transvaginal ultrasound for the following week. She thought it was a cyst too.

That weekend, I ended up back in the ER after an afternoon of showing homes to our clients. I will never forget the doctor who came in and his reaction when he felt the bump. He came in and was all smiles. He started to feel on my stomach and when he feels the bump, he stops and goes “oh, what is this!?” and started to laugh. I felt uneasy when he started to laugh. An hour later, I was getting a transvaginal ultrasound and a few more hours later, the doctor met us in the waiting room.

He came in with that same big smile and goes “You are totally fine! Just follow up with your OBGYN but it looks like it’s a cyst or a non-cancerous tumor. Alright, have a great night” and he went on his way.

That Monday, I called my OBGYN and told her what had happened that weekend. She already had the ultrasound images pulled up (same hospitals) and I told her if I needed to have a cyst removed, we need to do it as soon as possible because I was getting married in less than 38 days. She called me back an hour later and surgery was scheduled for that night at 5pm.

The plan was to go in and do a laparoscopic surgery and see what that bump was. If it was a cyst that needed to be removed, they would remove it or rupture it. Pretty simple and should only take an hour. I remember waking up from the surgery and asking if they got it. I can’t remember if it was a nurse or if it was Kaleb but someone said “well they just gotta check a few things out first” and I woke up the next morning.

I was still in the hospital when I woke up. It was around 7am. The sun was coming into the room, softly. Kaleb and I were playing old school Mario on the Nintendo they had in my room. The door opens and I see my OBGYN coming in. This time I wasn’t met with her usual smile and bright eyes. It was different this time. My heart started to flutter but I had no idea why. I could feel the room get cold.

“I’m sorry sweetie, you have cancer” were the words that came out of my doctors mouth, as tears streamed down her face. I felt tears pour down my face and I searched Kaleb’s face, hoping that this was a nightmare or a sick joke. It wasn’t. The bump I had been feeling, it was a tumor. They weren’t 100% sure what type of cancer it was but I they were pretty sure it was ovarian. I needed to get a biopsy done to be 100%.

In those .2 seconds of our world getting flipped upside down, I felt a peace, a warmth, unlike anything before. It was like someone was hugging me, tightly and peace washed over me. I knew I was going to beat cancer, whatever cancer it was.

So, the way I found out was by a complete accident. For over a year I was misdiagnosed and while I know ER doctors aren’t specialized in cancer, this should NOT have been missed. My OBGYN said that if I wasn’t in the shape I was in at the time, we may have never found the bump and it could have been too late.

Ovarian cancer is known as the silent killer for a reason. Most women get diagnosed in the late or advanced stages, when the symptoms are more noticeable. Many women, like myself, will also get dismissed because of our age. Ovarian cancer is usually found in women in their 50’s+ and has become more commonly seen in younger and younger women!

If you want to know the 10 most common signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer, click here to learn more.

I also want to add that there is NO test for ovarian cancer.

A Pap smear or yearly exam will NOT detect ovarian cancer.

Ovarian cancer can ONLY be 100% determined by a biopsy.