Survivor Story: Debra H.
My Story begins with my husband and I trying to conceive a child. We went to see an infertility specialist and was told that I had a tumor on my left ovary and that once removed, the whole process would be easier. I went through that surgery and come out fine and continued with the infertility treatment with no results. I went to another and fertility doctor and upon examination he says, “Do you know your right ovary is missing?”. I told the doctor that it should be my left ovary!
My period started getting heavier and heavier and I went to my gynecologist and she said it was due to my weight and she said I was going through menopause. After a year of bleeding through my car seat and my work chair I finally said we need to do something about this. After all the scans and an MRI, I found out I had a 13-millimeter mass in my right ovary. My gynecologist convinced me to go back to the doctor who removed my incorrect ovary as he was the best in the area in robotic surgery. I was very scared, and I didn’t want to do this, but again, I listened to the wrong doctor.
I had a hysterectomy, including my ovary, two weeks later. I called the doctor’s office and they told me that everything was fine and there were no signs of cancer. While getting ready to go on vacation, I get the phone call from the doctor, stating I need to go see a gynecologist. I didn’t think anything of it as my sister was just diagnosed with kidney cancer six months before me and my dad had just died. He had stomach cancer. My mom who was living at the time had two rounds of colon cancer and lung cancer. I just thought it was routine.
The oncologist doing the examination brings me back in the room sitting with my husband and he says let’s discuss surgery as you have stage 2 ovarian cancer. My whole life ended in that sentence. The doctor looks at me and asks me if I knew I had cancer. I said no. I thought I was there for a routine follow-up due to the cancer history in my family. I went right from that doctor’s office to surgery. The doctor said that if I had waited a week or two the tumors would have spread throughout. I was lucky. I say to any woman out there please, please, listen to your body and be your own health advocate. I’m here today 8 years later to say miracles do happen.
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