Up until my thirties, my only medical history consisted of having a history of ovarian cysts which even required surgery to remove them; but ovarian cancer was not in my vocabulary. When I started to spot (bleed) and have some abdominal pain, my first thought was "oh I probably have another cyst". I guess technically, I was right. I made…

There's no clear history of cancer in my family. I was a college athlete. I prioritized whole-body health and I taught others the benefits of doing the same. I've always thought I was immune. One night in May of 2020, I tried to go to bed but couldn't lie down comfortably. I began having difficulty breathing. Pain spiraled out from…

My very complicated health journey starts at a young age. By the time I was in my late teens I was diagnosed with endometriosis, PCOS, and Calcium renal calculus (calcium kidney stones). Between my doctors and myself, we tried countless options to relieve and heal my never-ending symptoms. In 2012, my brother and I were in a life-altering car accident.…

It all started in March 2018 when I was in my final year of nursing and (no exaggeration) I woke up looking like Humpty Dumpty, or, more accurately a walking barrel. To make that clearer I had gained 10kgs in 2 weeks and had gone from running 10 miles the previous weekend to getting breathless walking 10 steps. Not wanting…

My story begins in March 2019 when my gynecologist noticed that my uterus felt enlarged during my annual exam. She ordered a transvaginal ultrasound, which detected a 9cm mass in my left ovary. My bloodwork looked stable and my ca- 125 tumor marker was within the normal range, so we were optimistic the mass was benign. But during this time…

My first symptom — abdominal pain — started eight months before my diagnosis. Because I had been healthy my entire life, and because the pain came and went through the months and wasn't consistent, I didn't think it was serious. Twice I thought it might be a urinary tract infection: I saw a same-day physician assistant the first time and…

Starting in July 2011, I started experiencing strange health issues mainly stemming from an eye disease that causes blindness, which is typically a result of an autoimmune disease. This led to getting poked and prodded over my whole body, blood and urine labs done weekly, full-body scans (MRIs, CAT scans, PET scans), and even getting examined by the best doctors…

I was first diagnosed with Granulosa Cell Tumor (GCT) ovarian cancer in 2010. I discovered the tumor when I was training for my first half marathon. I noticed that I had a hard bulge near my waistline that just simply shouldn't be there. To be honest, I was quite distracted at the time. Nine months prior I had started a new…

Finding out that my mom may have ovarian cancer, didn't hit me as I thought it would. Explaining to my mom (a nurse) and my family what the next steps might be, has been my job for the last 4 years as a medical oncology nurse. It wasn't until the night after the doctor reviewed my mom's CT scan that…

Being told that I have ovarian cancer was the last thing that I expected to hear on May 13, 2020. In December of 2019 I was living it up in Las Vegas for my 30th Birthday and the following February I started to notice bloating in my abdomen. After the bloating went away for a short period of time, I…