Let’s cut to the chase and get to the questions on everyone’s mind- What is your diagnosis? How did you find it? Were you feeling sick? Are you going to be okay?

What is your diagnosis?

Stage 3C Peritoneal Cancer - Specifically Low Grade Carcinoma

Stage 3C Ovarian Cancer - Specifically Low Grade Carcinoma

How did you find it?

In February 2021 I had an emergency C-Section (for reasons not directly related to cancer) and at the end of the operation my OBGYN was irrigating behind my uterus and felt a small growth about a centimeter in size. He sent it off for biopsy thinking that it would be a fibroid or endometriosis. He was so unconcerned that he didn’t even tell me that he did it. I remember laying on the operating table hearing “send this off for biopsy” and then the conversation continued on about cookies as they closed me up. I later asked one of the nurses about and it and she informed me that it was probably endometriosis or a fibroid but not to panic and he would contact me if anything came back about the biopsy.

Fast forward to February 26th, 2021 and mark that as the worst day of my life. My son was on his second week in the NICU with not much progress so he was being transported via ambulance to a higher level NICU center which made me a basket case already. We had just gotten settled in to the new NICU bay and I received a call from my OBGYN. The new NICU had extremely strict rules on cell phone use so I couldn’t have answered it even if I wanted to. He left me a very cryptic voicemail that he needed to speak with me, gave me his cell phone number, and then proceeded to text me that I needed to call him as soon as I could.

I left the NICU and walked across the street to my car in the parking garage where I made my life changing phone call. On this call I heard for the first time “you have cancer” and everything past that was a complete blur. I sat in my car for hours waiting for my husband to come meet me and try to get myself together enough to go back into the NICU and pretend I didn’t just have that conversation. At that point there were so many unknowns and Dr. Google gave me no peace of mind, I was in shambles. Terrified of the new NICU with all of Hudson’s health concerns and now this grenade was just too much.

I was told that it took so long for me to hear back about the biopsy because I have such a rare cancer it had to be sent to a second pathology lab in Texas to receive a diagnosis. He informed me that during my c-section he did not notice any additional growths and was hopeful that this was the only one. Spoiler alert: he was SO wrong- but more on that later.

Were you feeling sick?

This is such a hard question to answer because yes and no.

Due to the type of cancer, I think symptoms would have presented as problematic periods and bad cramps, things of that nature, which if that is the case then, yes. However, that could just be my reproductive system and how my body handled it and have absolutely nothing to do with the cancer.

When it was found I was having a baby and had the pregnancy from hell. Starting with horrible morning sickness and ending with eclampsia-who is to say that some of that wasn’t caused by the tumors invading my body.

Overall I would say no, I wasn’t feeling sick. I was having a hard pregnancy and would have thought nothing else of it had the tumor not been found during my c-section.

Are you going to be okay?

Relax relax, I am not going to drop dead tomorrow. I am still going through Chemo so I can’t give you a lot of information on how things are progressing. I can tell you that peritoneal cancer has a 47% 5 year survival rate and that is a scary number. I can tell you that my CA125 (Tumor Markers) on my labs have decreased since I have started treatment. I can tell you that this cancer is extremely rare and doesn’t typically present until women are in their 70’s. I can say “I think they caught it early”. Truly, I can spin the answer to this question any way I want it to sound. The reality is that I will always be a cancer patient. For the rest of my life, whether that is 5 more years or 65 more years, this will always be hanging over me. I will always have to get scans done and I will always be in fear of it. I have a whole new appreciation of life and trying to have more fun and make less rules for myself because life is so unpredictable.