An Artist Journey

Let me tell you a little story.

I began a weight loss program to lose this weight, and the better I ate the more I gained! Now what in the world is going on?? I thought my age and the hormone changes was causing the difficulty of the weight loss.

The other things I was experiencing was swelling in my ankles and general water retention. I did have some shortness of breath – but this was supposed to be part of menopause also – right.

Finally, I thought it might be good to have a physical to see what was going on. So the first thing the doctor asked me was “Do you think you are Pregnant?” Well, I said, I don’t think so.. . . but this lead to a pregnancy test in the doctor’s office. Which of course came up negative. She seemed kind of concerned about the swelling in my ankles as it was pretty bad!

So she sent me, the same day, for an ultrasound of my abdomen. Which lead to an immediate CT scan of the same area. WELL. Live and learn – they found a large cyst that they thought was attached to an ovary! This all happened on a Tuesday; two days later I saw a specialist and was scheduled for major surgery the next Monday, less than a week later!

Needless to say it was a very frightening week and after lots of prayer I checked in for my surgery. Upon waking – half coherent mind you – I was told that the cyst initially tested as not cancerous! Prayers answered! I needed to wait a couple of weeks to get the results of continued testing.

So needless to say I wasn’t thrilled with having to wait for the final results, but as determined to heal and feel better. Once I got home I realized that I had lost 25 pounds really fast and began feeling better each day. I do not recommend this method of weight loss by the way!

After the first two week wait, and another couple of weeks wait, as they discussed the “cyst” at the tumor board (I don’t like the sound of this); I finally got the results. Well. . . after fearing all of my life that I would get cancer it has happened. I was told they found a small amount of cancer cells in a cyst the size of a basketball! My diagnosis is Stage One High Risk Ovarian Cancer. I must begin three rounds of chemotherapy with a possibility of 3 more rounds for a total of 6! I was pretty shocked to say the least but there have been a few positives in this. First, I went to the doctor at the right time and did not wait any longer. Things moved pretty fast from there and the tumor was removed. Second, the diagnosis of Stage One, I am told, is very rare. Most women diagnosed with ovarian cancer are usually stage 4 or 5 as it is a silent killer of women.

Update: December 31, 2013

Since my cancer diagnosis in September, I have gone through chemotherapy and have finished! Have been done since the end of October and had just one wish for Christmas. I just wanted my hair back! I know that seems like a minor thing, but you do not realize how much your hair helps and means to you until you loose it! Well, it did start to grow back just a few days before Christmas.

Thank you for listening to my journey. I hope it helps you to listen to your body more closely.