I Immediately Knew
I started having painful period-like cramps, so I made an appointment with my OB-gyn the next day. They immediately gave me an ultrasound and discovered a grapefruit-sized tumor where my ovaries should’ve been.
Certain it was cancer, I was in surgery days later. Thankfully all the cancer was encapsulated in the tumor, so no chemo was necessary.
I did have to go on an estrogen patch though. A year later, I was sitting in my bathtub and reached out for a towel. Felt a weird pain in my left breast. All of a sudden, I knew. It was cancer again.
I immediately pulled off the estrogen patch and then went in for a mammogram first thing the next morning.
A few days later, I was having a bi-lateral mastectomy and reconstruction, which I had insisted on because it was my second cancer diagnosis.
My doc wanted me to have a lumpectomy and radiation, but I insisted that I never again wanted to have to tell my daughters that I had cancer.
After my surgery, my tumor was tested and it was determined to be highly recurrent and aggressive.
Even though the cancer had not spread into my lymph nodes, I went through 20 rounds of harsh chemo in the hopes it will never, ever come back. In April, I will celebrate being cancer free for five years!