Ovarian Cancer Survivor Shares her Success Story

I glad everything is under control now.i know what you went though with i went through surgery twice and it was not an easy time in my life!! may god contiune to bless you!!

"That’s why it’s so important for women to be in tune with their bodies.
If weird things start happening, and it lasts longer than two to three weeks, it could be absolutely nothing, but it's worth it to go in and get someone to look,” said Gates." ~ article

So they say, but when you try and tell the doctor what's going on, they don't listen to you. They simply write you off as another bored hysterical housewife and suggest you see a psychiatrist. IBS, you know, the garbage diagnosis.

I've been dealing with severe abdominal pain for over a year - and at 55, I DO know my body...doctor after doctor - even MUSC. No one listens - even though I know there is something wrong.

And yes, I am scared, frustrated, and very, very angry.

I feel really honored to know this woman. She has fought hard. God Bless you, Terry.

As as aside, I admire Ms. Gates.
She appears to be a very strong and determined woman.
God bless you, and thank you for your story.
I wish you the very best!

Sandy wrote:

"That’s why it’s so important for women to be in tune with their bodies.
If weird things start happening, and it lasts longer than two to three weeks, it could be absolutely nothing, but it's worth it to go in and get someone to look,” said Gates." ~ article
So they say, but when you try and tell the doctor what's going on, they don't listen to you. They simply write you off as another bored hysterical housewife and suggest you see a psychiatrist. IBS, you know, the garbage diagnosis.
I've been dealing with severe abdominal pain for over a year - and at 55, I DO know my body...doctor after doctor - even MUSC. No one listens - even though I know there is something wrong.
And yes, I am scared, frustrated, and very, very angry.

Sandy, have your Dr. do a vaginal, rectal exam at the same time. Sometime that will catch a mass before anything else. Also, a CA 125 blood test and a vaginal ultra sound are other ways of trying to detect this cancer. I hope nothing points you to ovarian cancer, but know how frustrated and frightened you are to have no diagnosis. Unfortunately for me, my tumor was very large and impossible to miss by the time I finally saw a Doctor. I wish you the very best.

How I wish I had known! I just lost my Mom to ovarian cancer. The doctors had been treating her for over a year for stomach upsets etc. Put her on Nexium and such and I kept telling her that I thought there was something a lot deeper going on. Finally after taking her to the hospital one Sunday in terrible stomach pain they decide to take her gall bladder out on Monday. They went in and then just closed her back up. The cancer (ovarian) was every where. She was only here barely 2 weeks before the Lord took her home.

We had no idea.

God bless Elizabeth (Betty) Seville Livingston 10-23-23_8-25-07

Miss you Mom!

I am sure now that my sisters and I will be very diligent about what is happening to our bodies.

Terry is a very lovely lady and I consider myself lucky to know her. I lost my mother and a sister to this dreadful cancer, it is very important to get Terry's message out. If you have any symptoms, please have your Doctor do the physical exams and the CA125 blood test. Don't take "I don't know" for an answer, Terry didn't and she is a survivor.

Terry, you are one strong lady and I love you. As I said when you first told me of your diagnosis--I've got a peaceful feeling about you. You are a true and lasting survivor.

Much love,

Your Old Friend

I was supposed to be dancing under the stars at a wedding reception held along the edge of the Tamar River in Tasmania last November 14,2006 but instead I awoke to the most horrific news. Stage IIIC ovarian cancer. The cancer had begun to invade my colon. While in surgery my husband gave my doctor permission to perform a colostomy. It was necessary for several reasons; to me the most important reason was that it was required in order for me to receive the most aggressive chemotherapy available. It's called intraperitoneal chemo. A simple procedure in some ways; a tube connected to a port dumps what feels like gallons of cisplatin into my peritoneal cavity (abdominal area). Each time I left the chemo room I felt about to explode. But that was the least of it. There's fear, loneliness, anger, depression.

Now, nearly a year later I can honestly say that cancer has made me a different and I believe better person. I still like to have the last word. I'm still obsessive-compulsive about having a clean house and an organized desk. I still want my own way (because its the best way!) But I notice how brightly the sun shines, how beautiful rain clouds are, how incredibly blue the sky is even when it isn't, how the wind sounds and how the sun feels on my skin. Every hug from my beautiful son (who moved back east from New Mexico after my diagnosis) brings tears to my eyes and joy wells in my heart. And when my husband smiles at me, tells me I'm beautiful (even though I'm a recovering baldy), and says he'll love me forever, I know that I will never die.

My colostomy was reversed in May 2007, my cancer is in remission and my CA125 is 5.5 (35 or below is normal). It was 114 when I was diagnosed.

I wouldn't wish this illness on my worse enemy. If you have vague symptons get help. Be aggressive if you have to. Your life may depend on it.