“Honor yourself, care for yourself and don’t feel ashamed to be selfish with your time. This also includes freeing yourself from always feeling like you have to be a hero. There’s a time and a place for tying that cape around your neck, but you also have the right to wallow as needed; just make sure you don’t set up camp there.”
Ovarian Cancer Grad- Maria
"The first diagnosis was the hardest moment, the doctor said I basically had six months. I have a little girl, which at that moment was young (almost 3 years old). My husband, who is very strong, was devastated. It was a hard hard moment to get through. But after that, after rock bottom, all we had left was to stand up, so I did it, WE did it, as a family. And 3 years later, I’m still here living my life, seeing my little princess grow, and getting thanking God for letting me be here."
Ovarian Cancer Grad- Tamara
“What I thought was just a sudden weight lost, turned out to be something more serious. My stomach was bloated a lot at the time. Eventually, I went to the emergency room. The doctors thought I was pregnant because of how my stomach looked. They didn't see or hear a heart beat, which is when they discovered the fluid. That explained where all the bloating came from. They drained all the fluid out of my stomach. They filled up 6 1/2 tubes.”
Ovarian Cancer Grad- Sherry
I wish that more people understood how dangerous OVCA is. That is has a frighteningly high recurrence rate, and that there is NO FORMAL DIAGNOSTIC TEST. A Pap smear tests for cervical cancer, not ovarian. Because of this, you have to stay extra vigilant. If you feel off, ask your doctor for a transvaginal ultrasound. If you still feel off, ask them for a CA-125.
Ovarian Cancer Grad- Jenny
Ovarian Cancer Grad- Jennifer
"I wish more people were aware that there is more than one type of ovarian cancer. The cancer I had behaved very differently than the cancer postmenopausal women get, and has very different outcomes. And yes, I can still have kids (definitely the most-asked question when I tell someone I had ovarian cancer). I also wish more people were aware of how important it is to advocate for your own health, not just for ovarian cancer or even any cancer, but for life in general."