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Cancer The diagnosis no one wants to hear

My father lost his battle with lung cancer on June 2, 2010, never knowing that now his baby girl was going to have to fight her own battle On May 21, 2010, at the age of 45, I was diagnosed with Stage 3C almost stage 4 ovarian cancer and was told I was in for a long hard fight for my life

Our motto was and still is with “Faith, Family, and Friends” is how we were going to get through this

I went through several surgeries that led to a total hysterectomy appendectomy, debulking of my abdominal wall and lymph nodes removed from my abdomen I had three chemo ports inserted, two of which were in my abdomen I endured two years of aggressive chemotherapy with 6 months of them being painful Intraperitoneal (IP) chemo, 4 different “chemo cocktails” and losing my hair 3 times It was a tough 2 years In and out of the hospital, side effects from the chemo drugs, weakness, nausea, I tried to stay strong My weight was down to 88 pounds and I was ready to give up My son and daughter in law came to the house with my granddaughter and I took one look at her and said I have to keep going, I want to see her and my future grandchildren grow up. So I fought harder and got stronger and after 13 years I can proudly say that “that I am a Survivor”!

I want to be an inspiration for other women going through ovarian cancer or anyone going through any type of cancer. You too can be a survivor.