In the fall of 2001 I was having all the symptoms of OC but didn’t know it at the time this was going on. I was at perimenopause age, and all my symptoms were able to be described as other things.

The main symptoms of severe back pain, the feeling of ovulation pain that would never go away is what triggered me going to the doctor.

They did an ultrasound and referred me to go get an MRI that MRI looks suspicious and they set me up an appointment with an oncology gynecologist.

February 8, 2022, I had an open hysterectomy, and they removed my large tumor that was stuck to my large intestine. Unfortunately, I did have to lose some of my intestines and this resulted in an ostomy bag that I had for almost 4 years

I got the official word that I had endometrioid adenocarcinoma stage 2b. I also did genetic testing and found out am brca2 positive.

Had a very rough surgery. My tumor bled out and I was given 6 L of blood I spent 20 days in the hospital from various complications of surgery, and my gut did not want to wake up.

A few weeks after going home, I started cancer treatment treatments. My cocktail was carbo/taxol. I chose to shave my head once my hair started falling out because I felt like that was something I had control over. After finishing frontline chemo, I took Lynparza for two years. My ostomy was reversed a year ago this month and so far, I am NED

I made the decision to deal with my cancer in a positive manner instead of being sad and depressed all the time. I did have bad days but I got through the hard days with a great faith in God, a supportive family and community.

I feel like helping spread awareness and sharing my story is why I am here. This is my mission in life. I donated my tumor and female organs for research telling my husband. “If I can help one person then it was worth it.”

I don’t want to go through cancer again, but I can’t say that I regret having cancer. I saw many blessings come out of my illness and my relationships in my life are stronger now than they’ve ever been. There were a lot of personal lessons and growth throughout this journey.