Did you know that you could get ovarian cancer from using baby powder?

That was about the extent of my knowledge of ovarian cancer before I was diagnosed In September 2022. Mine was actually found during my hysterectomy. I knew that I had an extremely large cyst on my ovary, which is what led me to the point of getting a hysterectomy at 38 years old but at that point cancer hadn’t really crossed my mind.

As I was recovering at home two days after my surgery, I got a phone call that changed my life. My husband and kids had left me alone for a little while so I could rest and they could go to the grocery store. When my phone rang and I realized it was my doctor calling  I quickly answered it. After making the usual small talk and asking me how I was feeling his tone as he said I’m sorry Miss Hanson you have cancer. After I heard those words, it seemed like I could hear him talking but nothing else registered to me. I vaguely remember him saying that it was stage two ,then making a plan to put a port in so I could get chemo. as I hung up the phone, I just sat in silence trying to piece together everything that he said. I didn’t know how i was going to tell my husband or my kids at that point I didn’t know anything, except for I had to pull myself together to have a discussion with my family that I wasn’t ready to have.

I told my husband first and then we told the kids together. I wanted to be very honest with my kids and let them know that we will be learning about this together because it was going to be an experience for all of us. I knew then that I wanted to do my research and learn as much about this disease as I possibly could.

As I begin doing research, I started to realize how little information is out there about ovarian cancer. It was shocking at first I found that as I had conversations with people that most folks knew as little about ovarian cancer as I did. I knew that had to change, so I made it my personal mission to spread as much awareness as I possibly could. Ovarian cancer is such a tricky disease because the symptoms can be overlooked so easily and  its often not diagnosed until later stages. That’s why I feel that awareness and education is so Important for women of all ages.