THE WOMEN’S HEALTH GROUP, P.C.

9195 Grant Street, Suite 410, Thornton, CO 80229

Phone: 303-280-2229 (BABY)

300 Exempla Circle, Suite 470,      Lafayette, CO 80026

Phone: 303-665-6016

www.whg-pc.com

“WHAT IF IT IS CANCER?”

According to The American Cancer Society, www.cancer.org, ovarian cancer is rare in women under the age of 40.  When Marcia arrived at her doctor’s office with a few symptoms including bloating and discomfort, she thought she had a bladder infection.  After an ultrasound revealed a tumor (thought to be benign, or noncancerous), she was scheduled for exploratory surgery.  Little did anyone guess she might have ovarian cancer.  Marcia and her husband wanted to have this problem resolved so they could move onto the business of starting their family.  She posed the question, ‘What if it is cancer?’  The answer she heard was “You are too young [for cancer]”.  Onto the operating table for a ‘simple’ 90 minute surgery that in reality became an extensive abdominal surgery lasting five hours.  Marcia had Stage IIIc ovarian cancer; it claimed her reproductive system and a few other structures.  Six months of chemotherapy was scheduled.  She suffered heartache at the loss of her fertility and how this would affect her marriage. Lifestyle changes followed, including acupuncture, a macrobiotic diet, and walking, to name a few.  An artistic side of her came to the surface and that seemed to ease the stress.

Marcia didn’t live near family when she started her treatments.  Family members would fly in and out of town, helping her through chemotherapy and providing moral support.  Keeping family and friends informed was an overwhelming task—so many details.  Marcia thought back to a friend who had brain cancer and the website that was created to keep her family and friends informed.   Marcia rallied her troops in 2006, formed a Board of Directors and began the paperwork for a non-profit organization, www.mylifeline.org.  This group provides free websites to cancer patients and their caregivers as a way to keep in touch, share a treatment calendar, find some humor in the ugliness of cancer and allow visitors to leave messages for the patient/caregiver.   The role of caregiver is a tough one, and not always a rewarding one.  Oftentimes, the caregiver is the one who needs a place where they can ask for assistance. 

Today, Marcia has a love-filled life with her husband and twin sons (born through a surrogate mother and an egg-donor).  Ovarian cancer did not steal Marcia’s desire to have a family.  Ovarian cancer just meant she had to be more creative with how to start that family.  As the cancer diagnosis fades further into the past (over ten years ago), it becomes more of a memory than a day-to-day focus.  She still has the fear of remission, but as each year passes, the less dark that cloud is.  Today, she is thankful for her blessings-the ability to enjoy her family and a busy life.

Ovarian cancer can be a devastating disease.  It can mean treatment as radical as surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy, however, when diagnosed early, ovarian cancer can be successfully treated.  Ovarian cancer did not mean the end of Marcia’s dreams of a full life-just ask her husband, her boys, her family, and her friends!  What is Marcia’s advice to women?  Get your annual exams.  Talk to your doctor.  Ask questions.  What is Marcia’s advice to cancer patients?   Give your caregivers credit-they have a hard job, too. 

Everyone knows someone with cancer.  Get educated.  Share resources.  Volunteer.  If a website will help, check out www.mylifeline.org.