Ovarian Cancer Treatment Leads Two Women to Friendship

Nicola also had the additional burden of being told time and time again that her cancer was back. Despite being rare to recur, she was constantly that rare case. Spirits were beaten low with each blow as she was told repeatedly that the last treatment didn’t work. Erin tried her best to support her friend through the heart-gripping uncertainties Nicola faced alone.

Nicola also lost something more dear to her than Erin did – the chance to have children. Both women required hysterectomies and both were blasted into early menopause prematurely. However, Erin had something Nicola was just starting to try and build – a family. Erin already had two children by the time she had her uterus removed, while Nicola did not. Though both women mourned the loss of their fertility, Nicola had a more devastating loss.

Erin also faced struggles that Nicola will never know

Erin also had her own struggles Nicola would never know. As a newly diagnosed and new mother simultaneously, Erin missed out on a lot of her second child’s first 6 months. She was too sick to care for her infant daughter as she went in for her chemo and radiation. Both children were also too young to understand why mommy wasn’t able to be there for them. Cancer, chemo, and radiation were all beyond a baby’s understanding of the world. The hardship of raising two small children while fighting cancer was something Nicola would never know.