My Diagnosis Story

What symptoms led up to your diagnosis?

I had absolutely NO symptoms right up until I had sudden onset of abdominal pain right before I was about to leave work and go on a bike ride. I was a healthy 40-something who is a vegetarian, rarely ate junk food, never smoked.  I had nothing else, just severe (enough to double me over) pain in my belly.  It hurt to walk, or just move. A few hours later, a low-grade fever. I'm a nurse practitioner, so I knew something bad was happening (appendicitis?), just didn't know what at first. Went to the ER hours later, at around 3 a.m., when I told my husband I thought it would be less crowded.

What tests did your doctor do, and what was this experience like?

Abdominal/pelvic CT in the ER, followed by a transvaginal ultrasound at my GYN's office.  Ultrasound showed a concerning cyst on my left ovary. Weird, because my pain was on the right, and low in my abdomen.  My pain went away on its own, and I went home feeling fine, and came back to see my GYN 6 weeks later for another ultrasound. That's when my doctor and I knew that I had cancer, not a harmless cyst. 

Upon learning about your diagnosis- what happened next?

I got a quick referral to my GYN-ONC surgeon, and got scheduled for surgery within days. Instantly, my uterus and both ovaries were gone, so I went straight into full-blown menopause pretty much overnight. After surgery, was referred to my oncologist for chemotherapy.