My Diagnosis Story

Lee Steer: My Diagnosis Story
HEALTHJOURNEYS
Lee Steer Ovarian Cancer

I'm a 46 year old mum of three beautiful children who is grateful to still be here to see them grow up!

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What symptoms led up to your diagnosis?

Needing to go to the toilet during the night when I never had before.

Needing to pass a bowel motion without any warning.

Excruciating pain right where my cesarean scar is when passing a bowel motion.

I would get a feeling like a hunger pain when I wasn't really hungry and I would have to eat something small to make it go away!  That symptom was a weird one!

Bad low back pain during the night and first thing in the morning, especially if I was lying on my back.  I was seeing the chiropractor and a physio but the pain never went away. I would tell them it felt like there was something on the inside that was lying heavily on my back!

I had no energy, was anaemic for several years (even though I was taking two iron tablets a day) and couldn't seem to lose weight, no matter what I tried.

I just didn't feel well, but couldn't pin-point one specific thing that would explain what was going on.

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

My doctor sent me for an ultrasound on my abdomen because she couldn't work out what would be causing the pain in my cesarean scar - she thought it might be scar tissue becoming caught up in my intestines!

About a week after the ultrasound, the doctor called me in to tell me I had an Ovarian cyst.  I was sent for a couple of blood tests and referred to a gynaecologist but was contacted by the receptionist at the gynaecologist's office and told that I would need to get my doctor to send me a Gynaecological Oncologist instead. When I asked why, I was told that I probably had "Endo" and that an oncologist would need to deal with that.  I asked what "Endo" was and she told me she meant Endometriosis.  She was the most tactful, informative of receptionists!

I was then referred to an Oncologist by my doctor and received a phone call telling me that the oncologist would contact me in a few days time once I had been triaged.

I was actually contacted by the oncologist the next morning and told that there had been a "cancellation" and that he could see me the next day. I thought this was rather convenient, so started to panic a bit!

When I saw the oncologist the next day, he told me he could fit me in for surgery the following day.  I was worried by then as it seemed rather odd that I could miraculously be fitted in so quickly!

Upon learning about your diagnosis, what happened next?

I went in to hospital to have surgery about ten days after having the original ultrasound.

My husband was the only one I had told about having an "Ovarian cyst" until the night before my surgery.

I didn't want to worry anyone unnecessarily until I was certain about what was happening. Even though I had known for about 10 days, I didn't know how serious it was until the night before the surgery, so that was when I told me three children who were 15, 12 and seven at the time. I also called my mum and told her. My dad wasn't home at the time, so he called me back later. I asked them to contact my brothers and sister because I didn't really have the time or the inclination to call them and speak to them myself.  I had to go shopping for something appropriate to wear in the hospital the next day! I didn't own any pyjamas!

My dad asked me if I was okay and I said yes.  He didn't really believe me because he didn't understand why I would be okay.  He thought I should have been scared and worried!  I was...but I didn't really have enough time to think too much about it.  I think that made it much easier to deal with at the time, but...I think it made it harder afterwards because it kind of hit me once I got home from hospital.  I couldn't do anything for myself for a few days and I went into surgical menopause at 43.  My body was in shock and it is taking me a long time to work out how to deal with this.

It's now been three years since my surgery and I have had to put my dosage of HRT up several times in that time. My oncologist has told me I can't go up any more with my patches and I am still having difficulty with hot flushes, mood swings, irritability, tiredness and weight gain, so he has sent me to an Integrative Health Physician to see what they can do to make me feel better.

I had been feeling so unwell before I found out what was wrong, that I assumed I would feel a lot better after the tumour was gone, but I don't!  I feel like I should be grateful to be alive (my tumour was about the size of half a football, but was a stage 1A and I didn't need any chemo) and I am one of the lucky ones, but I don't feel "well" enough to feel that way!