Yes, really.

Hello to all who end up reading this blog.  I created this two months ago, and haven't been able to post since I set it up.  Not because I've been feeling sick, but I think mostly because I felt that if I wrote about it, then it would become real.  Guess it finally hit me that it IS real, and now that I have faced that, I may as well write about it.  People say journaling is therapeutic.  We'll see.

My journey with this beast, which is my name for ovarian cancer, began in January, 2011.  I just didn't feel right. And my stomach was bloated, as in "I look 7 months pregnant" bloated. I kept pointing that out, but nobody seemed all that concerned about it.  After too -many-to-remember visits to my g.p., and a gastroenterologist, a colonoscopy, blood work, etc., I was given several diagnosis'.  IBS, acid reflux, diverticulosis, stress, IBS, a hiatal hernia, stress, IBS, acid reflux, stress.  You get the picture.  I knew that what my body was exhibiting, and what I felt in my gut were two completely different things, but the docs didn't seem to be listening.  I do believe my doctors were beginning to consider me a complete hypochondriac, which I actually even considered myself a few times.  Until I went to the ER one night in extreme pain trying to pass a kidney stone.  The ER doctor took one look at me (well, really at my stomach) and said "Whoa....let's get a cat scan here."  Yay, someone was finally paying attention!  And the result of that attention was "you have ovarian cancer, most likely stage IV."  HUH?  Even though I was dubious, really dubious, when the other docs kept telling me IBS, stress, etc........I never expected that diagnosis.  The symptoms just didn't feel at all related to any 'female' disorder.

Thus the reason for this first post.  Ladies, KNOW the symptoms of ovca:  http://ovariancancer.jhmi.edu/symptoms.cfm  If any of them persist for more than two weeks, see your doctor, take the list of the symptoms with you and make them prove to you it's NOT cancer.  There is a wealth of "pink" information out there, but not much "teal" (the color for ovca) information.  And while your chances of developing ovca are much slimmer than developing breast cancer, the former is much more difficult to diagnosis (a pap smear doesn't do it) and treat, and much more difficult to survive.  So please, take a minute to know the symptoms, because there is no test for it, no billboards, no marathons (well, there are marathons, but unless you have the disease you're not likely to know about them). It is called the disease that whispers, and it definitely is that.  Unfortunately, my story of diagnosis is not much different from thousands of other women with this disease, which is why the majority of those diagnosed with this are already in late stage.

I will probably post more later, but my main objective right now is to get the word out to as many women as I can.  It really is that important.

~cat