Ovarian cancer—there IS hope. (guest post)

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I love me some Madeline.  And, if you dont read her blog regularly already, you should.  Before you do, however, make you some breakfast, settle in and read her message of hope.

 

 

Hi everyone!

My name is Madeline and I blog over at Food, Fitness, and Family about my three favorite things: good food, sweaty workouts, and life as a family of three.  I am so excited to be sharing Miz’s space today because today is about bringing awareness to a very real issue.  As you probably know, September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness month and bringing awareness to this deadly, and often silent, disease is incredibly important to me because ovarian cancer has impacted my family.

 

I am blessed in that I grew up in an obscenely large family.  Just between my mom and dad I had 19 aunts and uncles and too many cousins to count.  My cousin Dani is 6 months younger than me and I have many fond memories of us getting into trouble when I would spend my youthful summers in Minnesota.  In 2004, Dani was diagnosed with stage 3 ovarian cancer.  Talk about a punch in the stomach for our entire family.

 

Just a few days after being diagnosed, Dani was whisked into surgery where a 5lb tumor was removed along with her right ovary.  The tumor was found to be malignant and she underwent intense chemotherapy sessions.  She was told that she had less than a 10% chance of ever having children.  Luckily Dani’s story has a happy ending.  She is now the proud mama of 2 sweet little boys and just celebrated her 8 years of remission.

 

The American Cancer Society estimates that 15,500 women will die this year from ovarian cancer.  I am thankful everyday that my cousin wasn’t one of these statistics, however, these stats are frightening.  Dani is proof that cancer doesn’t discriminate.  Dani was in the less than 2% of women diagnosed with the disease who were under the age of 20.

 

Help spread the word about ovarian cancer and make these statistics a thing of the past.  Be proactive in your own health and get your regular check-ups and screenings.  We as women must band together to help fight the C-word and take it down.

 

Madeline writes about yummy eats, sweaty workouts, and life as a family of three on her blog Food, Fitness, and Family.  She is a new(ish) mom and an Army wife on a quest to live life to the fullest, all while enjoying her Starbucks.  Stop by Twitter or Facebook and say hi!

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Comments

  1. Yes, there is hope, and we need to learn the warning signs, just like we need to know the signs for heart attack and stroke which are so much more commonly taught.

    The most common are bloating, pelvic or abdominal pain, trouble eating or feeling full quickly, and urinary symptoms, such as the need to go urgently or frequently.

    Yes, those happen with many illnesses, but if they persist for more than a couple of weeks without getting better, don’t let your health care provider brush them off!

  9. Thank you Madeline for sharing Dani’s story. I grew up in a ridiculously large family too and cancer has touched the lives of too many of my family members. You are absolutely right – there is hope. This is such an important message.

  12. Ovarian cancer scares the crap out of me because it seems like there’s no symptoms and you can’t get an annual pap for it like you do cervical cancer. I’m so glad Dani is okay and a mom now! Did she display any symptoms before discovering her tumor?

  17. Thank you for sharing your story, I am so glad that your cousin is ok. It is important to raise awareness about this,cancer can really strike anyone regardless of your age or economic level. It’s a painful equalizer. I know that this may seem a little random but one of my dreams is to open a fitness studio (in about 25 years) to empower women. And one thing that I would like to do is to have free screenings once a month or every other month. This may be a little TMI but I am in a situation right now where I have very painful lumps in my breasts and I cannot afford to go to the doctor and do not qualify for health insurance. I really do not like to put my business out there and this is really my first time talking about it (other then searching for a clinic that would help me – there were not any). Anyways, sorry I realize that I am blabbing, but I guess I really just want to encourage everyone to get screened because you never know! And the more awareness that it is raised, the more people become aware of the importance of screenings and hopefully their support will help more advancements to be made in research. Have a blessed day 🙂

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