My story began in May 2018, which is when I first began paying attention to the signals my body was giving me. At first, I was dealing with constant constipation, which I simply reasoned away as my needing to eat more fiber (which I began doing to no avail). I was never a very big eater, but my appetite was also slowly dimensioning. By July 2018, as I was celebrating my birthday with family and friends, I felt extremely full after having only one fork-full of food. It felt as if I had eaten an entire Thanksgiving feast. That’s when I knew something wasn’t right, so I scheduled an appointment with my primary care doctor (August 2018).
She referred me to a GI Specialist (September 2018) who had absolutely no idea what was causing these issues. At first, he gave me medication to address the constipation (which didn’t work). So I went back two weeks later and he gave me a different medication to try (again only attempting to address the constipation issue). Again, those meds didn’t work. So, I went back two weeks later (October 2018) this time I saw one of his PA’s, who said “I’ll have to be honest with you, I have no idea.” Then she said, “I can send you for an abdominal scan (November 2018), if you want,” which I agreed to. Thankfully she did. The scan results read that I possibly had Fibroids and that my gallbladder wasn’t functioning.
So, I was referred to a GYN Specialist to address the Fibroids and scheduled for Gallbladder surgery. I met with the GYN Specialist who immediately tested me for cancer (December 2018). Once those results came in he stated that I possibly had Ovarian Cancer. He told me to cancel the Gallbladder Surgery and he scheduled me for Exploratory Surgery in (January 2019).
The surgery results revealed that I had Stage IV Mucinous Adenocarcinoma of the Appendix. During surgery, my appendix, ovaries, fallopian tubes and gallbladder were removed. I also had a Hemicolectomy and an End Ileostomy during this surgery which took over 12 hours.
One month later (February 2019) I began Systemic Therapy with FOLFOX IV. This was a 12-week treatment. Following the completion of Chemotherapy treatments, my Oncologist referred me for the CRS/HIPEC Therapy.
This surgery was scheduled for September 2019, which was another 12-hour procedure. During this procedure, I had a full Hysterectomy and my Spleen removed along with all residual tumors and then given heated chemotherapy directly into my abdomen. As of November 2019, I have been on maintenance chemotherapy pills (Xeloda) and by the grace of God (my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ) I have been cancer-free (from the date of my last surgery) for 3 years (next month) AND COUNTING. With God all things are possible.