Early Prognosis means a Better Diagnosis

So September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness month and I want to light up the world with TEAL to help show awareness. Every single day on my Facebook, I will be doing something to help show awareness. I want to see how many people we can help inform on the dangers of Ovarian Cancer and how it is a silent killer! Early Prognosis means a better diagnosis.

I know September is not for two months, but I am going to be extremely busy from surgery, work, getting ready for college, and Going Greek! So I wanted to make the announcement now so that EVERYONE has time to get their teal shirts ready and help think of ways that you as a person can spread awareness! J

Side note: September is also Childhood awareness month. My cancer was childhood cancer and I just believe childhood cancer should not exist. So I think we should help spread awareness for both causes. Also the last week of September is take a loved one to the hospital day. So I have some big things planned for that as well!

And always remember, breasts aren’t the only thing that cause harm to women! Help spread awareness.

Survivors Teaching Students

I have been giving this amazing opportunity last week that helps support women with Ovarian Cancer. There is an organization called Survivors Teaching Students, (STS), and I have gotten in contact with them about coming in and speaking to medical students about my situation. They were so delighted and happy I reached out because a lot of the students in the Cleveland area wanted to talk with someone who was close in age so they could feel a better connection. At this moment, I knew I had to do this.

Ever since I was first diagnosed all I would say is how I wish there was someone who I could talk to, who was my age, so that I could relate to them. Cancer affects you in many different ways depending on what stage in life you are in. For me, I was 18 years old. Cancer didn’t affect my bills or my kids, husband and/or grandkids. I was too young to have any of those. Cancer affected my social life at school and with friends. That is pretty much it. I just started college and was beginning to make new friends and I was just plucked away from all of that. Everyone who I would talk to never really understood how hard that is for someone simply because they were way passed that chapter in life.

I am so excited to talk with these medical students because they will be able to relate and see how much cancer really affected me personally.

            “Welcome to Survivors Teaching Students: Saving Women’s Lives®, a program of the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance! You are joining an innovative and critical effort to educate students in health professional programs nationwide about ovarian cancer. Our goal is to increase the number of health care providers who recognize the risk factors and symptoms of ovarian cancer so that the disease is detected earlier.” This is a piece straight from their handbook that I have to read, which describes what exactly this organization does. STS is so important because many women don’t realize they have cancer until it is too late. Causing their diagnosis to go unnoticed for months to years. By sharing with people in the medical field we will be able to provide them with knowledge so they know what to look for in women. The symptoms are so common that ovarian cancer is overlooked immensely. It was overlooked for me 3 times before it was caught.

            I have to write my whole journey so that it will be 5-7 minutes and then send it to the people in charge of the organization for the greater Cleveland area. I then will go and talk with partnering schools, as of right now they have done a class at Lake Erie, and share my story and answer questions.

            I am so excited for this opportunity and I know it will open up so many doors for me. I always wanted to get involved with cancer in some way and I am happy that I found this opportunity. I will definitely keep everyone updated on what is going on and when my first class will be!

MRI Appointment

I am always nervous whenever I go in for an MRI, so today wasn’t any different. I have to get an MRI every 3 months for the rest of this year to make sure my cancer hasn’t come back. This MRI is also going to look at my tumor my doctor found earlier in the year. My cancer doesn’t have a high reoccurrence rate when chemo is used, so I am not really nervous about the results just the test itself.

Whenever I get an MRI, I always go to the main campus of UH and the MRIs are all the way in the basement. It is so eerie down there and just sets a very bad tone. This time I got to get an MRI inside of Seidman Cancer Center and I LOVE this building! It is brand new so everything is nice and it makes you feel like you are at home.

 

 

They also have this cancer store where you can buy merchandise and apparel for every single type of cancer. I really wanted to get a shirt that said survivor but then something else caught my eye. The day before I was telling my mom how I loved all of the UH fertility specialist’s company jackets and I really wanted one, except I wanted it to say Seidman Cancer Center. I spent a good chunk of the last year of my life there from my surgery, chemo, and appointments. And what do you think I found….that exact jacket! It was pricey, and even though I thought all cancer patients should get one for free haha, I bought it! And it put me in such a good mood.

 

To make things even better, the nurse who put my IV in was trained in doing it so she got it in on the first try! When I went into my MRI, it was really relaxing and nice. They have a nice scenario that plays on the walls and soothing music. Way different then the MRIs in the main campus. It made me feel safe and calm and they only had to redo one of my pictures. Normally they have to redo a lot of pictures because I move around a lot.

The only downside was that I had to get this shot that slows down movement in my intestines so they can get better pictures. This shot always makes me so nauseous and sick. But other than that everything else went well!

After my appointment I met up with a girl I met on facebook who has brain cancer. She was signed up to do the Disney College Program for the fall term and posted in the Facebook group how she couldn’t attend anymore due to cancer. I reached out to her because I was put in a similar situation. I found out I had cancer a week after I got accepted into the program. We talked for awhile until one day we found out we went to the same hospital and lived pretty close to each other! She gets her chemo treatments done at Rainbows in UH and radiation at the Seidman Cancer Center. She was getting radiation that day and I stopped down to chat with her before she went in. It was so nice to talk to someone who knew exactly how I felt and what I have gone through. We were both freshman when we found out and we both couldn’t go back to school. I plan on going to Rainbows to visit her during one of her chemo treatments really soon. Every please say a prayer for my friend Mackenna, she has a long battle but she is definitely a fighter!

 

I get my results back from my MRI tomorrow and I will post how everything goes.

 

Fertility Treatments

So last Thursday I went a fertility doctor to figure out my options for the future. I needed to see a fertility specialist because I have a tumor on my last ovary. This tumor is not supposed to be cancerous and I am going to get a surgery to get the tumor removed. My doctor told me he wanted me to see a specialist before he did the surgery in case he had to take out my ovary. I had my left ovary removed when I had my first surgery back in October. If I lose my last ovary I will go into “forced menopause”, I think it’s called that, and I won’t be able to have kids.

The appointment was just supposed to be a consultation and my mom and I were going to get information on my options. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go through with the treatments. I was nervous and scared and I didn’t mind the idea of adopting my kids.

However, when I got there my fertility specialist just started talking to me like I was going through with the procedure. My mom really wanted me to do it and they both made a really good point. I can always just go through it so I have that option later down the road. I started preparing myself for everything I would need to do and I became more comfortable with the idea.

My doctor went over the basics of what the procedure would be like and everything I will need to do. The whole process is 2 weeks and I will need to take medicine during those weeks that will increase my hormone and estrogen level. On the 36^th hour of the last day, I will go into the hospital and prepare for surgery. The surgery will be very minor and my anesthesia will be light. It will feel like I am in a twilight. I have never had any teeth pulled, but I think it is the same feeling when they put you to sleep. While I’m asleep, they will go and get as many eggs as they can and then freeze them. The whole process takes up to 45mins. So it will be a very quick, easy procedure.

After I talked with the doctor, I spoke with two nurses that will be helping me with the medicine and surgery for the whole two weeks. First they explained to me how to use my medicine. I have two shots I have to do BY MYSELF and one pill I have to take orally. The shots have to be given at night in the belly and I can take the pill anytime that I want. I have to also come into the doctor’s office three days a week early in the morning to get an ultrasound and blood work done.

I had to get a lot of blood work done at my appointment when I went as well. They had to check to make sure I didn’t have a lot of diseases and wasn’t pregnant and things like that. I always warn nurses before they poke me that I am a hard stick. They normally need to get a specialist to put an IV in or get blood. The nurses never listen, and I don’t if it’s a pride reason or what but they always think they can do it. They tell me how they have been doing this for a while and they should be able to handle it. Well five pokes later they finally listen to me and get someone who specializes in this area. The same thing happened that day and I had to get poked 5 times before they found a good veinL.

This day was so stressful because my doctor wanted me to start this procedure the very next day. When he did an exam on me he looked to see how many eggs my ovary had released and there were 16. You need 8 eggs for one baby. Each month your ovaries release a certain amount of eggs. 16 was very low, but I only had one ovary and my doctor thinks chemo messed up some of my eggs. He was very happy with this number because he was expecting it to be much lower.

I was way too nervous and felt like I was being pressured into starting the next day and I did not like it all. I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to freeze my eggs yet. The appointment had gone from a consultation to you are freezing your eggs to you are starting tomorrow all in the matter of seconds and I was beyond scared. After much talking, I was able to get everyone on the page of me starting next week! I am not sure how many eggs I will have but I need at least 8.

I am very fortunate because most of this stuff is being paid for by two different companies. Both Livestrong and Walmart have programs where they donate the medicine that is needed to people who have been effected by cancer. These companies will also pay for my surgery and when I am ready to have kids, there is a good chance they will pay for the surgery to put the fertilized eggs back inside of me. My family is very lucky because this process is very expensive. I am not sure how much my medicines or the initial surgeries cost, but to keep your eggs frozen it is $570 every year. I will have to start paying for this in 2018 until I am finished with them. The surgery to put your eggs back in is around 15k. So it is a lot and very stressful.

I will post more when I start my treatments and keep everyone updated on my experience!

 

My Cancer Story

I decided to share my story talking about how I found out that I had Ovarian Cancer. I apologize for it being so long. I didn't share the beginning part with a lot of people, so I decided to go in more depth! Cancer is such a hard word to hear and say, but you are never alone throughout it all. No matter where you turn, you'll always have someone by your side! Here's my story...my cancer story :)

My story begins on October 9th, 2014. I went to my regular doctor’s office, because of some abdominal pain I was having. My stomach was also sticking out and was very hard! I did not know what to expect but I was very scared. I went inside the doctor’s office probably around 11am. My nurse wanted me to take a urine test because she thought I might be pregnant. I knew this wasn’t the case but I took one and waited for the results with my mom.

About 30 minutes later the nurse came back into the room and told me she thinks I am pregnant. She told me how the test came back slightly positive, so she thought I had something called an ectopic pregnancy. An ectopic pregnancy is where the fetus grows outside of your fallopian tube. It is very dangerous and life-threatening, and my nurse wanted me to get an ultra sound done right away.

I remember immediately just freaking out and crying. I was so shocked because my mom was calm throughout this and I thought she would have been freaking out and yelling at me. I was even more nervous because if it was an ectopic pregnancy, I would’ve had to have emergency surgery that day. I never had surgery before and I didn’t want that to be my first! After the ultra sound was all done, I just remember sitting and waiting for what seemed like hours. We had to wait for the results to come in so we knew what the next steps were.

When my nurse finally came down, she called me and my mom out in the hallway and asked to speak with us privately. She had a worried look on her face which made me so nervous. “Ok so after looking at your ultra sound we found something that looks very worrisome”. Those were her first words. I couldn’t breathe and I started shaking. “We found a large unidentified mass….” That was it. That’s all I heard before I started tuning her out. I could feel the tears rolling down my face. All that was in my mind was cancer. I screamed out and asked her if that was what I had. I was so nervous and scared. My nurse reassured me that they believe I had something called a teratoma tumor, which is 98% of the time benign (non-cancerous). All I would need was surgery and then I would be fine. After we had a long talk, I went and got my first ever CAT scan done, so they could get a better look of the mass. (I hate that word!).

The very next day, October 10, I got accepted into the Disney College Program! I was so excited and remember thinking that this acceptance couldn’t have come at a better time! I thought of it as God’s way of telling me everything was going to be ok. Even if it didn’t look good now, it will all be good in the end. Because I am destined to do great things!

That following week I met with an Oncologist who was going to be handling my surgery. My nurse thought it would be best if I went with an Oncologist just in case my tumor was cancerous. They weren’t expecting it to be, but if it was, that way I wouldn’t have to keep changing doctors. When I met with my doctor who was going to be handling my surgery, he was very nice and friendly. He just went over what the procedure was going to be like and answered any of my questions.

On October 21^st 2014, I had my surgery. I remember being afraid and crying a lot that morning. I had an early surgery, so I got to the hospital extremely early. Maybe around 6. I was scared about getting Anesthesia, because I was afraid I wasn’t going to wake up. I told all the nurses around me how I got accepted into the Disney College Program and they talked to me about that until I passed out from the Anesthesia.

When I woke up in the recovery room I just remember wondering where my mom was. She was the last family member I saw before I passed out so I was wondering why she wasn’t by my side. I also remember asking the nurses if I had cancer, but none of them would tell me. When they finally said they were going to take me to my room I was so excited so I could see my family!

While I was in recovery my doctor came out to tell my parents how they were wrong on my original diagnosis. I did not have a teratoma tumor, but he thought I had Ovarian Cancer. He wasn’t sure exactly what type, but he thought it was a rare kind the girl’s ages 7-20 get. My parents and doctor made the decision not to tell me I had cancer until I was fully recovered from the surgery. A lot of people asked me if I was mad that I didn’t know, but I was actually happy they didn’t tell me. Being in the hospital was so hard for me. If I had the stress of knowing I had cancer while I was in the hospital, I think I would have had a longer recovery time.

Being in the hospital was probably one of the hardest things I have ever done. Way harder than chemo. Not because of the staff though. I had amazing nurses and also an amazing doctor! I hated not being able to eat regular food. I was on a liquid diet for 2/4 days I was there. And then when I finally was able to eat solids, I didn’t have the appetite for it. Nurses would come and wake you up every 3 hours starting at midnight to 6 in the morning, making it so hard to sleep! I also felt bad making my mom have to stay there the whole time and my dad having to travel from work to the hospital and then back home to take care of my brother. I felt very dependent on people and I hated not being able to do a lot on my own. I had a pretty long scar with staples in my stomach after my surgery. And I refused to look at it until I got home. I don’t know why I didn’t want to look, I was just scared I guess ha.

I went home on October 24^th, and the very next day my parents told me I had cancer. While in the hospital I was told that there’s a chance I could have cancer but the doctor wasn’t sure so he had to run some more tests. That day was very hard for both me and my parents. We weren’t exactly sure what type of Ovarian Cancer I had. There are 3 different types of Ovarian Cancer, and my doctor thought it was a rare pediatric ovarian cancer. On October 28^th, I went to my doctor’s office to get my staples out and also find out what type of cancer I had. After I got my staples out, my doctor informed me that I had a 13lb tumor that they had taken out. It was stage 3 dysgerminoma Ovarian Cancer. The cancer had spread to both my ovaries, one fallopian tube, and a lymph node. Along with the tumor, I had one ovary and a fallopian tube removed. I plan to meet with a fertility specialist soon to talk about my chances on having kids.

The next step was planning my treatments. There were 3 different types of treatment plans I could have done. My treatment consisted of 3 different treatments for 3 days on a 28 day cycle. I started my treatments in Early November and ended in early January! *silent cheer for being all done*. For each one of my treatments, I ran into a problem. My first treatment was definitely the worst. I had an allergic reaction to one of my chemo meds during chemo! It all happened so fast. I just remember sitting there with my dad and then suddenly hardly being able to breathe. I kept having to grasp for air! I called my nurse and within 30 seconds there were about 15 nurses in my small room trying to stop my reaction! Definitely one of the scariest things that has happened to me! My second treatment wasn’t anything major; I had to get stuck with an IV needle 12 times for the 3 days I had chemo! L I didn’t bring my veins with me for that treatment and so it was really hard for the nurses to find a vein that was good enough to use. For my last treatment that I just had, my white blood count was too low to receive a treatment. Instead of holding off treatment for a week, I got a shot today that helps my bone marrow make more blood cells. The shot was painful and has a couple minor side effects…but I am just glad to say I am officially done with chemotherapy!

It has been a long journey, one that isn’t over yet, but I am happy to say I am starting this New Year off right! Cancer free J

Cancer Update: Wednesday

Today was the big day!! My last day of chemo:) I had so much fun at the hospital today! I loved giving my nurses and doctor the baked goods my mom and I made them! They even had a surprise for me!! I slept for most of the treatment, but it was such a good feeling when my nurse took my final IV out.

Wednesday: Last Day of Last Treatment
I had the biggest grin walking into University Hospitals today. I woke up feeling sick to my stomach again, but I did not let that ruin my happiness! I stayed up with my mom baking wonderful desserts and I couldn't wait to share! I first went up to my doctor's office and I was greeted with all of his nurses congratulating me on my last day. It made me so happy seeing how much they cared about my happiness and being done with chemo. After that, I went down to the infusion room, where I receive my chemo. I gave all my nurses their desserts and I got the same reaction from upstairs! They were all congratulating me and telling me how proud they were of me. It really made me feel good and realize that it's the littlest things that can make you happy!

I had to get stuck 3 times today for one of my nurses to find a good IV:( Ouch! It was so painful, but I kept telling myself "Sierra, it's your last day getting an IV. You can do this!" And after I got my IV in, the majority of my nurses came in singing me a song and handed me a balloon and a book for my last day! Inside the book they all wrote me a note. It was the most thoughtful thing I have ever received. I was so happy and it completely made my day!

Once the celebration was over, my musical therapist came in to help me relax and stay calm for my last treatment. He helped me come up with this beautiful song about cancer awareness, and he is going to record it in his studio for me to have! When I get it, I will definitely share and let you guys hear it! It was really awesome!

The rest of my chemo was kind of boring because I slept through the rest of it! All in all, it was a good day and I am so happy I am finally done! All that I have left to do is go get this shot tomorrow that will help bring up my blood count!

I hope you all enjoyed these updates I have been posting about my final journey with cancer! I promise to post more Disney stuff soon!! :)

Cancer Update: Tuesday

So today went by really quickly!  I didn't seem to have any major problems! :) I only had to get stuck with a needle twice! Then they were able to get a really good IV to use for my chemo :) when I got home today, my mom and I made a surprise for my nurses and doctors! I am soo excited to share it with them tomorrow for my LAST DAY OF CHEMO!!!!! :) :) :)

Tuesday: Second Day of Last Treatment
So today my treatment was at 11am...not as bad as my treatment yesterday (had to be there at 9), but it was still really rough getting up! :( (Just one more day Sierra!). When I woke up, I felt really sick. Normally, when I start chemo I am sick for exactly ONE week. And then on the 7th day I just feel amazing. It is so weird, but that is how it has been going. I am so happy that this is the last week where I am going to have to wake up sick to my stomach everyday!

When I got there, I was able to get a semi private room, which I was happy because I was not feeling well :(. One of my nurses came in to put my IV in. I have a special nurse who does this now because for my last treatment, I got stuck a total of 9 times!!! Today it was only twice, and the second time it was in a vein where I could keep it in for the next day! Although I love doing this (one less day of not having to be stuck), I chose not to do this because the needle was located in a very uncomfortable spot. I knew it was going to keep me up all night! *sigh* SO it looks like I will be stuck once again tomorrow....but on the bright side, it's my last day of chemo, which means....LAST DAY BEING STUCK WITH AN IV!!! :)

My last two treatments (3 days each), I have been working with a musical therapist. My last treatment, me and him started writing a song. We only made the instrumental part to it, and not going to lie..it's really good! :) I am so happy and proud of myself! Tomorrow, me and him are singing the lyrics to the song I made, which has to do with Ovarian Cancer! I am so excited for this and I will share it as soon as it is all done!

Besides being sick, todays treatment went really well. I got through it smoothly with no complications! I am so excited for my last day tomorrow and can't wait to share with you all!

When I got home tonight I made 5 chocolate bread puddings and 3 eggnog cheesecake desserts with my mom for my doctor and all the nurses and volunteers who helped me through this long journey! Seriously would not have been able to get through this without them! #YouNeverFightAlone

Cancer Update: Monday

Today was my last chemo treatment! Each treatment is three days, so I will be all done with chemo on Wednesday! I am so excited to be so close to the finish line and be cancer free! I have a doctors appointment on January 23rd to get a CAT scan. Then on January 28th, I will meet with my doctor to get the results of my CAT scan and make sure all of the cancer is gone!

Monday: First Day of Last Treatment
Today was the first day that I had an early chemo treatment. And it was HORRIBLE. My treatment started at nine, and I had to wake up at 7:30. When I got there I was able to get a private room and I slept the whole six hours that I was there.

At University Hospitals, there are three different types of room you can get while receiving chemo. A private room: just like a hospital room and it has a bed. It is far away from the other patients so it is easy to relax. A semi-private room: a hospital room without a bed. It is still close to the patients so if you want to converse you can! And lastly, an open room: These rooms are self-explanatory and are open. It is the loudest in these rooms and it's a great place to socialize!

Before I got chemo today I had to get my blood taken to make sure my blood count was high enough to be able to receive chemo. They check my red, white, and platelet blood cells. It took awhile for them to get me my results back so I was kind of nervous that something was wrong. When my chemo nurse came down to check up on me, she had told me that my white blood count was not good enough to be able to receive my treatment. She then gave me two options to choose from: First option was to push off my chemo treatment until next week; but that would ultimately interfere with my trip I am taking over my birthday and Me going to Disney. My second choice, was to get a shot on Thursday that stimulates my bones into making more blood cells. One of the major side effects to this is that I will have joint pains similar to arthritis. After discussing it with my mom, we decided I should go with the shot so I stay on track with everything that I have to do!

The rest of my chemo that day went smoothly! I was so happy and I only had to get stuck with a needle once for them to find a good vein :)