Until there's a TEST, awareness is BEST!

This past weekend I walked my first ever 5k and more importantly, I walked as a survivor! I walked the 5K with family and friends at the 4th annual Turn The Village Teal event in honor of National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. It’s hard to express how I felt. Leading up to the day of the race it hit me that I was walking to bring awareness and to raise money for a disease that has changed my life forever. What hit me the most however, was that I realized that I am still here to walk on my own behalf while there were hundreds of others walking on behalf of someone they had lost. The day of the race I had that same zeal. I got up very early without hesitation even though it was a rainy Saturday. When I arrived on location I got many stares and questions because of my T-shirt that said, “I wear teal for me.” Some of the questions I was met with were; Where did you get that shirt? Did you make it? And the one I think I got the most was Are you really saying you wear teal for YOU or is that for someone else? I excitedly responded that this was for me. There were many questions that followed because it seemed that people really didn’t believe it was for me. When I told them my story which included that I was just diagnosed in February and that I had two surgeries at the beginning of this year, they really couldn’t believe me. I explained that I don’t look like what I have been through and reminded them that my help and joy comes from the Lord.

Many of my friends and family have joined me and supported me throughout my entire journey, and this day was no different. They all truly showed up and out.

Once the race began I started with a steady pace so I could continue with the same momentum throughout it. I did not prepare for it at all. I can recall halfway through it that I wanted to give up because my muscles had grown tired and I was certainly out of breath. I kept pushing myself because I knew that I had the privilege and blessing to even be there, to walk on my own behalf, and to be a survivor of the deadliest gynecologic cancer. I looked down at the signs that were put down by MIOCA (MI Ovarian Cancer Alliance) that included the symptoms that prior to diagnosis I didn’t know I had because they are silent and often misdiagnosed. I realized I was the youngest survivor and the only African American survivor there and because of those facts I kept going.

When I finally made it to the finish line I couldn’t believe I had done it! Prior to this diagnosis you couldn’t have got me up early on a Saturday to walk. Certainly not in the rain. And to successfully complete 3.1 miles! But it was as I was walking that I realized why I was doing everything I am including this blog and freely sharing with total strangers my story, not only online, but in person because like the sign says, Until There Is A Test Awareness is Best.

Thanks again to my friends and family that supported me that day with their participation in the Turn the Village Teal event and those that donated to the cause.

Check out some pictures of my dearest friends and family along with fellow survivors I met at the event!

EARLY DETECTION IS KEY!

 

⁷ Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. ⁸ To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, ⁹ to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, ¹⁰ to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues,^[a] and to still another the interpretation of tongues.^{[b] 11} All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines. 1 Corinthians 12: 7-11

I'd like to start from the beginning. It was October of last year and I was feeling pretty normal. At least what was normal for me, nothing to cause any concern or alarm. My mom called and invited me to a cancer event that was honoring my aunt. I mulled over whether I was going to go up until the week of the event. I settled on going the night before. This aunt I speak of was diagnosed and beat lung cancer nearly 9 years ago. What a blessing! The event was honoring survivors of all forms of cancers and they were each given the opportunity to tell their story. At this time other than supporting my aunt I really couldn't relate. Yes, it had come to my neighborhood, but never knocked on my door. However, what I noticed with each and every survivor, or those speaking on their behalf, was that there was one common theme and phrase. That phrase was "Early Detection is Key!" I must admit I was blessed by the event and certainly didn't know how or why the information learned that day would be beneficial to me much later. A week went by and with the urging of the Holy Spirit I could hear him say to make a doctor’s appointment. I thought to myself, well I feel fine, but what kept replaying in my mind was Early Detection is Key. So with that along with my mom and husband constantly pushing me to the doctor, I made an appointment which was scheduled for the end of October. I was surprised how soon I was able to get in to the doctor since it was my first visit. I decided that I needed a new primary and OBGYN doctor because I honestly didn't think the ones I had in the past were thorough enough. My mom referred me to both of her doctors which she raved about and I now know why. 

It was a routine primary care visit, but she was very thorough with going over family issues and unlike previous experiences, I felt comfortable talking with this doctor. At this appointment I shared with her my concerns with my weight and this is where the ball got rolling. I shared with her how I had put on nearly 100 pounds in four years, how at that time and previously I worked out 5-6 days a week and cleaned up my eating, but somehow the scale never budge. I even shared how my cycles were not normal, mostly only occurring every 6 months. We talked even about my facial hair growth. After intently listening she said that she was pretty sure that I had PCOS, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. She briefly covered what it meant, printed off additional information for me to read at home about it and wrote me a prescription for metformin, which she was sure would help me lose weight and help with my irregular cycles. I left that day not knowing how to feel. Should I be happy that I found out the problem and the solution possibly to my weight gain or was this just the beginning of uncovering many more problems that could arise as a result of living with PCOS? I was sure to find out soon either way as I had an annual appointment scheduled the next month with a new OBGYN.  

 

To be continued....

It Wasn’t a Dream…It Was MY Reality….

 

 

Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”-Matthew 21:21-22

 I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer at age 25 and it came as a complete shock. No known family history of it although cancer does run on both sides of my maternal family. I never would have guessed, however, that it would have come knocking on my door and certainly never so soon.

 
I can recall the day I woke up from surgery to biopsy a solid mass tumor on my left ovary which they had no clue would be malignant. It seems they called me 10 times to wake me up out of a deep sleep from the anesthesia even going so far as slapping me right out of that fog. Once I finally halfway opened my eyes I stared up at a total of 5 nurses all asking a variety of questions including do I have any known history of cancer in my family? If so, when were they diagnosed? What forms of cancer? It was at that moment on February 23^rd that I knew I had  cancer and like those nurses I had so many questions, but I couldn’t seem to awaken from this dream that soon became my reality.