20-year Survival

Why do I resist writing? Ovarian Cancer has changed my life for the good! So, surely I am happy to share my journey with others. Yet, writing it down in a daily journal is something I resist doing.

I am in my 20th year of being a survivor. I was originally diagnosed with high-grade serous ovarian cancer, stage 3C in 2000. When my husband asked about the statistics he was told that I had a 20 percent chance of living 5 years.

My husband was a great support to me, though our 30-year marriage (and 5 children) had been stressful and, with support from family and friends, I chose to end it in 2002.

After 6 rounds of Carbo-Taxol, I participated in a clinical trial and was in remission for 7 years. Then I had recurrence #1. Four years later, recurrence #2; 3 years later, recurrence #3; recurrence #4 in 2 years; recurrence #5 in 1 year; and in 2019 I had recurrence #6. Yesterday my CA125 was 7.3. Wow! Am I grateful to be thriving!! People ask me what I have done to survive during these 20 years.

I go back to very basic things that I do with great intention. 1. Gratitude expressed many times/day in many ways. 2. Time set aside daily for 20-20-20 (walking-stretching/yoga/weights-meditation); as much sleep as my body asks for; conscious healthy eating including little to no sugar; close relationships with family and friends; enough quiet time for reading and learning new things; exposure to what is good, true and beautiful. All of these together have nurtured my body-mind-spirit to create my amazing life. My life is not without pain, setbacks, sorrow, broken relationships, disappointments, and depression. Those come along with being human. But I turn to the strength that is infused in my humanity that allows me to continue to grow deeper and stronger roots.

I have relied heavily on my medical doctors. In the beginning, I was misdiagnosed. I needed to leave a doctor who had become a friend because she didn't know the signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer. After finding a gynecological oncologist that I trusted, I relied on her assessments of the steps I needed to take. She lined me up with a physical therapist as soon as I finished my first chemo. That helped immensely in making me stronger and able to cope with changes.

I needed spiritual and emotional support along the way. I found a therapist who was able to help me with depression, and I got the help I needed to grow spiritually.

My 5 children, 11 grandchildren, and my ex-husband continue to be close supporters. We celebrate life with another often. I also have a close male friend. Though we live separately, our values, including politics, are closely related and so we enrich one another's lives greatly.

I think often of Mary Oliver's poem in which she says, "What will you do with this one amazing life?"   

Do I really need two more words?