I haven't posted in a long time, but there's a reason for it. In late February, I went to the doctor because my nagging cough still hadn't gone away. She ordered a chest x-ray and then did an exam. During the exam, she found a solid mass in my lower right abdomen, so she also ordered a CT scan of my abdomen and pelvis. This was on a Wednesday. My CT scan was scheduled for Friday, March 1st. Wednesday evening, she called me and said my chest x-ray was abnormal (swollen lymph node and many nodules in my left lung) so she added a chest CT scan. On Friday morning, I had the scan of my chest, abdomen, and pelvis.
The following Monday, my doctor called me when I was on my way home from work and told me to call her cell phone when I got home. So I called her back once I was in my apartment. That is when my world changed forever. She said it appeared I had advanced cancer and I would be getting a call the next morning to go see an oncologist. I managed to hold it together while I was speaking with her, but once I hung up the phone, I lost it. I called my mother crying hyseterically, and could hardly manage to get the words out to talk to her. She booked a flight for the next morning so she could go with me to the oncologist appointment. My boyfriend came over to spend the night with me so I wouldn't be alone, and drove me to the airport in the morning to pick up my mother.
We went to the oncologist appointment on Tuesday morning and I was told it looked like I had stage 4 ovarian cancer---it started in my right ovary, and I had lesions on my liver and spleen, and nodules in my left lung. They needed to do a biopsy to confirm it started in my ovary, but they were very confident that's what it was. He wanted to start chemotherapy "without delay" but assured me it was a treatable disease.
After much discussion, my family and I decided that it would be the best course of action for me to be treated at Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. My sister had a friend who worked in the administrative offices there and was able to get me an appointment for that Friday. I talked with my boss and was able to make arrangements to work remotely while I was treated in Massachusetts. I basically had to start my appointments over once I was in Boston, but they did the biopsy (and confirmed it was ovarian cancer), I had a port inserted, and I started dose-dense chemotherapy on March 25th. So far, the plan is for 18 treatments, and then possibly surgery, but that won't be determined until at least the halfway point (aka 9 treatments). So far I have had 4.
I can't say enough about my PCP, she is fabulous. She did everything she could to get my records expedited to Dana Farber so they would book my appointment, and went above and beyond to ensure everything was done. She even called me once I was in Boston to check on me. She is part of the GWU Hospital Medical Faculty Associates, and I definitely recommend them.
Dana Farber is great too. They really care about you and choose the best course of treatment for you as an individual. I'm very thankful to be able to be treated there and most importantly, that my insurance company covers my treatment.
