Shaylee's Diagnosis Story

I started experiencing severe shooting pain near both of my ovaries. It would come & go so I didn't think much of it. After experiencing these symptoms for much longer than TOM (time of the month for my dude frands), I decided to schedule an appointment with my college’s Women’s Center. After speaking with two doctors at the center, they found nothing wrong with me. They automatically ruled out cancer bc I was too young. NEWS FLASH: CANCER DOESN'T CARE HOW YOUNG YOU ARE!!!! They told me I probably pulled a muscle while working out & that I should feel fine after a couple days or weeks of recovery.  I went home & the pain subsided after about a week or so & I kind of forgot about the whole thing. This should have been red flag #1. Bloating & abdominal discomfort are signs of ovarian cancer. But how would I have known that when bloating & abdominal discomfort can be caused from SO MANY other issues!? ESPECIALLY when you're a woman!

I started having bladder issues. As in I literally peed my pants like 50% of the times I went out...I had some pretty close encounters at work...too. Yes I'm serious. It was not a fun time & I donned the nickname “Pissy” because it became such an issue...I went back to the Women’s Center & they referred me to a urologist. The urologist told me I had an over-reactive bladder & prescribed me muscle relaxers so that my bladder wouldn't tell my brain I had to pee as often as I needed to. I was humiliated & embarrassed by the situation so I took matters into my own hands. I figured if I drank less water I'd have to pee less & that was my “solution” to my problem. It eventually subsided on its own & I never thought about it again. This should have been red flag #2. I even went to the same Women’s Center!! They had all my records & previous symptoms right in front of their eyes!!!!

I went in for my annual women’s wellness checkup & my test results came back with LSIL, which stands for “low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion”. This meant I had pre-cancerous cells on my ovaries. I wasn't informed of this. No one ever mentioned a single word about cancer. My doctor called me & left a voicemail saying my test came back abnormal, but that there was nothing to worry about & we’d just do another test next year to make sure it normalized itself. I thought nothing of it bc my doctor reassured me there was nothing to worry about. She wasn’t being 100% transparent with me. I didn’t ask questions. I didn’t dig for answers. In all these situations I just dealt with the answers I was given. I didn’t fight for myself. I didn’t fight for my health. & wasn’t informed. & now I’m paying for not taking care of myself.

I made an appointment with my GYN. She almost didn't see me since it hadn't been a full year & said I wasn't due for a checkup. I demanded she do a pelvic exam. Something just felt off...Immediately her eyes got big & she looked at me dead in the face I said I needed to have an ultrasound ASAP...She found a pelvic mass the size of a softball...That's when things started to move REAL FAST. I was referred to an ultrasound tech who, after seeing the results, confirmed the possibility of malignancy, and immediately referred me to a Gynecologic Oncologist. I had never heard of that kind of doctor before but I knew it meant cancer. I was terrified. My GYN ONC had me jump right into surgery as that's the only way to truly diagnosis Ovarian Cancer...Everyone reassured me it was Endometriosis because I was "too young" to have cancer...Well...it did indeed turn out to be stage 3c Ovarian Cancer.