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作者: 珍妮丝·简·L.B. 伯恩博士
2022年9月更新
Originally Published September 2017
From time to time, 亨茨曼癌症研究所 invites guest commentary from our community. The views reflected in these commentaries are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official views of 亨茨曼癌症研究所.
As an obstetrician diagnosed with 卵巢癌, I’ve heard many times: “You are so lucky—you know all about cancer and could be diagnosed really early.” Nothing could be further from the truth. Looking back, I actually had a lot of symptoms, but most were 非常模糊和不具体. Ovarian cancer can be hard to diagnose for this very reason.
2011年春天, while traveling to present at several scientific meetings, 我开始感到不舒服. I told myself that I didn’t have time to be sick. But at some point I realized I spent more time lying in my hotel rooms than attending meetings. The only consistent symptom I had was a dull pelvic pain that never seemed to go away. I treated myself (twice) for a bladder infection without improvement. (Ovarian cancer apparently doesn’t respond to antibiotics!)
Finally, I saw one of my colleagues, who felt an abdominal mass. An ultrasound showed the mass to be in one of my ovaries. The next day, my gynecologic oncologist and I planned surgery for the next week. On May 9, 2011, I was diagnosed with clear cell 卵巢癌. While it was limited to one ovary and early stage, 这是高质量的, so chemotherapy was on the horizon.
这听起来可能很奇怪, 但一开始, the diagnosis of cancer was almost vindicating —I had seriously begun to think I was crazy, with a bunch of weird symptoms that made no sense. Then the reality of the diagnosis set in. I had never known an 卵巢癌 patient who survived, and I felt like I was being handed a death sentence. 事实上, the senior pastor of my church was being treated for 卵巢癌 at the time I was diagnosed. She was my confidant, and she died during my treatment, which was devastating to me.
After six courses of chemotherapy and another major surgery, I was trying to cope with the “new normal” of being a cancer survivor. Cancer and its treatments change you forever, in ways you can’t anticipate. I was determined to make a difference for others facing the same diagnosis, so I became heavily involved in advocacy. Each year, approximately 22,500 women in the United States are diagnosed with 卵巢癌. More than 14,000 will die, most within the first year of diagnosis. If patients are diagnosed at early stages, there is a 93% five-year survival rate. Unfortunately, only about 15% of people are diagnosed early.
There is no screening test for 卵巢癌. I spend a lot of time at health fairs and other events educating women about the signs and symptoms of 卵巢癌:
- 腹胀
- 盆腔或腹部疼痛
- Urinary symptoms such as urgency (always feeling like you have to go) or frequency (having to go often)
- Trouble eating or feeling full quickly
As part of the Survivors Teaching Students program of the 卵巢癌 研究 Alliance (OCRA), 大发娱乐教医科学生, 妇产科医师居民, 医师助理学生, and nursing students about 卵巢癌. As an Advocate Leader with OCRA, I speak with elected officials about research funding, 医疗立法, and other issues affecting the cancer community. I am a patient advocate with the Women’s Disease Oriented Team at 亨茨曼癌症研究所. 最后，我创立了 犹他州卵巢癌联盟 (UOCA) to increase education and awareness about 卵巢癌 and to provide support to newly diagnosed 卵巢癌 patients.
For many cancer survivors, there comes a time when you redefine your purpose in life. Often it’s when you decide there is more to survival than just being alive—you have to go on living and decide what you can do for others. As an 卵巢癌 advocate, I speak out for myself. I speak out for others, especially those who can’t speak for themselves.
And for those who are no longer with us, I speak out for the families they’ve left behind.
现在, as a 10-year 卵巢癌 survivor, I will be forever grateful for the wonderful care I received at 亨茨曼癌症研究所 and the support I continue to feel.