Ovarian cancer survivor, employee: Treatment at MD Anderson is ‘the best decision I ever made’
I work in Philanthropy at MD Anderson, and I’m a cancer survivor. This means I can say I’ve been both an employee and a patient at the greatest cancer hospital in the world.
In 2018, I was diagnosed with a type of ovarian cancer called dysgerminoma. I was 32 years old, so this was a rare cancer for someone my age. I found out about my cancer diagnosis through my annual well-woman exam. My normal gynecologist was pushing down on...
How is ovarian cancer diagnosed?
Cervical cancer can be detected with a Pap test. Breast cancer can be detected with mammograms and clinical breast exams. But ovarian cancer...
After my Lynch Syndrome diagnosis, I’m grateful to be a previvor
When I was 6 years old, my mother died from cancer. She was only 35, and at the time, her death came as a shock to everyone in our family....
Two-time ovarian cancer survivor: How the Moon Shots Program helped me
I was in Mexico in the summer of 2013 when I came down with a bad case of diarrhea. That’s a pretty common complaint among travelers, so I figured it was just an intestinal bug. The problem continued off and on for several weeks, even after I returned to the States. I tried to ignore it and just get on with my life, but I’m a middle school teacher, and summer is my break time. I had training and traveling to do.
Then I started...
CA-125 screening for ovarian cancer may save lives
New results from the world's largest ovarian cancer screening study demonstrate that a strategy that starts with a simple blood test called...
I just found out I carry the BRCA 1 genetic mutation, and I'm not freaking out
I recently found out that I carry the BRCA 1 genetic mutation, and I'm not freaking out.
The mutation means that I have a crazy high...
5 tips from my mastectomy experience
It's difficult to condense the emotional and physical tolls that a mastectomy brings. It's life-changing, but so worth it.
After...
BRCA genetic testing for breast and ovarian cancers: It's easier than you think
Twenty years ago, while a college senior, I spent weekends commuting from Austin to Houston to care for my 42-year-old mother. She was battling...
Triple-negative inflammatory breast cancer survivor: Facing new questions with genetic testing
For Terry Arnold, the decision to undergo genetic testing was simple. A triple-negative inflammatory breast cancer survivor, she wanted her...