2) Cancer Journey: It Started With a Cough

I’m always asked, how did you know? Well, it started with a cough. I went through a ton of cough drops for a few months. It was the beginning of March 2019 and I was not feeling well. Really, that was an understatement. I felt like crap! I was miserable and sleeping a lot. I vented on Facebook about it and everyone told me to go to the doctor. People were being diagnosed left and right with the flu. My co-worker Sue, who is my sounding board and always looks out for me, told me to go to the work on-site health clinic to get checked out. I thought “Tomorrow. Tomorrow, I’ll go get my cough checked out.” Tomorrow of course turned into a few days and a few days became a week.

When I finally did go to the health clinic, the nurse thought I had post nasal drip and a simple cough. I felt somewhat reassured, but not really. My stomach was bloated and felt distended. We hadn’t really addressed that. I remember asking my friend Kristal, who is also a yoga therapist, if she had any exercises for a bloated stomach. As if a few exercises would help. She also told me to see a doctor! Without doing anything, I was gaining weight – 8 more lbs. That was making it very hard to move around. When I did move, I’d have a coughing fit and it was hard to breathe. I also had difficulty eating. I didn’t want to eat even though I was hungry. I couldn’t eat much because of the gag reflex from coughing and after a few bites I felt full. It was weird. I wondered if I was imagining it.

My energy was low and I had trouble concentrating. I would prioritize a few tasks for the day and at least get those items done. I was still working full-time through all of this. My house felt like a huge cluttered mess. I would rest and my 16-year-old daughter would go about her activities. One day, she and her friends wrote “Get Well” signs on my bedroom door. Two years later I still have them hanging up. I can’t quite bring myself to take them down (pictured above).

Side Note: At some point Alice’s friends, and Alice at times, call me Sue. Hence, the “Get Well Sue” messages. That’s a story for another day!

After weeks of ignoring myself and my friends’ suggestions, I finally checked in with my doctor and saw the PA. The PA was also convinced it was just a cough due to post nasal drip and my stomach pains were due to muscle strain from coughing. I saw her on a Monday. By Thursday I requested to go back in. I knew something wasn’t right. I really thought I had a tumor. She said she would feel it if I did. We gave it a few more days to see how I felt. I told her I was fat, but not that fat! My stomach was so distended. I finally had the ultrasound the following Monday. The one good thing about waiting over the weekend was that I was able to celebrate my birthday with my daughter and not be in the “I have cancer “ mode yet.

Reviewing blood tests that I had done back in December from the dermatologist showed I had two high markers that might show an autoimmune disease or as I later found out, could be a marker for cancer. Was I ever told that? No! I had several tests, which confirmed fluid in my lower lung. Other tests confirmed other stuff. I was still waiting for one more test, abdomen screening.

I had a feeling something was wrong when the doctor’s office wouldn’t tell me what the results of the test were over the phone. I sent a text to my siblings that I was freaking out. My brother Paul was home and said he would meet me at the doctor’s office. Thank God!! I don’t know what I would have done hearing the news on my own. The doctor really should have given me a heads-up, and recommended that I bring someone. At that point, they saw spots on my liver and liquid in my abdomen and lungs. That was why I was coughing.

I had to get another blood test – CA-125. It is the marker for several things, including Ovarian Cancer. Normal range is 0 – 31. Mine was 2,200! I heard the initial news about my CA-125 results over the phone, sitting in my living room, while my daughter Alice listened. Time stood still. More scans confirmed I had a tumor the size of an orange on my ovary. They initially thought I had Ovarian cancer, but cancer type is determined based on origin. It was later discovered that my cancer had started in my Fallopian Tubes. SCARY Stuff!

Tune in for next week’s entry from my daughter Alice’s point of view.

Trust your instincts and Find the Ability to advocate for yourself. Ask for what you need! Ask for those tests. Ask for someone to go with you to the doctor

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