Haley's Story
For Day 1 (Monday, 9/12) of the #OvarianCancerAwarenessYogaChallenge
I am highlighting Haley and her story. Haley is one of the participants in this challenge and lives in Houston, Texas. She gladly shared her story (mostly in her words) that began last December 2015 at the age of 22. At that time, she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer: stage 3C low-grade serous carcinoma, but it is mixed with high grade as well. Her case is rare and she was started on a combo of taxol/carboplatin (a total of 11 weeks on chemo!).
Moving forward with her dream wedding, she married her high school sweetheart on February 27, 2016; wearing a wig, puffy from steroids, and her beautiful dress almost bursting from the large tumor. Monday after the wedding she had a CT scan and was told her body stopped responding to the chemo. This news came right before she and her family were leaving for their honeymoon. Unbeknownst to her, the oncologist told her husband that it wasn’t looking good for her. Upon returning from their honeymoon, the oncologist gave them a name of a NYC doctor and stated “if anyone could get it out, he could”. The whole family flew to NYC (her husband, parents, and sister) with her on April 25, 2016. She was scheduled for debulking surgery and her odds weren’t good: there was a strong possibility she’d be left with a colostomy bag and not all the cancer removed. It was really her only option.
Waking up from surgery, with her family by her side, she heard the GREAT NEWS: ALL of the cancer was removed and no colostomy bag! During the surgery, she had 33 “items” removed including organs.
Currently, she is 4 months out from this surgery and says, “It is by the grace of God that things are turning around for me”. She really wishes her gynecologist listened to her when she said she had #bloating (she says she looked 6 months pregnant) extreme fatigue, weight gain, pain, along with kidney and bladder issues – she KNEW something was NOT right! Haley also commented that she struggled with doctors not listening to her physical symptoms; a sentiment that many young women share (older women too).
From Haley’s story, my momma’s, and many other friends and women that I have spoken with over the years, the most important advice I’ve gleaned is to be your OWN best patient advocate – if something doesn’t seem right, keep pursuing it. Communicate your concerns with your doctor and if that doesn’t work, request a second opinion; patients have rights. My momma didn’t want a second opinion when I knew something was wrong…she didn’t want to hurt her internist’s and gynecologist’s feelings. PLEASE remember that YOUR life is more important than someone’s feelings (ah, my sweet momma...she always put others before herself). Most doctors will understand and encourage a second opinion, if not maybe you or your loved one needs to seek out new care. We put a lot of faith and pressure on doctors, they are brilliant, but are also limited because there are no good early diagnostic tests for ovarian cancer; physical examinations, ultrasounds, and a CA-125 blood serum test are useful but we need a test that allows patients to be diagnosed in the early stages, when the prognosis has a better survival rate. Signs and symptoms can be very vague and/or could be related to other benign, non-serious issues. Again, just listen to your body and if something doesn’t feel right...please speak up and talk with your doctor.
Please take a moment and send Haley some love, positive & healing thoughts, and prayers for her healing journey. It was an honor to have her share such a life-altering story with me for this challenge. I am extremely grateful...thank you so much Haley! 
