Hey all!! My name is Shelly Willis, i am 42 years old and I’m from Shreveport Louisiana!! I am an ovarian cancer warrior and a survivor!! I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer at the age of 36! Let me share my story with you! On December 15, 2018, which was on a Saturday! The day of my work Christmas party!! I woke up with a stomach cramp, well i just thought it would go away if i took some ibuprofen, i went to the Christmas party and they were serving food and i fixed me a plate cause i was hungry. Let me remind you before this i was having no symptoms whatsoever! I start eating my food and i started to feel full faster than normal! Didn’t think nothing of it!! Well, my stomachache never went away! I went to work that Monday in pain and after work i went to a hospital where they only did a urinalysis on me and told me that they didn’t see in bacteria in my urine and gave me some pain pills and said take these and if it doesn’t help come back and we will do a ct scan on you! I went to work the next day in agonizing pain and had to leave work! I went to another hospital, and they did an ultrasound of my pelvic area, the dr came back in and said there was a small mass on my left ovary, he sent me home with some more meds!! Y’all it just got worse! I couldn’t eat i was throwing up everything!! I couldn’t hold water down! I called 911 on myself and they came to get me and brought me to the first hospital i went to that sent me home and they dropped me off in the waiting room! That just wasn’t right! So, i called my friend to come get me!! Now i can barely walk i can’t eat i can’t even wipe my own butt or shower by myself! So, the next day i called 911 again and they brought me back to the other hospital i went to and they did blood work and a ultrasound and the dr came in and said we are going to have to admit you because you are in kidney failure!! So, i was in the hospital for 10 days on iv antibiotics and my potassium was low so i was on potassium pills and pain meds!! They did a ca125 and it was elevated i think it was 12,000!! Well, my kidneys got better, and they discharged me and referred me to the women’s clinic where they did a cervical exam, and the lady said the mass was bigger than 5cm! I had to go do blood work again and my ca125 was even more elevated!! They referred me to a gyn/oncologist! I went to see her on a Thursday for an exam, and she opened me up and closed me up right away and said we need to do surgery ASAP!! So, she explained to me when she does my hysterectomy that i might have to have a colostomy bag if it has reached my colon!! I was like is that a poop bag and she said yes i was like omg what is happening to me? Then she says if one of ur ovaries is good do u want me to save it! Of course, I’d want that because i do not have any kids and i was only 36!! My surgery was scheduled for that following Monday!! I had so many fears i was scared, i didn’t want to do it, i was panicking because I’ve never had a major surgery before!! Monday rolls around real fast and i was praying to God that the weekend would go by slow as possible even though i knew i needed this surgery to feel better!! That morning i went to hospital and had my mom and dad and aunt and grandma and my cousin there!! While waiting to get called back for prep i got sick and threw up, i think it was my nerves at that point!! I didn’t feel good at all!! I got called back, got prepped and my family left out and i got the good cocktail to calm me down but i was still crying as they rolled me back to the operating room!! I see the operating room! It was cold it was clean and i said are y’all going to make me go to sleep i don’t want to see all this! They got me on the operating table and that was the last thing i remembered! I woke up in the recovery room! I could hear the lady saying my name and they had a fan blowing on me cause during surgery i ran fever and i also had to have two blood transfusions!! I was finally able to go to my room and rest! I did not have to have a colostomy bag, although the mass started on my left ovary went to the right ovary and wrapped around a small portion of my colon, but my Dr is the best in my area, and she was able to cut it off and resection it back together!! I had to have a laparotomy done so i was cut from about 2 inches above my belly button all the way down to my pubic area, i had 30 staples and two Jp drains!! I called them my grenades!! I had my surgery January 21, 2019, and on January 24, 2019, the day i got discharged they came in and told me i had cancer! I didn’t want to know but my mom said Well i want to know and they said the name of the cancer it was called Seromucinous Carcinoma!! A rare form of ovarian cancer!! About 3% of people in the world have it!! My mom went nuts in the hospital, she cried she locked herself in the hospital bathroom for like 30 minutes while i was laying in the bed saying mom it will be ok I’ll be ok please just chill out!! I was trying to comfort her when I’m the one that should have been comforted!! I was out of it so i was good! Well, it hit me when i got home i have ovarian cancer! I was a stage 3c grade 2! The mass was 23x23cm and before surgery my ca125 was over 20,000!! I got referred to my oncologist at the cancer center where he took great care of me!! I got my port put in and a week later i started my 18 rounds of carbo/taxol! I did it once a week for 18 weeks!! July 29, 2019, was my last chemo so I’ve been in remission for almost two years!! I handled the treatments well! My Dr told me i was a special case because the tumor was so big that it was growing up into my abdomen, but it didn’t latch on to anything and he is sure that i will never get cancer back again!! I have no reason not to believe him!! But it has caused me to have ptsd!! I cried every day for over a year!! For the next 5 years i have to go every 3 months to get checked!! I don’t mind that as long as i never get it back!! Well, that’s my story and thank you for taking the time to let me share with you all! I do advocate and will continue to raise awareness for this nasty disease!! So, ladies don’t wait if u feel something is not right like bloating, feeling full, changes in Bowl habits, abdominal pain or back pain!! Go get checked and remember a Pap smear does not detect ovarian cancer! Early detection means increased survival! Know the signs and know your body! Ovarian cancer is the 5th deadliest gynecological cancers in woman!! My grandmother died from ovarian cancer when i was 2 months old back in 1982!! So if cancer runs in your family don’t be afraid to ask for a ca125! Having ovarian cancer has taught me to never take things for granted and always tell your friends and family you love them! I will be 5 years NED July 29, 2024!!