In early November 2021, I was diagnosed with a sinus infection and prescribed an antibiotic. I saw my doctor later in the month for my annual physical. I told her I just didn’t feel right – it didn’t feel like a UTI but felt odd. She said there was no doubt in her mind that I had a UTI, as the medicine I had taken for the sinus infection was known to cause UTIs. She gave me a pill to take that would work for one week. She gave me a second pill in case the first didn’t clear it up. It didn’t make a difference, but it was December, my husband was still recovering from a serious illness, and I just pushed through. In early January I called the doctor; they didn’t want to see me because of the pandemic. They did allow me to go in for a urine sample and called me a few hours later saying I had an infection. I started the antibiotic that day – Friday, January 7, 2022. I didn’t feel any better on Monday and stayed home from work. I called the doctor and they changed the antibiotic. My daughter thought maybe it was COVID-19; I took an at-home test and it was negative. We thought maybe it was not correct and arranged to have one done in the doctor’s office on Tuesday morning. My negative results came back on Thursday, January 13. The doctor agreed to see me that afternoon. They did an EKG and thought I had a blood clot in my right lung. They told me I needed a CT scan and to go to the emergency room. One of the nurses asked which hospital I was going to; COVID-19 was bad in York, so my husband took me to the West Shore Hospital.
We waited in the ER for five hours. They did blood work, a urine test, and a CT scan while I was waiting. When I was finally taken to the ER, the doctor asked me what was going on. I relayed my story and said my doctor thought I had a blood clot and I thought maybe it was pneumonia as I was having shortness of breath. He said, “Oh no, it is much worse. You have cancer.” They were not sure what type of cancer it was at that point. They did not have a room available so I spent the night in the ER. The next morning, a very nice technician did a scan of my legs to rule out blood clots. She came back after lunch with something she had found in the gift shop and thought of me. It was a small package that contained the mustard seed story and charm. The nurses were very nice and did all they could to keep me comfortable. Right after lunch, they drained over 1,200 mL of fluid from my right lung and 900 mL from my abdomen.
I was taken to a room late that afternoon. I asked if my daughters could come to the hospital so I could tell them. The hospitalist was adamant that only two people be in the room. I had a very nice nurse who said that would do what they could to get them in. My oldest daughter arrived and a doctor came in to see me at the same time. They started talking and my daughter looked at me and said, “Mom – do you have cancer?” I wanted both of my girls there when I told them. The doctor wasn’t sure what type of cancer I had but they were still processing fluids. This doctor left and my other daughter arrived. They took me for another test. So much to process.
On Saturday morning, Dr. Mark Miller came into my room and introduced himself. He said I stage 4 ovarian cancer. He showed me a message he had received on his phone that morning; he said he didn’t understand why he received it, but now he did. It was a Bible verse about trusting. He said he would be my biggest cheerleader and would treat me as he would his own mother, wife, or daughter. He wanted me to remain in the hospital but the hospitalist said no. He changed his plans and scheduled the operating room for Sunday morning, where he did a biopsy. The results told him what he needed to know and I was sent home that afternoon. Monday was the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday; Tuesday morning, I went to Pinnacle Hospital and had my port placed. On Friday, I had my first round of chemo. I was so thankful that Dr. Miller pushed to get things started so quickly. My CA-125 count was just under 9,000 when I was diagnosed; after my first round of chemo, it was down to 860. Dr. Miller said that just didn’t happen. We both agreed that it was all the people praying for me. I had three rounds of chemo and then a hysterectomy. He also removed my omentum as there was a lot of cancer in it. When he did the surgery, the cancer was virtually gone. He said we would still do three more rounds of chemo to be sure there wasn’t any more cancer hiding anywhere. I had my last round of chemo on July 6, 2022.
I was scheduled for a CT scan in early September – there was a shortage of the dye they use, hence the delay. When I saw Dr. Miller on September 13, he told me the cancer was gone. He wanted me to take a monthly infusion of Avastin, which is hard on the kidneys and can only be given for a short time. He didn’t want me to take pills. Of course, I trusted him and agreed; that was the last time I saw him, as he left the practice to work in Baltimore. Three days later, I received a call from one of the Nurse Practitioners who is holding the practice down until his replacement starts in mid-November. The results had come back on my tumor that the genetic counselor had ordered. She said they wanted me to take the pills (which I did confirm with Dr. Miller were the PARP inhibitors he had advised against) and said there was a 70% chance that the cancer will return. I met with another one of the Nurse Practitioners the following week. She gave me a lot of information, but I kept hearing Dr. Miller’s voice in my head.
I asked to meet with the new doctor in Newport. Dr. Roberts said from looking at my case that she would recommend both medicines. She wasn’t sure why Dr. Miller had said not to the PARP inhibitors but showed me a graph of a study that had been done on my type of cancer. I have HDR ovarian cancer. If I do nothing, the average time of reoccurrence is 1.5 years. If I take both medicines, it doubles to three years. I signed the paperwork to take the PARP inhibitors. I am currently waiting to hear from the insurance company as to what will be covered. I have had two rounds of Avastin; I will only be able to take the infusions of Avastin for one year. The PARP inhibitors will take about eight weeks for my body to adjust to them. I will take them for two years. Patients who have reached the two-year mark are continuing to take them. I am confident I am going to be in the 30% for non-reoccurrence but will do whatever I can to make sure of that.
We’re excited to welcome Debbie to the LIVESTRONG® at the YMCA program, where she’ll continue to reclaim her health through our evidence-based program!
