Ovarian Cancer Patient Stories

Karen Applegate

Ovarian As a certified personal trainer, registered yoga teacher and Pilates practitioner, Karen Applegate is tuned into her body. She’s used to keeping a busy schedule, so when she started feeling unusually tired in 2010 at the age of 52, Karen didn’t worry much at first. But then the bloating started, along with sharp pains in her stomach and persistent back pain that would intensify when she took a deep breath. “I knew something was wrong,” she recalled. Karen landed in the emergency room with crippling abdominal pain on a Friday. Tests revealed that she had a cyst. By Monday, Karen learned the blood test detected a high presence of CA125 – cancer antigen in blood, specific to ovarian cancer. Read more »

Suzanne Buck

Metastatic Ovarian Cancer

Suzanne Buck has lived with cancer since 1989 when she was diagnosed with stage one ovarian cancer.  But ask her how she’s doing, and the emphasis is always on the "living" part.  "It's important for people to understand that you can live a full life, and still deal with cancer. I'm one of the lucky ones."  Lucky, and compliant – Suzanne is always vigilant, never relaxing her regimen of six-month check ups, blood work and CAT scans.

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Kim Chestnut

Ovarian Cancer Prevention through da Vinci® Robotic-Assisted Surgery

At the age of only 58, Kim Chestnut's mother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She fought the disease for 13 years, but finally lost her battle. Kim, mother of 2, was 47 at the time of her mother's death. She was well aware that ovarian cancer is linked to family history, so she underwent genetic testing. The results indicated that Kim did carry the BRCA 2 gene and was at increased risk of ovarian cancer. She had 2 choices - to be monitored closely by her doctor or to have her ovaries surgically removed.

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Cynthia Danko

Like most people, Cindy Danko had no time to be sick. A full time house painter, Cyd – as she’s known to her friends – was used to keeping a busy schedule packed with physically demanding work. In February 2009, shortly before her 50th birthday, Cyd went to her gynecologist for an annual exam. Within a few days, her doctor called to explain that her Pap test was abnormal. “I thought it was a mistake,” said Cyd.  

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Missy Light Dougherty

Ovarian Cancer with fertility preservation

Missy Dougherty is a beach girl at heart and has spent many summers in Sea Isle City, New Jersey. The summer of 2007 was to be no different. Missy and her husband, Brendan, planned to take their 2-year-old son to Sea Isle every weekend. However, Missy was more tired than usual and began experiencing symptoms consistent with both irritable bowel syndrome and a urinary tract infection. At 31, she was also hoping to have another baby.

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