Long Wait for Diagnosis

My story started 3 years prior to my diagnosis in 2006, when I was getting routine pap smears that were coming back with abnormal cells. My primary care physician couldn’t explain why they were coming back like that, so she finally referred me to a gynecologist. The gynecologist did another pap smear and immediately said I had to go to a gynecologic oncologist because he thought it might be cancer.

A specialist found ovarian cancer

The specialist did another pap smear and verified that I had stage 2 ovarian cancer and said if I waited longer it would have been at stage 3. So, I quickly made a decision to get surgery (total hysterectomy) within a couple of days.

Cancer-free for nearly two decades

When I went back to my PCP for my surgical clearance she couldn’t believe it. I really felt she failed me because she didn’t want me to see the gynecologist who probably wouldn’t have waited for treatment. But the gynecologic oncologist was very good and I didn’t need chemotherapy or any further treatment. Cancer-free since 2007.