On July 27, 2020, after surgery to remove a mass on my left ovary, I was told the mass was malignant and was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Months later after continued GI issues, a colonoscopy revealed a mass in my descending colon. A colon resection in October 2020 revealed lymph nodes were involved, I was then classified with stage IIIc colon cancer.

I underwent six months of chemotherapy from December 2020 to May 2021. I switched my care to Scripps MD Anderson Cancer Center, in December 2021, after reflection of red flags from my previous medical team. It was then revealed that I never had ovarian cancer. The cancer in my colon had metastasized to my ovary, therefore, classifying me as stage IV.

I have been NED since June 2021; however have been narrowing down some issues with my liver as my enzymes continue to be high. I also underwent a hernia repair surgery for two hernias that formed at the sight of my colon resection incision.

Oddly enough, I really didn’t have symptoms. In college, I had developed a sensitivity to dairy that was brushed off by my PCP as normal. In 2019, I had been diagnosed as anemic and told to take an iron supplement and was told it was normal for a woman of my age (childbearing years). Up until a few months before the only symptoms I had were random bouts of abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea that sent me to the ER twice. Once being told I had a severe UTI and the later colitis of which both were ‘treated’ with antibiotics.