Is thy cruse of comfort wasting?
Rise and share it with another,
And through all the years of famine,
It shall serve thee and thy brother.
Is thy burden hard and heavy?
Do thy steps drag heavily?
Help to bear thy brother's burden;
God will bear both it and thee.
ELIZABETH CHARLES
Cancer. . . . no one wants to hear that C word. Cancer occurs when the cells in an area of the body grow abnormally. Ovarian cancer is the seventh most common cancer in women. The other six? Breast, colon, endometrial, lung, cervical and skin cancer, in that order.
Ovarian cancer is also known as the silent killer since it has really no early symptoms. It cannot be detected simply by having a pap smear. The symptoms when they do appear could be associated with just about anything. Hence, the silent killer nickname.
What are some symptoms that are associated with ovarian cancer? Well, abdominal pain, indigestion, loss of appetite, bloating, urinary frequency, feeling full quickly, lower back pain, altering in constipation and diarrhea, sudden weight loss and vaginal bleeding. Like I said, who hasn't had any of these at one time or another. A very subtle list.
Cancer can be categorized into one of the following stages:
Stage 1: The cancer is found in one or both ovaries.
Stage 2: The cancer has spread from one or both ovaries to other tissues in the pelvis, uterus or fallopian tubes.
Stage 3: The cancer has spread outside the pelvis or nearby lymph nodes. Most commonly the cancer spreads to the apron of the fatty tissue that hangs down from the colon and stomach, intestine, diaphragm and the outside of the liver.
Stage 4: The cancer has spread to tissues outside the abdomen and pelvis. The most common place for the cancer to spread is in the space around the lungs.
My cancer stage is 3. I didn't understand any of these things in the beginning nor did I want to. It wasn't until a good four and half years later when my first re-occurrence happened that I took stock of my illness. I was naive. I thought once was all it took. I went through it and survived. I was done with cancer. Nothing could be farther from the truth. That's when my education began. Four re-occurrences later, I'm still learning.
If you have a chronic illness or know someone close to you with a chronic illness, please learn all you can about your disease so you can prepare yourself for combat. Don't be like me and wait years after to acquire the knowledge I should have right in the beginning.
Have a blessed day everyone.
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