Enjoy Every Moment In Your Journey To Ovarcome

This is the story of Wendy, our OvarCare recipient from Waialua, HI.

Wendy hails from a family of BRCA (+)ve mutation carriers. She has lost seven members of her family to cancer, primarily breast cancer.

Wendy’s story is that of an ambitious young woman focused and busy with her career and her ambitions. Even though she had a significant family history, Wendy kept putting off her BRCA testing due to lack of time in her busy life. She didn’t want any surgical interventions on her body, as she was planning to have children and be a Mom in the future when the timing was right. In a family of several women diagnosed with breast cancer, when Wendy’s sister got diagnosed with ovarian cancer, everyone was shocked – as ovarian cancer was never on the radar. Her sister is a 10 year Survivor – she has had a recurrence, but doing well under the circumstances.

Wendy says back in 2014, she noticed she was unusually tired – she attributed her constant fatigue to stress at work. That year she had lost her best friend, so circumstances were emotionally challenging for her in addition to being stressed at work. Wendy shared she paid visits to her primary care physician as well as her OB-GYN and reported her unusual fatigue and intermittent pain. But no action was taken – Wendy was asked to take it easy and was put on anti-depressants to cope with the loss of her best friend. The Doctors didn’t think anything of her persistent symptoms.

Finally one day, Wendy’s belly got extremely bloated and she decided to walk into the ER. Tests revealed stage III-C ovarian cancer. Even though Wendy experienced classic symptoms of ovarian cancer including pain, unusual fatigue, changes in bowel habits and consistently reported them for a while, her diagnosis didn’t come through until at the ER when she presented with ascites. Her lungs collapsed and the tests revealed ovarian cancer had spread to five organs by then. Wendy was put on aggressive treatment that included 18 cycles of chemo and IP chemotherapy – she worked hard to Ovarcome and went into remission. After 3 months, mammogram revealed breast cancer. Wendy was then considered a case of dual diagnosis. Just two months ago this year, Wendy was diagnosed with stage IV metastatic breast cancer.

Wendy mentioned to Ovarcome that last 5 years have been physically, emotionally and spiritually destructive for her. She had to give up on her house that she built – now she lives with her father, as she lost her job and had to give up on her career that she was so focused to excel on. Wendy is extremely grateful to Ovarcome for providing her with the financial and emotional support at this time in her life.

Wendy had so much wisdom to share with us, having gone through this tremendous journey to Ovarcome. She says this cancer diagnosis has been an awakening for her – in understanding who the true friends and supporters are and how she has been surprised by unexpected every day kindness shown by virtual strangers.

Wendy’s Words of Wisdom To Ovarcome:

• Be present.
• Enjoy every moment.
• Take care of your body.
• Don’t sweat the small stuff. Little things don’t matter
• Don’t control your life and your body – let go. Thank your body for working hard for you!

We thank Wendy for sharing her story and for sharing her light. Please join us in sending Wendy our prayers and best wishes as she continues her journey to Ovarcome.