SharonCobb.com: "I saved my life"

Sharon is currently recovering from surgery. While we wait for her to come back to her blog, make every woman you know read this. You might be saving her life, too.

She writes:

By the time ovarian cancer is diagnosed, it’s usually too late. The odds of long term survival are between 10-20 percent. Stage one ovarian cancer, however, has a long term survival rate of over 90 percent. It’s almost never caught at that stage. *Almost* never.

Last month when I went for my annual physical I insisted on a CA 125, as I have done for a decade. Every year my Doctor tells me he does the test to appease me. This year was no different. In fact, this year, he was a bit cranky with me and told me to bring in some concrete proof that a CA 125 will catch ovarian cancer before it has spread. I told him of British studies that conclusively and consistently demonstrated that women who had this test every year had a very good chance of catching it early. Indeed, one British study I read said the CA 125 will catch ovarian cancer 2-5 months before it can be seen on a CAT scan or ultrasound. And with that, my doctor rolled his eyes and filled out the papers for the lab work.

The following week I got a call from his nurse. She told me my CA 125 was slightly elevated. I told her I wanted to meet with the Doctor in person and discuss where to go from here. I was fairly sure they would dismiss me, but surprisingly, my doctor agreed to meet with me the following week. But first, he wanted an ultra sound.

I met with him the following week and my ultra sound showed several tumors and cysts, though they were not defined as cancer. He decided to repeat the CA 125. (Hey…now who is a believer in this test? First time I didn’t have to ask for it!)

I was driving with Jake, my dog, over to Weight Watchers. I have a thing for chocolate, and Weight Watchers has chocolate smoothies that are only one point. Cruising toward my chocolate fix, my cell phone rings. The caller ID shows it’s a call from Vanderbilt. It could have been anyone, since all my doctors except one are there, but being the middle of the day, I knew it was from my gynecologist’s office about the CA 125. I took a deep breath and answered and didn’t even wait for a voice, I just said, “What are the results of the CA 125?” The nurse told me the numbers had more than doubled in the short period of time from the original test. I knew what that meant.

The Doctor called me later that night. His voice was shakier than mine. I can only guess he was thinking about how he had tried to discourage me about taking the CA 125. I didn’t see any need or reason to rub it in. I only made one reference to my insistence about having this test once a year to catch ovarian cancer in time, and I said, “Well. Here’s the data and proof you wanted.”

Next came the CAT scans to see what was where, and today is the surgery. Assuming I don’t die from the anesthesia or surgery, then I will be living proof that a CA 125 saved my life. I saved my life.

Pass it on, Sisters...