Hollings Horizons 2023 Combined for flipbook - Flipbook - Page 13
Ovarian Cancer’s
SILENT SYMPTOMS
Ovarian cancer is notoriously difficult to catch early, and most women
aren’t diagnosed until the cancer has already metastasized, or spread.
Most of the symptoms of ovarian cancer can also be caused by other, more
common, conditions. The difference is that, with ovarian cancer, the symptoms persist
and are a change from what’s typical for that individual. Symptoms can include:
BLOATING
Subtle symptoms
Carol’s symptoms included what seemed like
weight gain around the midsection, which
was unusual for her, and a blood clot in her
leg for no apparent reason.
But it was a sudden pain during exercise
— really more of a sensation that shouldn’t
have been there rather than actual pain
— that sent her to the gynecologist. She
figured it was a hernia.
“My doctor did a quick internal exam, which
didn't take but a few seconds,” Carol said.
“Her eyes got really big, and she said, ‘It's
not a hernia.’ And she immediately said to
me that she thought it was ovarian cancer.”
Ovarian cancer was not what Carol had
expected when she woke up that
morning.
PELVIC ,
BACK OR
BELLY PAIN
A CHANGE
IN BLADDER
HABITS
Researching treatment
options
With help from her best friend, Sheila
Beard, an executive coach with an
extensive network, Carol found her way to
MUSC Hollings Cancer Center and Brian
Orr, M.D., a board-certified gynecologic
oncologist.
Orr outlined all the possible scenarios.
But most importantly for Carol, he
offered hope.
“The one thing that he said that stuck out
to me the most — and I've held onto it to
this day — was he wanted to keep me on
a curative path,” she said. “It was the best
thing he could have said to me because it
gave me that hope right off the bat that
he's got me."
VAGINAL
BLEEDING
IF PAST
MENOPAUSE
OR UNUSUAL
DISCHARGE
FEELING FULL
QUICKLY
OR HAVING
TROUBLE
EATING
Carol’s appointment with her gynecologist
had been in April. She was scheduled for
surgery on May 20. In that short time, the
tumor grew rapidly, swelling her belly as
though she were pregnant.
“It was amazing how quickly it grew,” Joan
said. “Just amazing. There was no doubt
that there was something in there.”
C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E
12
People look for
your reaction to
know how to react
themselves.
Carol Sullivan
“I didn’t know how to react,” she recalled.
Her doctor did a blood test and an
ultrasound right away.
“They did the ultrasound and it showed a
humongous tumor,” she said. In fact, there
were two tumors. Carol’s levels of a cancer
antigen called CA-125 were at 3,300
units/milliliter, while the normal range is
considered 0-35 units/milliliter.
hollingscancercenter.musc.edu
11
